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Portfolio Site: Allow User Ratings?


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#1 cmoist

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Posted 20 January 2009 - 04:18 PM

So I wrote a user ratings system for the work on my portfolio site, but am on the fence as to whether or not it should be implemented. My question is, should personal websites allow users to rate the work on them? I probably wouldn't enable commenting, just something like a 1-5 star rating.

Why would this be a good idea?
Most of us have a ton of work to share, but it seems like best practice to only show your top stuff. Over time, you could cycle out poorly rated items based on visitor opinion and add new pieces.

Why would this be a bad idea?
I guess it could be abused...although it would be cookie or IP based to ensure users only vote once, I suppose users could get around that and drill your work into the ground (or make it appear really good). Maybe it looks less professional with ratings..and maybe a portfolio site should be bare bones; just showing the work.

Thoughts?

#2 awhipl

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Posted 21 January 2009 - 04:49 AM

Overall, unless someone seriously hates you I can't really see someone spending the effort to repeatedly down rate someone's work. Especially once designers hit a professional level it seems like they tend to have respect for work all around.

#3 PixelFuze

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Posted 21 January 2009 - 07:15 AM

Yea I don't see anything negative in the idea at all. It would just help you evaluate your work and see what everyone else thinks. I would doubt and hope that no one would abuse it. Unless you really have a bad enemy, which usually doesn't happen when you run professional freelance services.

#4 cmoist

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Posted 21 January 2009 - 06:17 PM

Thanks for the input. Anyone else?

#5 Chung Dha

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Posted 21 January 2009 - 06:31 PM

Negative voted not always mean people hate you it could just be that in your thought your design looks good while others have different taste. I have often had seen situation of making most extreme best logo's there is that everyones like but the guy I am designing it for totally don't like it. Also allot of cases of clients choosing the ugliest design that just took few minutes to make to fill the 3rd concept.

However I find allot of the ratings site like Logopond that not allot of people actually look at your logo's when you upload them. And that more features desiger do allot of PR to make their logo's more visible and seen by other to get more votes. While not fair to other who just only upload their logo's.

However I think comment are more valuable then vote, atleast people can help you by giving you advice or say what wrong. And voting are just to know how many people likes it and how many not and made in a calculation to see how much that is worth.

#6 _Redrum

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 02:54 AM

I'd say leave the rating for the rating sites. If you get a high rating for one of your designs on a rating site, then put that next to the image in your portfolio, along with a link for proof.

Otherwise, I could very easily put some stars next to my own designs, and what does that show? Nothing, because I own the site and I can edit the content as I please. In other words, there is no credibility attached like there is on a voting site where you don't control the content.

It's like if Pepsi suddenly put on their website that everyone rated their drink better than all the rest. There's very little chance that anyone will take Pepsi's claim as a fact. The same would be true for your stars, even if they do represent user ratings.

A comments section would be good though, because then it's clear that individuals came by and liked the designs enough to leave a positive comment. On the other hand, you might also get negative comments. And who is to say that the individuals leaving comments have any business deciding whether a design is good or bad. Again, not enough credibility attached.

And that's where we come back to rating sites. Plenty of credibility because you don't control the content and the people who rate designs are, themselves, design-savvy. Of course, there is also Chung Dha's comment about rating sites, and I tend to agree. I think that's why you don't see many people doing this, other than the designers at the top of those kinds of sites.

Edited by _Redrum, 22 January 2009 - 02:57 AM.


#7 cmoist

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 01:35 AM

Very well put. Thanks for the input. I suppose that if you meet the requirements of your client, they are happy and you can show that it pleased them, it doesn't really matter what random visitors think.

#8 DreamSky

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 09:13 AM

I think that implementing a ratings system for your personal use, just to see which designs are viewed as good (or bad) in general, is overall a very good idea.

I do see Redrum's point about the example of Pepsi. However this will matter only if you place a rating system for your visitors' use, not for your personal - to see whether a design is generally (by most people) liked.

As for the comments - they are superior indeed because they are more specific - you can learn why a particular design was or was not liked. And I don't see a problem in the fact that not all people who will rate (or leave comments) will be designers or will have "professional" opinions. After all your clients are not designers too (typically).

I would also disagree with your last post. It actually matters what random visitors (potential clients) think.
A single client may have liked what you have created but that single client may have counted solely on his/her specific taste to make the judgment on the final design. So you may end up publishing an artwork that most people will not like. And after all, it is your portfolio - the way a potential client, one of the random visitors, will decide whether you are good enough for his/her needs.

So that's what I see - more positive sides of placing a rating system, than negative ones.

#9 cmoist

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 01:26 PM

Alright, I can see that too. I'm not overly keen on the ability to leave comments though, especially if they are going to be shown on the website. It seems to me that it would make the site look less professional, where as a star rating would be less obtrusive. Maybe I will go forward with the ability to rate projects, then not show them...of course, this all is contingent on the site actually getting a reasonable amount of traffic!:D
-Christian
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