Other Miscellaneous Superman Stuff
Superman Homepage 2012 Survey Results
By Steve YounisMany consider this website to be the number one Superman website on the Internet, and we're proud of that title. But we're not resting on our laurels, we want to continually improve this site and ensure that it's meeting your expectations.
So, in an effort to stay in touch with what it is you want, we set up the huge "Superman Homepage 2012 Survey" to gauge what you like and dislike about this website, how you think we're doing, and where you think we can improve.
Below are the results, which include a commentary from me in response to many of the comments and suggestions sent in via the Survey.
How would you rate the Superman Homepage website overall?
In 2010 64% of you thought the website was Excellent. I'm happy to see that number has risen by 2% in 2012.
| Excellent! | 66% |
| Good | 31% |
| Average | 3% |
| Bad | 0% |
| Horrible! | 0% |
How would you rate the Superman Homepage website's default theme design and layout?
As a Web Designer by profession, I'm always very conscious about the look and feel of the website. As in 2010, the majority of you think the website looks good. I'm hoping the new design I'll be launching this week will make you just as pleased, if not more so.
| Excellent! | 34% |
| Good | 50% |
| Average | 13% |
| Bad | 2% |
| Horrible! | 1% |
How would you rate the Superman Homepage website content and information?
Very similar ratings to what we received two years ago, with a percentage increase in the "Excellent" votes.
| Excellent! | 73% |
| Good | 23% |
| Average | 4% |
| Bad | 0% |
| Horrible! | 0% |
Which section of the Superman Homepage website is your favorite?
The "Home/News" pages are once again the favorite section, jumping 8% on its 2010 numbers.
| Home/News | 80% |
| Comics | 9% |
| Movies | 6% |
| Television | 2% |
| Multimedia | 1% |
| Images | 1% |
| Inter-Action | 1% |
| Online Shop | 0% |
| Radio/Music | 0% |
| Other | 0% |
| Links | 0% |
Which interactive feature of the Superman Homepage is your favorite?
Interestingly the Member Polls replaced the News Comments as the most popular interactive feature in comparison to our 2010 Survey.
| Polls | 41% |
| News comments | 36% |
| Message Board/Forum | 16% |
| Chat Room | 4% |
| Virtual Postcards | 2% |
| Guestmap | 1% |
| Private Messages | 0% |
Which of the following features of the Superman Homepage is your favorite?
Nice to see that the hard work that goes into a lot of these features is being almost evenly enjoyed across the board.
| Speeding Bulletin | 24% |
| Big Blue Report newsletter | 19% |
| Radio KAL podcast | 16% |
| Radio KAL Live! | 15% |
| Caption Contest | 15% |
| SuperTrivia Quiz | 11% |
| "Ask Matt" Fan Forum | 0% |
What is the worst thing about the Superman Homepage website?
I understand they can be annoying, but the Banner Ads are a necessary evil. They help pay for the costs of running a dedicated server to host such a large and high-trafficked website. It's either Banner Ads or a paid subscription...
| Banner Ads | 42% |
| Layout/Design | 18% |
| It loads too slowly | 14% |
| Other members | 12% |
| Online Shop | 5% |
| Reviews | 4% |
| News | 3% |
| Admins/Moderators | 2% |
Would you like to see more Spoilers on the Superman Homepage website?
Almost half of you would like to see more Spoilers on the site. We'll play it safe and continue to provide as many Spoilers as we can find, while protecting those who want to remain Spoiler free with plenty of warnings.
| Yes | 48% |
| No | 19% |
| I don't care either way | 18% |
| Unsure/Undecided | 15% |
Which one of the following ideas would you most like to see more of on the Superman Homepage website?
More interviews it is. We'll make more of an effort moving forward to bring you exclusive interviews where possible.
| More interviews | 31% | More news | 26% |
| More images | 11% |
| More reviews | 10% |
| More downloads | 7% |
| More interactive features | 6% |
| More games/puzzles | 5% |
| More products to buy | 4% |
How often do you visit the Superman Homepage website?
Good to see that the majority of you visit the site once a day, if not more.
| Once a day | 36% |
| More than once a day | 26% |
| A few times a week | 21% |
| Once a week | 8% |
| Once per month | 5% |
| Once a fortnight | 3% |
| Once every few months | 1% |
Do you use the Superman Homepage "Search" facility?
Due to the fact that the majority of your don't use the Search facility on the site, I've shifted its position to a more prominent place at the top right area of the site. Hopefully you'll find it useful.
| No | 73% |
| Yes | 27% |
Do you find the Superman Homepage easy to navigate around?
Similar to 2010, almost all of you have no trouble getting around the website... Which is really great to know!
| Yes | 93% |
| No | 7% |
Please indicate how much you agree with the following statement: "The Superman Homepage is the Number 1 Superman website in the world"
Up 4% on our 2010 result, it's REALLY heart-warming to see that 85% of you strongly agree that the Superman Homepage is the best Superman website around.
| Strongly agree | 85% |
| Slightly agree | 7% |
| Neither agree or disagree | 7% |
| Slightly disagree | 1% |
| Strongly disagree | 0% |
Which of the following statements best fits your feelings about the Superman Homepage?
Over 90% of you think the site's quality has either remained the same or improved over the past couple of years. Glad we're still meeting your expectations.
| Its quality has improved over the past few years | 54% |
| Its quality has remained the same over the past few years | 37% |
| I don't know I only just started visiting this site within the last year | 8% |
| Its quality has declined over the past few years | 1% |
Is the Superman Homepage a friendly environment to visit?
Up 8% on 2010's results, it's good to see the site continues to be a friendly place to visit.
| Yes, and it keeps getting friendlier | 82% |
| Yes, but it used to be friendlier | 15% |
| No, it used to be friendlier | 2% |
| No, it's always been unfriendly | 1% |
In regards to our reviews of the main Superman comic books, which do you prefer?
There's not much in it, but it seems you guys and girls would prefer us to alternate our reviewers from issue to issue. I'll discuss it with the Mild Mannered Reviewing team, and see what we can come up with for you.
| Alternating reviewers to receive more than one perspective | 58% |
| The current system of a single reviewer who reviews the one title from month to month | 42% |
SURVEY COMMENTS RESPONSES:
We received mostly positive comments and praise in the feedback section of the Superman Homepage 2012 Survey. It's great to know that the majority of visitors are happy with the way we're running the website.Obviously you can't please all the people all the time, and no website is ever going to be considered perfect. I created the 2012 Survey to get both positive and negative feedback, to gauge our performance, gain insight into what was and what wasn't working, and hopefully improve the site even further. Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey.
As you'll see below, I've responded to many of the anonymous comments submitted in the 2012 Survey, answering questions and taking suggestions. There were a few comments with similar messages, so if you don't see a comment you submitted, there's likely one that had similar sentiments to which I've replied.
Comment: I've been a visitor to the Superman Homepage for over nine years now, and it has always been my number 1 source for Superman news. Even when the Superman Returns movie chose another, now defunct, site to post its latest info on, I looked for my Superman news here. I think Steve does an amazing job of spreading the news on all things Superman, and hope he enjoys bring us this site as much as I enjoy being able to view it. Thanks Steve!
Response: You're too kind! Thanks for the kind praise. It's much appreciated.
Comment: My web experience would be greatly worsened without this webpage. I have read Superman for over 50 years, you guys get the job done, I always come to your site first for Superman, Justice League information!!! Please don't go!!!
Response: We've been here since 1994, and we plan to stick around for many years to come.
Comment: I love the site, and have done so for many years. However there are afew members that seem to ruin the experience from time to time by trolling or forcing their opinion onto you on the comments section of articles. There are those that like the current state and direction of the comics, and those that don't, same goes for the Superman suit, those that prefer the traditional to those that like the new armor look. But there doesn't seem to be a common ground amongst members, and at times you can get slammed because you disagree with someone. Maybe more monitoring of the comments could resolve this, but that would take alot of effort from the already hard working mods. It is a tough situation, but the mods and Steve do do a great job. Also to no fault of the site or Steve, I feel that DC/WB need to realise just what a great asset the site really is. And use it more often for promotions, previews, fan interaction and interviews.
Response: Moderating can be a difficult job. It's hard to know where to draw the line between allowing people to have an opinion, and stopping people from being overly negative. And I'm with you on the whole DC/WB thing. We've been trying to years to work closer with them... and we'll keep trying.
Comment: I like how detailed the site is, as well as some of the insightful reviews. I'm always interested to see what's made the news on the front page. Plus, I love just being able to come and view a website built for people who love the Man of Steel! Keep up the good work!
Response: Thanks!
Comment: The only thing I would like is more coverage of "Smallville: Season 11". It seems like since it's now a comic its barely metioned anymore.
Response: Not sure what more we can do to cover it beyond reviewing each chapter as it's released. We also recently conducted an exclusive interview with writer Brian Q. Miller. Suggestions?
Comment: Not sure of your connections with folks at WB, Snyder, Nolan, DC Comics, etc but I would love to see an opportunity for us, members of Superman Homepage, to post questions that would have an opportunity to be answered by these people (especially those connected with the Man of Steel movie). I see great growth because I feel things are really looking up for Superman. I would hope that the WB and DC Comics would see this as well since this truly is the greatest Superman website on the planet!!! Honestly, I love checking this site out everyday. You keep me informed and I feel like I never miss a thing as it pertains to Superman. Thank you and keep up the great work. Come on 2013!!!!
Response: As a fan site we have good connections with Warner Bros. Although the movie people keep things very close to their chest. Perhaps once the film pushes towards its release we can get some more involvement from them. We'll keep pushing for it on our end.
Comment: Overall great website. I think it just needs a modern design, something fresh.
Response: Look for a new design to be launched this week!
Comment: The site is the best site for Superman news and I love the content and its focus. I like the way you report ALL Superman news, every day there's always something new to read. It's the first site I visit every day whether I'm using the iPhone app on the way into work or the the website when I'm in the office. You mentioned the message boards and members in the survey and my opinion is that most are nice, some are a little lacking in the human qualities you'd expect from a Superman fan but the way you currently handle things is good and I wouldn't change your current approach.
Response: Thanks! We try to stay on top of it all.
Comment: Please try to improve sound quality of Radio KAL broadcast.
Response: Thanks for the feedback. I'll look into the sound quality issue. It's a tricky thing juggling download size vs. bit rate for sound quality.
Comment: The mobile version of the site isn't as good as it could be - it's more of a digest of recent stories without images. Perhaps I should download the app instead?
Response: Yes, definitely download the iPhone app. It's free! We're also looking at producing a professionally created Android app in 2013.
Comment: There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to when old shows are reviewed. For example "Lois and Clark" is being reviewed currently and I like to read those. My issue is that at first they were coming once a week but now are so scattered you never know when you will see the next one. I have seen this on other shows that are reviewed later.
Response: We're at the mercy of the kind people who volunteer to write these reviews and the schedule they're able to maintain amongst everything else they've got going on in their own busy lives.
Comment: A 38 part series on the new movie is a little excessive.
Response: That's not our series. It's published by Movies.com. However it is written by our own Jeffrey Taylor. But still, I don't think you can ever have too much Superman.
Comment: I have been visiting this site since the 90's but only within the past few years have I become and active member, making comments in the comment section and that type of thing. I normally do not like making comments because too often people in these comic book communities are rather mean but I feel this community has been very good. Every once in a while you see a negative/mean comment but that is not the norm. Thank you Steve for making this a place that I look forward to visiting every day!
Response: Glad your experience has been a good one... and thank you for sticking with us for so many years!
Comment: I love the user poll but often miss it as it is located too far down on the page. It should be at or near the top. I love the reviews and love the coverage. I'd like more reviews that are not necessarily superman oriented, but related to his part in the DCU, books like Earth 2 and World's Finest, as well as some of the other DC books.
Response: I'm going to try and make the weekly polls more prominent, since they're such a popular feature. I do announce them on Twitter each week, and have started to mention them in the "Speeding Bulletin" video reports. As for reviewing non-Superman comic books... We're the Superman Homepage, not the DC Universe Homepage, so we've always focused on the books that are most closely related to the Superman family of characters.
Comment: I love the site! I come on about once a day, about 4-5 times a week. Can't get enough Superman related news and nothing else I've found beats this site. I know it's an annoying complaint, and really it's not a full on complaint, just nit picking, but I wish the comic reviews came out quicker. I had mentioned this once before and was told that the reviewers have jobs, lives etc., which is all fine and good and I understand that. But lately it seems to take longer than it used to.
Response: Agreed, and I've taken steps to ensure the turn around time between when a comic book is released and when our review of it is posted on the site is as short as possible. However we've always had the policy of ensuring that fans have the opportunity to read the book for themselves first before posting our review, to ensure that we can have lively debates on each issue as our review is posted. We aim to have reviews posted on the site by Monday at the latest is possible, to allow people to read their comics over the weekend (including our reviewers, who, like you, are just regular fans).
Comment: I wish the superman homepage had more exclusive news. I fin lately that when reading other comic book sites I see the same news or info there as I do the superman homepage. I enjoy checking the superman homepage for the latest news and it seems since smallville went off the air I see less and less news stories everyday.
Response: We can't create news, we can only report on news when it happens.
Comment: A trivial thing really (and not sure if it can be done) - 'like' or 'dislike' buttons for entries and comments. This could also be a good feedback tool for the site. Hope you're well Steve - keep flying the colors!
Response: It's not something that's currently built into the Content Management System the site is built on, but I'll request it to the programmers to see if this is something they can incorporate into a future release.
Comment: Steve, your site is the FIRST site I visit every day. Before the news, before email, I come here. You get it ALL right and maintain a perfect environment of news, friendship and entertainment. Don't change a thing!
Response: Thanks! Much appreciated!
Comment: I would like it to be easier to find the Radio KAL forms for the big question and sound byte.
Response: SupermanHomepage.com/radio is the address for all the Radio KAL forms. I'll try mention it more often on the actual show.
Comment: I think it would be a great idea for you to have video clips of the various Superman cartoons, tv shows, movies, and fan films. I've not seen this feature on, so if there is one like this disregard the suggestion, but if there is and I haven't seen it I may be using the "search" option after all.
Response: Check the MULTIMEDIA section. Lots of videos and sound files there for you to check out.
Comment: I do love the job Scotty V does on Great Scott, and Radio Kal. He's a real down to earth guy and I enjoy talking about things covered in both Great Scott, and Radio Kal, and all things Superman and things that aren't about Superman. Also like the Speeding Bulletin and other videos on the site.
Comment: I don't use all of the site (I'm not a very social person), but the news, reviews, and *especially* the comic book index lists are invaluable to me and I keep coming back to them. The index is indispensable and I don't know of anyone else who has such a useful list. And even though I don't use the social features much, the Big Blue Report is written written so friendly-ly (?) that I feel like I'm part of the group, and I always smile when I see it in my email reader. On top of all that, the Superman Homepage FEELS like Superman to me, like it's (successfully!) upholding an ideal, and that makes a difference. Thanks, as always. I can't think of another website that I've been visiting consistently since the year ~2000.
Response: Glad you're finding the Comic Index list useful. It's a chore to update each week, but it's been in place since 1994, and is definitely something I'm proud to have kept updated over so many years.
Comment: Both Steve and Scott do an excellent job of presenting 'The Speeding Bulletin' and this is, for me, the main reason for coming to the website other than the latest news features. Since I started visiting at the beginning of last year I haven't missed a single episode of TSB and the team that put it together should be congratulated for both the high quality production values and also presentation. The only thing I would say is to Scotty - please don't play music when you're talking as its very distracting! I want to hear what you have to say and having Chesney Hawkes on (or whoever!) in the background sometimes makes it difficult to listen to you. Other than that you do an excellent job of coming up with an interesting topic each week. While I do not take an active role in message boards and comments, I just wanted to say thankyou for the job that you all do and let you know it's appreciated.
Response: Thanks for the feedback!
Comment: I always seem to have difficulty logging in to make comments, but that's probably my fault.
Response: You can now use your Facebook account to log in/register. Just use the "Connect with Facebook" button and you're in.
Comment: First of all, Thank you for considering my feedback. The only gripe I have would be to see a better consistency with the Caption Contest - sometimes we go a few months with out one. I check the site daily and read what ever you got for me, but there is a rush of pure excitement when I see a new caption contest posted. Love the site though. Thanks for "bringing fire to the people"
Response: Sadly Jeffrey Taylor has had less and less time to update the Caption Contest. Hopefully we can either get someone to give him a hand to update it on a more regular basis.
Comment: I would love to see the Podcast allow for other fans to contribute via voice mail or letters that are answered. :)
Response: We're always happy to hear from fans and have them contribute to the podcast. The "Big Question" segment is designed for fan interaction and a number of our regular listeners send in audio answers.
Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the Superman Homepage 2012 Survey. We've received some great feedback, and will attempt to use this feedback to further improve the website.
Steve Younis