[Morr]

The videos are great. Also, webmaster central has a ton of great info.

However, I interact with a lot of customers who seem put off by webmaster central. It seems to be a very outdated interface. I understand it's important to be clear and concise when explaining these issues. But if you look around the web 2.0 world at people providing similar information there's a harsh contrast.

Put simply, webmaster central is small text with a dark appearance and little or no graphics. In my experience and testing this harbors a mentality of "This is too complex". Users seem to encounter long wordy pages with no graphics and convinced themselves it's beyond them, before they begin to read.

Making a page lighter and throwing in a few visual aids goes a long way in curbing this issue, as well as making the information easier to understand and more fun to read.

It seems like a small thing, but it scales to become overwhelming when you consider that most people who encounter a page like this and dismiss it at a glance start looking for an email us link or a contact phone number.

This is my experience anyway. Perhaps your results may vary.

[Matt_Cutts]

Morr, thanks for the feedback--I'm talking to that team in 45 minutes, and I'll pass on the advice. The webmaster console has evolved a lot through the years, but I'd be the first to admit that it's a lot of info on a relatively small amount of pages. Lately the philosophy has moved more toward "Let's try to set up the tools to solve the most common questions or problems that come up." That could work better than a passive panel of information that doesn't tell you what to do about all the info you see.

The idea is still percolating, but I think it's got a lot of potential.