WPMU

While comparing software features is important, it is also essential to consider user experience. This post is going to focus on the new user experiences for Elgg and BuddyPress working through first look at the site, the registration process, and the resultant page once one has logged in for the first time. I gave an initial overview of the differences between Elgg and BuddyPress in my previous blog post.

With BuddyPress, a visitor arrives a page that may look like this with a “sign up” link on the upper right hand side of the page.

In Elgg, a first time visitor may encounter a page like the one below. Note that the Elgg landing page has been altered using an index.php override. I feel this is a fair comparison in terms of effort with installation. As you may recall from my previous comparison, the BuddyPress installation required a certain amount of coding, so I thought it would be fair to apply comparable effort to an Elgg installation as a starting point. Note the registration link in the left column.

Registration

Click on the register button with BuddyPress and you arrive at a page asking you to provide profile information by filling out several fields. The administrator can change or add to these fields making them optional or required. In this installation, I added a “Profession” field. Further discussion of this feature will appear in future posts.

Next, you are given the option to create a blog or just an account.

You then are notified to look for an activation email. Once you click on the link in the email, you are given a password.

Elgg, on the other hand, simply asks for a display name, email address, username, and password.

Click on Register and you are returned to the landing page with a prompt telling you that you will be getting an confirmation email. Clicking on the link in the mail returns you to the site notifying you of confirmation success. You can then log in.

Logging In

Once logged in, Elgg and BuddyPress deliver you to entirely different pages. BuddyPress brings you to your public Profile page, while Elgg delivers you to your private Dashboard.

Once you log into your new BuddyPress Account, you return to the main page with the options available to a logged in user. Note the gray menu bar on the top of the page that was not visible when not logged in.

The first time you log into Elgg, you arrive at your dashboard page and prompted to click the edit page link highlighted below. The dashboard is visible only to the account owner.

Once you click that, you are presented with a set of widgets that allow you to customize your dashboard. Simple darg and drop them into one of the three columns. These widgets can also be configured. On a side note, Elgg’s profile pages function much the same.

Conclusions

BuddyPress’s and Elgg’s landing pages are strikingly different, especially if Elgg’s index.php file is not customized. No question that BuddyPress’s default theme with the widget customization is more attractive out-of-the-box. That being said, this is not very important as one can install different themes on either platform. Elgg has many free themes available and BuddyPress will have a variety of themes upon release. Discussion of this is really best left to another post.

BuddyPress’s registration page solicits much more information than the bare bones Elgg registration page asking the new user to fill in profile information and to upload an avatar before the registration process is complete. It also allows the administrator to customize the fields in the form. This could cut both ways. Some users might be put off by the steps required to register preferring to enter just enough information to get inside. On the other hand, it would be more likely that users actually provide profile information and an avatar. It requires somewhat more of a commitment to get an account. In the Elgg community site, I have found it irritating that many users have no profile information at all because it is not required. They just leave it all blank.

Elgg, delivers you to a blank dashboard page; whereas, BuddyPress delivers you to the logged in front page. Some have argued that the blank dashboard is confusing and univiting. On the other hand, it does invite immediate action to customize your account with an easy to use widget interface. With BuddyPress, you will need to explre the menu to find more options. Both Elgg and WordPress require a certain amount of exploration once logged in as not everything is immediately obvious.

I will continue to post about the features and user experiences in future posts. Hopefully, these posts will help individuals choose the best platform for their needs. Beyond that, perhaps developers can learn by examining the different interfaces.