Do you cringe whenever you look at old high school photos?  The big hair, inappropriately short shorts and strange clothing seemed normal at the time.   Well, every web developer and designer who has been around since the beginning of the web has the same reaction when looking back at old projects. 

The field of web design has changed a lot in the last 15 years.  I'm not talking about just the visual style-obviously we're much more stylish and subtle today.  No, the more important lessons are the ones we've learned in the organization and presentation of data within the web site. 

This learning process was evolutionary and is still ongoing.   We've learned what works and what doesn't work by watching user behavior, gathering data through usability studies, traffic analytics and sometimes just dumb luck.  We've tried new things, proclaimed them as THE necessary feature and then slowly backed away when the results weren't as intended.  Web site features that everyone now knows should never be used (blinking text, splash pages, unreadable text on elaborate background patterns, and loud auto-playing music) are items that are now largely banished to the nether regions of MySpace. 

Below are some rules you can use to analyze your current company web site.  Keep in mind that some of these items are geared towards serious, professional companies.  Obviously the rules change if your site is marketing a movie or focusing on entertainment.  If you are running a store with thousands of products things become even more complicated but these rules are a good place to start.

To help point out some problems I've included some of the missteps of a fictional manufacturing company through the years.  Yes, I know the design is bad-that's the point.

Simplify the Navigation

Awww, 1998 on the web.  Isn't it adorable?  We used to think this was cool!  After all, you were on the Information Superhighway!  Vroom!  That 28.8 modem (squeeeeee-squuuuur-boing-boing-chhhhhhhhhhhh) allowed you to download a web page in minutes!  There were literally thousands of web sites and the New Economy was going to extinguish the old one.  The rules had changed!

Right away we see a lot of problems with this site, but we'll just focus on the navigation.  It's confusing.  There are too many items.  It isn't easy to scan and why are there two main menus with duplicate links.  Some of these menu items are complete sentences when they should just be one word. 

A few menu items are vague or don't have the correct meaning.  What is "Downloads"?  Is it music, documents, viruses, or movies?  Do they really want you to "Quote Us" or should it be "Request a Quote"?  Couldn't "A History of the Company" just be "History"?

Generally the main menu should have about seven or fewer main links.  Five is optimal, 15 is too many.  One site we just redesigned had 25 menu items randomly listed in the main navigation-four of those were duplicates in a second main navigation.  After some organization and analysis, we've whittled those 25 navigation items down to 6. 

All the information is still there, but now it is easier for the user to find the correct item to click.  Generally the navigation of a site should be task-oriented.  Who is the company, Why should you do business with them, What does the company do, How do you get in touch with them, and How can you help me?

Are you ready for the first checklist?  (Please use a #2 pencil or black ink)

1. Do you have seven or fewer items on your main navigation?
2. Do you have only one main navigation on your site?
3. Are all your menu items two words or less?
4. Do your menu names make sense to the user?
5. Is your navigation task oriented and logically organized?

Aaaaand, pencils down.  How did you do?  If you answered "no" to any of those questions you might need some help.

Target Your Audience

Look at that-it's 2000 already.  Some of you might now have 56k modems and a lucky few might be waiting for DSL or cable modems to become available in your neighborhood. Y2K was a bust but now you can order fifty pound bags of dog food online with free shipping.  The future of the internet is limitless and nobody ever has to show a profit.

One of the first things we do when creating or redesigning a web site is to figure out the site's intended audience.  In the case of this hypothetical manufacturer we will assume their target audience is a professional aerospace company who will need custom parts to build aircraft.  More specifically, the audience is the person who is the buyer at this aerospace company.  This "Mr. Buyer" is the person who will collect information, request quotes and hopefully give us the eventual contract for this super-special high-tech widget.

So, we've applied some lean principles to the navigation and it actually makes sense now.  What about the content?  Is it really appropriate for your target audience and does it add to their understanding of who you are? In the case of the site above, no it doesn't. 

Your target audience, Mr. Buyer, will be looking at your site from a quiet, professional office environment.  Your choice of cool baroque music that automatically plays when the site opens doesn't impress Mr. Buyer, it makes him leave-quickly.  Then he apologizes to everyone around him and mumbles that he didn't realize his computer speakers were on and that it really was a work-related site he was visiting and that it really wasn't his choice of music-he likes jazz... really.

Thankfully, most people have now realized that business sites should not include a soundtrack.  Complex videos or animation should be used to educate the user, not entertain them.  Subtle animation is ok, but should have a purpose.  Making your site more visually appealing can be a reason, but the animation should also draw the user to relevant information.  If you have video or animation, the user should be able to get an overview without actually watching the thing.  Your users want to be informed, not entertained.  Don't make them watch a long video when a paragraph of text works just as well.

Oh,  and can we please do away with awkward group photos of company employees dressed in similarly colored polo shirts?  These photos are nice for morale, but bluntly-nobody outside your company cares.  Including photos of your employees is a great way to add a personal touch to your site, but make them relevant.  Use photos of your employees in work related situations.   Put those group photos on the wall of your office.  Your employees will appreciate them much more than the anonymous Mr. Buyer.

 So, we've removed that group photo, excised the link to the company softball stats and replaced it with pictures of some of the parts we make, a link to the "stuff we do" and a big ol' button to play a video.  Better, not perfect but we're moving in the right direction. 

We've also added a "Resources for Clients" section which contains fact sheets and repositories of all information and documents Mr. Buyer will need in one place.  If getting your vital information is easy and Mr. Buyer can quickly send his request for a quote he will return for the next quote.  Make his job easy and cater to his needs.

Testing Time (It's like Hammer-time without the parachute pants)

1. Is your site targeted towards the correct audience?
2. Is your site free of auto-playing music and video?
3. Is your site content appropriate to your goal of generating business?
4. Does your site make your target audience's job easier and is your site more useful than the competition?
5. Does your content make sense to your content audience? Is it free of technical jargon and acronyms or do you at least explain their meaning?

Did you answer "no" to anything above?  Yes?  Yes, you answered no, or no you answered them all yes?  Confused?  Yeah, me too.  If you answered "no" to any of the questions above, you've got some ‘splaining to do.  We can help.

Guide the user

You have 30 seconds or less to catch your target user.  Don't waste any of that time.  Remember that most of your visitors will come through your home page, but not all.  Every page of your site should tell the user who you are and why they should engage your services.

Back in the day, before the great oracle of Google, search giants like Yahoo!  used groups of humans to find links to new web sites and then manually included a link to that company's home page in their manually edited directory.  Everyone coming to your site entered through the front page and somewhere, a misguided marketing executive decided to screw things up for everyone by inventing the "Splash Page".

You've  probably seen these before.  A "splash page" is typically a page with nothing but the company logo, a photo or animation and a big button that says "click to continue".  The idea was that you were going to guide the user through the site and this page set the mood.  It was the cover of the book, the façade of your building, the front lobby of your office-it was a total waste of time. 

Some "experts" even suggested adding an "Exit Page" to your site.  Yes, they actually expected people to click on a link to be shown a "thanks for visiting" page before heading out into the wilds of Geocities.  Unfortunately, this nasty little splash page bugger has been almost impossible to eradicate.  Please, just don't do this.

Even web sites which don't have a literal "click to continue" splash page often have just as little information on the home page of their site.   Their home page has just become a splash page with a menu. They don't say anything about their company, what they do or link to the information their target user needs.

The home page of your site should be used to educate and guide the user.  All important information or categories should be accessible with one click from the home page.  You should give the user multiple paths to the important information.  Menus for the browsing user, content links for the reader and in many cases, a search box for the searcher.

Hey, we've moved into 2004ish.  Every surface has that just-waxed shine.  More importantly, this hypothetical company has finally figured things out.  On the home page, they tell their user who they are and why they should be engaged.  The photos are more appropriate to explaining what the company does (the images of parts on their last site didn't make it clear whether they made parts or sold them).  There are quick links to resources for Mr. Buyer and they've even started a blog.

The blog covers relevant company news and achievements.  It gives the Mr. Buyer a reason to come back and hopefully reminds him to request more quotes.  A blog helps to enhance the site's search ranking and provides an opportunity for the company to become a Resource.  They can use the blog to explain their procedures and point out how much better they are than everyone else.  They can educate their users on the company's terms.  The company decides what is important and tells Mr. Buyer why he should agree.

This isn't a very good design, but the structure is OK.

Questions!

1. Does your web site avoid using a "splash page"?
2. Does the home page of your site include links to content useful to your target audience?
3. Does the home page of your site effectively educate the user about your company, what you do and why they should contact you?
4. Do the secondary pages of your site still tell the user who you are and what you do?
5. Do you have a fairly regularly updated blog which you use to educate and inform your users?
6. Do you provide multiple ways for user to find content on your site?-Menu, content links, search.
7. Are your photos appropriate to educating your users?

Did you answer yes to all those questions?  If not, drop us a line.  We can help you redesign your site.

Make the Site Appealing.

Want to know a secret?  Promise you won't tell anyone else?  Perfect, here it is:  Very few people notice how great your web site looks unless you actually ask them.  That's right, most people won't notice how great your web site looks-it's what they expect.  People who have heard of your company know that you are professional.  They know that your product and service is great.  They know that you, yes you, are unusually smart and good looking.  When they go to your web site they expect it to reflect these exceptional properties.

They will notice if your site looks old, outdated or amateurish.  They'll notice if your web site is hard to use.  They'll notice if the information they need is hard to find or if they don't quite understand what you do.  They won't say anything to you, they'll just leave.  They'll go to a competitor who has a site which makes them feel confident.  They'll request a quote from that company who made their job easier.

Exercise!

Remove those leg-warmers, this isn't that kind of exercise.  Take a look at your web site through the eyes of a first-time visitor.  Now, imagine your web site with a huge, world-renowned, well respected company's logo on it.  If you make industrial machinery, put Caterpillar's name up there.  Do you have an online store? Throw Amazon's logo up in the corner.  Create software?  Imagine the Apple or Microsoft logo (whichever way you lean) on your web site.

Ready?  Do you think they did a good job?  Does the site tell you anything about them?  Is it easy to use?  Do the photos say anything other than that they bought a company sign and took a picture of it?  Is the site modern looking, design appropriate and engaging?  Is the navigation intuitive and does it use terms appropriate to their audience?

Is their business explained properly on every page?  If they have a vague block of text filled with buzzwords like "Quality, Excellence, Service and Security", does that tell you anything about what they actually do?  Everybody wants those four things, but what does it mean?  That phrase could mean they provide mall security guards, operate a federal prison, create military systems or just have friendly employees who sell Star Trek memorabilia.  Be specific.

Does your site portray you the way you want to be portrayed?  If you've decided to use a generic web site template, be prepared to be thought of as a generic company.  If it is obvious that your site wasn't created by a professional, what does that say about your product?

Finally, pay attention to the details.  In the web site mockups above you might notice that the word "Quality" is spelled incorrectly.  This is ironically funny, but you would be surprised how often a paragraph about "quality product and careful inspection techniques" contains spelling or grammatical errors.  Murphy is hard at work here.

When your customers visit your site, they are visiting your business.  When you know an important client is visiting your office, you make sure everything is organized and that you are portrayed in the best possible way.  Treat your online office the same way. 

If you are ready to fix up that old site or create a new one, let us know.  We're happy to help.