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Welcome to the 2009

Website Management Conference Online Series!

Today’s seminar is titled, “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”

To register for the entire Website Management Conference Online series, please visit

http://www.websitemanagementconference.com/forms.aspx?fid=43

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Identifying Problems with Your Website Learn to identify common problems associated with developing or maintaining a website.

Deb McNew

Why Users Struggle Bad or Hard to Find Search Menu Structure Design Workflow ContentSource: Prioritizing Web Usability by Nielsen and Loranger

Union, KY home page

Cloverdale, CA home page

Make the Search obvious

Use a simple search

Do not offer Advanced options until after initial search

Google Search Results

Search Results from Areas of Site?

Menu Structure Navigation Options

Location of navigation Combination Consider your audience What about my organizational chart?

Things to avoid in your navigation Jargon Acronyms Large .pdf documents

Navigation Concerns – Compliance

Quick Test. Put your cursor in the address bar and TAB to a menu. Can you get to the levels below? Does it allow you to click to the next level?

Navigation Concerns – Explorer style Run out of space with

multiple levels Submenus that open

below the fold are overlooked.

Difficult to realize when I click on a link and then have to scroll up to review my content and back down to find the next link

Screen readers would have to read all levels of this type of menu

Name of City removed

Content Area Here

------------------------------ (fold on a 1024X768 display)

Navigation Concerns – Lack of… Denver’s old website

Overheard…

“Why do you need navigation, everyone uses the Search”

Overall Design Flow of the visitor’s eye Almost always end up in the middle Professionally designed Consistent Establishing structure

Where am I? What will I find? Where is the information I am looking

for?

Charleston School District HomepageWhat image does this portray?

Cumberland County, PA HomepageWhat image does this portray?

Charleston School District HomepageWhat image does this portray?

Cumberland County, PA HomepageWhat image does this portray?

Content Keep it short Use proper formatting for the web Be sure processes can be completed

to their fullest extent What do people really care about?

Mission statement? “Happy talk”?

Use simple language Cut, Cut, and Cut your text

Keep it Simple

Or Not?

How to Quickly Reduce the Effectiveness of Your Website Dead End people

Provide incomplete answers Make them look for contact information Assume everyone knows what you do Lots of Warm, Fuzzy talk Intimidate people with lots and lots of

text

What is wrong with these questions?

Don’t Create a “DEAD END”

Basic Text Rules

Left justify text Use bullets Use blocks of text less than 100

words Use columns to break up long

paragraphs Don’t use all caps Be VERY consistent in font styles

Basic Content Rules

Web content should be HALF of printed content

23% of visitors scrolled the first time they visited the Home page1

14% of visitors scrolled on internal pages1

Website visitors rely on visual cues instead of reading

1 Prioritizing Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen

Content

Reformatted Content

Reformatted for the Web Cut text Added bullets for lists Pulled phone number

to separate area Increased the size of

the Blue text Made a larger box

Content

Reformatted Content

Review Keep it simple Information is the King Navigation is the Queen Site Search is the Prince Prioritize your biggest issues and

work on those

Let’s look over a couple of sites Maple Grove, MN

http://www.ci.maple-grove.mn.us

Cedar Hill, TX http://www.cedarhilltx.com

Thanks for attending!

To register for the entire Website Management Conference Online series, please visit

http://www.websitemanagementconference.com/forms.aspx?fid=43

To view the remaining online seminars, please visit

http://www.websitemanagementconference.com/index.aspx?nid=74