Make the Site's Purpose Clear: Explain Who You Are and What You Do
1. Include a One-Sentence Tagline
Start the page with a tagline that summarizes what the site or
company does, especially if you're new or less than famous. Even well-known
companies presumably hope to attract new customers and should tell first-time
visitors about the site's purpose. It is especially important to have a good
tagline if your company's general marketing slogan is bland and fails to tell
users what they'll gain from visiting the site.
2. Write a Window Title with Good Visibility in Search Engines and Bookmark Lists
Begin the TITLE tag with the company name, followed by a
brief description of the site. Don't start with words like "The" or
"Welcome to" unless you want to be alphabetized under "T"
or "W."
3. Group all Corporate Information in One Distinct Area
Finding out about the company is
rarely a user's first task, but sometimes people do need details about who you
are. Good corporate information is especially important if the site hopes to
support recruiting, investor relations, but
it can also serve to increase a new or lesser-known company's credibility.
An " About "
section is the best way to link users to more in-depth information than can be
presented on the homepage. (See also my report with 70 guidelines for
the design of "about us" areas of corporate websites.)
Help Users Find What They Need
4. Emphasize the Site's Top High-Priority Tasks
Your homepage should offer users
a clear starting point for the main 1–4 tasks they'll undertake when visiting
your site.
5. Include a Search Input Box
Search is an important part of any big
website. When users want to search, they typically scan the homepage looking
for "the little box where I can type," so your search should be a box. [Make your search box at least 25
characters wide,] so it can
accommodate multiple words without obscuring parts of the user's query.
(Update: Based on more recent
findings, my recommendation is now to make the search box 27
characters wide. This and other new guidelines are covered in
our course on Top Web UX Design
Guidelines at the
annual Usability Week
conference.)
Reveal Site Content
6. Show Examples of Real Site Content
Don't just describe what lies
beneath the homepage. Specifics beat abstractions, and you have good stuff.
Show some of your best or most recent content.
7. Begin Link Names with the Most Important Keyword
Users scan down the page, trying
to find the area that will serve their current goal. Links
are the action items on
a homepage, and when you start each link with a relevant word, you make it
easier for scanning eyes to differentiate it from other links on the page. A
common violation of this guideline is to start all links with the company name,
which adds little value and impairs users' ability to quickly find what they
need.
8. Offer Easy Access to Recent Homepage Features
Users will often remember
articles, products, or promotions that were featured prominently on the
homepage, but they won't know how to find them once you move the features
inside the site. To help users locate key items, keep a short list of recent
features on the homepage, and supplement it with a link to a permanent archive
of all other homepage features.
Use Visual Design to Enhance, not Define, Interaction Design
9. Don't Over-Format Critical Content, Such as Navigation Areas
You might think that important
homepage items require elaborate illustrations, boxes, and colors. However, users
often as ads, and focus on
the parts of the homepage that look more likely to be useful.
10. Use Meaningful Graphics
Don't just decorate the page with
stock art. Images are powerful communicators when they show items of interest
to users, but will backfire if they seem frivolous or irrelevant. For example,
it's almost always best to show photos of real people actually connected to the
topic, rather than pictures of models.
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