Web Templates & Web Design Blog

Issue:

What pitfalls should companies avoid on their Web, Intranet or portal home pages?

Response:

The home page of a Web site, Intranet or portal is the most important page. It should tell site visitors, what they can do precisely deeper in the site or at least inform them, what they may be able to expect. However, in most cases, the home page is just a compromise to satisfy internal politics and neglecting site visitors’ needs. To set up an effective home page that matches corporate objectives and user’s expectations the following pitfalls should be avoided:
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If you’re in the market for a new website, one of the first things you’ll need to do is hire a web designer. As in any field, there are good web designer and bad web designers, and it’s important to know how to determine which is which. Here are 5 tips to get you started:

1. Don’t judge a designer’s skill solely on graphic design skills.

Just like you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a web designer based on his or her graphic design skills alone. While graphic design is important, attractive images are not the most significant determinant of good design. In fact, they are a comparatively small part of what makes a good website.
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Whenever singer John Mayer sings his romantic song, “Your Body is a Wonderland”, I can’t help but think of web sites and usability. As a usability consultant, I see the devotion to his lover, and the time he spent uncovering every detail of her being, as the way most web site designers think we approach their web sites. When the lyrics arrive at “Take all your big plans; And break ‘em; This is bound to be a while”, I start giggling. It makes me think of Amazon.com. I’ll explain why.
Do You Have Three Hours To Browse?

Amazon’s jigsaw puzzle-like homepage greets me personally by name, which is smooth talking salesmanship. We’ve obviously “met” before. It has “recommendations” for me. There’s a nifty advertisement that unfolds like those movie screens in school auditoriums where you know you’re about to see something either cool, or gross, in front of all your friends. This ad doesn’t tell me what I should do to get it to go away. When I click it, I’m instantly taken inside the web site to a targeted area. There’s my Gold Box, and my Wish List, and 15,459 links to things I might want to buy. All this is displayed in the first few seconds of my arrival.
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You have a flourishing business - everything is in its place. You just miss one important piece of marketing: an Internet Presence a website. Like everything in business, getting a website needs planning. Getting an effective website needs even more planning.

Here are some basic things to know and plan:
The WWW

What is the www or the internet? Basically a network of websites from all over the world you can access via your computer for which you need an internet connection and a browser. Internet connections are available from ISPs, and most of the popular browsers are free downloads from the internet. Just like writing/typing an address on a postal envelope, you type the website address in the browser beginning with http://www. and ending with either .com, .net, .org, .biz, .nz, .uk, etc. So if you want to access the microsoft website, you would type http://www.microsoft.com in the browser and hey, presto! You get all the information about microsoft and its products on your browser. Just click on the available links and you are on your way.
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In the past few weeks, I’ve become increasingly aware of a major problem among websites: It’s very difficult to figure out what the site is actually selling.

I’ve encountered this problem numerous times recently due to emails from people asking for advice on their websites. Unfortunately, when I visit their site, I can’t tell what kind of product or service they are offering. I can usually get a general idea of their industry, and I can figure out at least some features of the product or service. However, there have been multiple instances where I can’t get a concrete grasp of what the product IS.
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Not too long ago, a client asked me to create a new design for his company’s home page. As I was getting ready to work on the design, I asked my client what the homepage needed to accomplish. In other words, what were the page’s primary goals? What did the company want clients to do when they got to the home page?

The response was simple. Essentially, the company wanted me to design the site so that visitors would be able to find what they were looking for.

Interesting answer. In other words, their primary goal is for visitors to be able to locate what they are searching for, without defining specific goals for what the company wants visitors to do once the arrive at the home page. Their response implied that there is a conflict between designing a goal-oriented site and designing around visitors’ needs.
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Everyone who has a website struggles at one time or another with how to improve their home page. Although many visitors enter through pages deeper in your site, your home page is often a visitor’s first introduction to your company or organization. For that reason, it’s important to start off on the right foot.

Here are three easy ways to improve your home page:

1. Focus

If you have a large site with a fair amount of information, there is a strong tendency for the home page to become unfocused and cluttered. The temptation is to try to say everything that needs to be said all at once. This often leads to a smorgasbord of links, announcements, special offers, or ads.
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It’s been three and a half years since my brother and I first launched our web design business in 2000. I admit that we were pretty primitive back then, and it’s a bit scary to go back and look at the very first sites I created.

I’m thankful to say, though, that I’ve learned a tremendous amount since that time. Here are the top 7 things I wish I had known when I started:

1. Reading is incredibly valuable.
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Designing a Web site can be a time consuming and often complicated task. Even if you have a general idea or a vision for your site, there are many details that will need your attention before the project is completed. How in the world do you keep up with it all?

We suggest that you start a journal that will contain your thoughts, notes, and ideas for your Web site design. You can use a standard manila file folder and loose-leaf paper or you may want to create a folder on your computer and use a text editor such as Microsoft Word for your pages. Label your folder “My Web Site”. You will need six pages. Label each page as follows:

1. Purpose and Goals
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It would appear that many business owners just aren’t getting it when it comes to Web design. It has been proven over and over again that Web surfers prefer certain things when visiting sites. The list below is short, sweet and to-the-point. It will help to guide you as you design, or redesign, your site for maximum effectiveness.

Content -

# DON’T write copy that is focused on your company. Place emphasis on how buying your product or service will benefit your visitor. Use the word YOU (referring to your visitor) instead of WE or US.
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