JDate is one of the most popular niche dating sites on the planet.  I guess being big and popular also means not really having to care about what you look like!  JDate hasn't really touched it's design for a long time.  A few days ago my good friend Said Amin of NicheClick made me aware of a freshly designed JDate.  When I saw the forwarded JDate invitation, I was hopeful of a wonderful redesign.  When I got there and went through the painstakingly long sign-up process, I found myself in busy city of buttons, faces and boxes.

Here is a breakdown of how I feel about the new JDate Design.

1.  Identity

Having designed over a hundred dating icons and logos, I'm no fan of this lackluster logo.  I'm not jewish, but I don't think breaking any kind of religious symbol is a good sign (I could be wrong).  The Tri-color logo tends to be watered down and weak.  The usage on the site is underwhelming.  No matter how bad your identity, it should be somewhat visible.

2.  Floating 4th Navigation

After we've gotten over the identity we run into this random navigation bar.  What's it doing here?  Standard placement of this type of navigation is top right hand corner of the site.  The reason is that the content is not as important as what's on the page.  I shouldn't have to trip over the help & advice button to get to my Primary navigation.

3.  Primary Navigation

The primary navigation is done well.  It's not clunky and there is room for more if needed.  I feel it needs to be a tad bigger so it can show it's hierarchy when compared to the secondary Navi.

4.  Secondary Navigation

I like the tab styling with the arrows pointing down.  But if you are not paid member, the arrows point down to a clumsy "call to action" bar.  We haven't gotten past the header of the site and we've tripped over 2 thought stopping design elements.  Not a good sign! Should I keep going??  This is painful.

5.  Member Spotlight

The only thing that's a spotlight here is that eyesore of an ad next to it.  The box is not anchored and looks like a complete after thought.  The challenge in designing websites is to work well with programmers to come up with a solution that's both functional and visually sound.  I think the programmers won this battle.

 6.  Terciary Navigation

The tabs are a great solution when working on terciary navigation, but a style change half way through the site is unacceptable.  There is no rounded corners on the site up to now, a sign that it's a bit too late to introduce a new style.  I think if you are going to use tabs, the area you are pointing to should be highlighted somehow.  The tabs seem to float and not anchor to a new section.

7.  Your Matches

This area of boxes galore seems unfinished.  The boxes seem too big for the content they are carrying.  I'm all for white space, but in the right place.  Much of that white space could have been used in between the boxes to create a nice buffer.  Tightening up the boxes with a wonderful design solution would impact the site greatly.

Recommendations

If you are going to redesign, then do a redesign.  Do a study and research the marketplace.  Times are changing and there is tons of information out there about usability and user experience.  

1.  I would start form scratch.  Come up with a compelling identity that captures the jewish soul on a deeper level.

2.  Apply that same passion to creating a well developed site with your new brand elements.

3.  Stop tripping your user with clunky navigation and call to action banners.  You'll get a more appealing response if you are not in your users face about signing up all the time.

4.  Work with the right professionals for each section.  Don't use your user interface/graphic design guy to do your user experience architecture.  There are guys out there with the right expertise and you can't afford not to use them.

5.  Don't fool your users into thinking you have redesigned the site, when you have just polished the old one.

Conclusion

I'm not impressed.  I would have loved to see a great re-design.  What disappoints me most is that JDate probably has the talent and money it takes to do great things.  How do you fall short when you have everything you need in your reach.  I'm always open to hear your opinion, so please comment!