- Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:32 am
#231869
I've read lots about web usability as I considered starting a web design business several years ago. It wouldn't hurt to pick up a book about web usability to help you along. People are confused easily on the internet, and if any part of your site is confusing, you risk losing customers.
That said, here are some suggestions for you:
1. Since you apologized for the Google ads, I assume you are planning on purchasing a domain for your site. If not, I would suggest you do. Using free hosting for a business suggests that the business isn't very serious, or perhaps not very successful. Besides that, website addresses that are long or have multiple "dots" are hard for people to remember, and if they can't remember your address, you risk losing customers.
2. There are varied opinions about splash pages (the "Click to Enter" page). You can find equal numbers of people who are for them and against them. I'm against them, because extra clicks are likely to turn off viewers, and I don't see any real purpose in them. Telling people "Click to Enter" can be perceived as insulting to some, but omitting that would leave others wondering if your website isn't finished yet. Too risky in my opinion.
3. On your home page, your logo and the name of your business should be displayed prominently in a place that is easy to see. Hiding your logo as a background image while placing the name of your business in a separate place makes it difficult for people to associate the two. Remember, you’re selling a brand, and your business name and logo are part of your brand. They should be together, and the customary place for them is in the upper left corner of your page. To really enhance your brand, give your business a name. Even something as simple as "Tim Ellis Designs" is more professional than "Tim Ellis", and suggests a business more that just a freelance designer.
4. As far as your background, I'd suggest removing your logo from the background entirely. As a continuation of the previous point, if you place your name and logo in the upper left corner of your page, placing it in the background is redundant, and it can be distracting. Also, usability experts agree that white is the best color for the background. Believe it or not, it is very difficult to read white type on a black background.
5. With respect to your copyright information, the format and placement should be consistent on every page. In fact, your basic format overall should be consistent on every page. Business name/logo in the same place, menu in the same place, etc. Start by designing your home page, and then use that as the basis for your other pages.
6. Someone else commented on having a way back to the home page. Why is that important? Remember that people get confused easily on the internet, which can quickly lead to frustration, which can mean lost customers. To illustrate the point, suppose a potential customer found your website, and clicked on "Services" to read about the services you provide. They are interested in contacting you, but they don't see a link to contact information on your page. They might remember seeing a link on your home page, or they might not. Even if they remembered a link on your home page, they might not be savvy enough to figure out how to get back to that page. Again, you risk losing customers.
As an extension of that, a person viewing your website should be able to get to any page from any page. In other words, you should have the same navigation menu on every page. If you want to look really professional, when a person is viewing your home page, the navigation button for the home page shouldn't be active; this would apply to the appropriate navigation button on each page.
I can't stress enough the importance of a consistent navigation system. The images you have on your home page are great, but you really need a consistent navigation system. The navigation is typically found on the left side as a vertical bar, or across the top as a horizontal bar.
7. I wouldn't use flash, or any other cute elements, for your site. Most people use these things because they "look cool," but in most cases, they just distract from the purpose of your website, which is to market the service your business offers. The rule of thumb should be whether flash, or rollover menus, add anything to your site. If they don't drive people to view more of your site, get rid of them. Simple is always better.
8. Some suggestions for your menu items:
i. Instead of "Background", try "About". Background sounds more like information about Tim Ellis, not about the business. Under "Background", I would expect to find information about your schooling, hobbies, etc, while under "About", I would expect to find information about the company. "About" is also more standardized. The link for company information is typically found in the upper right corner.
ii. Instead of "Portfolio", try "Samples", or "Our Work". "Portfolio" suggests a freelance artist, while the others are more suggestive of a business.
iii. Instead of "Contact Tim", try just "Contact". More standardized, and more business like. The link for contact information is typically found in the upper right corner of the page.
iv. Eliminate "Links", unless they are somehow relevant to your business and might help "seal the deal" for potential customers. In the internet's infancy, every website had a page with somebody's favorite websites. For a business, this is unprofessional, and can even be disastrous. Links direct people away from your website, and they might not come back. In fact, if your links are related to the design industry, potential customers might be led to another business. You want potential customers to stay on your website so you can sell them on your services.
v. Eliminate tutorials. Every digital artist with a website has a section on tutorials, and in most cases, it's a bad idea. Potential customers are looking for an artist because either they don't know how to create digital art, or they don't have time to. Either way, they won't have any need or any use for tutorials. Remember, the purpose of your website is to market your business, and anything that does not contribute to that should be eliminated. If you really think you can contribute something by way of tutorials, I'd suggest having a separate site for that.
9. Think about highlighting a client on your home page, if you have any clients with recognizable names. If you don't, highlight one of your services. Think about coding your page so that each time the page is loaded, a different service is highlighted. This gives viewers some information about your company right off the bat.
Really, the hardest part is creating the navigation system and a basic layout. Start there, and then fill in the details. It's similar to making an outline before writing a book.
One final thought, by way of analogy: A website is similar to a book, with the home page analogous to the cover. The cover entices the reader to open the book and read more. Similarly, the home page entices the viewer to read more of the site. The other pages of the site comprise the story, with the ending being a new client.
Hope this is helpful to you, and good luck with your business.
- By choo-chee
- By Mark Bell
- By Forum Moderator