I'm sure at some point you've experienced great frustration when visiting a web site. We've all had that experience, unfortunately more than once. Either the information is buried somewhere in the web site and you can't find it, or the navigation is so befuddling that you need a sherpa to help you get anywhere in the site, or you're just plain confused.
Any of those scenarios will cause you to leave the web site in search of one that is easier to navigate and find what you're looking for. Why does this happen? How could the web site owners let it happen? Designers and web site owners are often guilty of building web sites that serve themselves and not their target audiences. They know how to look for and find information because they have intimate knowledge of how everything is structured on the site. They use terminology that they are very familiar with, even acronyms.
What they fail to remember is that their target audiences may not have any clue about the terminology or the thought process being used to structure the content of the web site. You have to assume people visiting your web site know nothing about you or how to use your web site. Make the navigation plain enough that a 5th Grader could easily use it.
So the answer to the question, "Is your web site smarter than a 5th Grader?", should be 'no'. Keep your navigation and text simple enough that any layperson without industry knowledge can understand who you are, and what your unique value proposition is. Don't over-complicate your products and/or services so few may understand them. Your web visitors must know that you can either help them solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity.
Oh, and if you want to 'emotionally connect' with your web site visitors, invest in high quality graphic design and leave the clipart where it belongs: in bad PowerPoint presentations.
Any of those scenarios will cause you to leave the web site in search of one that is easier to navigate and find what you're looking for. Why does this happen? How could the web site owners let it happen? Designers and web site owners are often guilty of building web sites that serve themselves and not their target audiences. They know how to look for and find information because they have intimate knowledge of how everything is structured on the site. They use terminology that they are very familiar with, even acronyms.
What they fail to remember is that their target audiences may not have any clue about the terminology or the thought process being used to structure the content of the web site. You have to assume people visiting your web site know nothing about you or how to use your web site. Make the navigation plain enough that a 5th Grader could easily use it.
So the answer to the question, "Is your web site smarter than a 5th Grader?", should be 'no'. Keep your navigation and text simple enough that any layperson without industry knowledge can understand who you are, and what your unique value proposition is. Don't over-complicate your products and/or services so few may understand them. Your web visitors must know that you can either help them solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity.
Oh, and if you want to 'emotionally connect' with your web site visitors, invest in high quality graphic design and leave the clipart where it belongs: in bad PowerPoint presentations.
0 comments:
Post a Comment