I love this diagram ‘explaining’ the well-known Apple logo. On the surface, the logo seems so simple, right? But the diagram below shows that a lot of thought went into it. Unseen thought. Unseen planning. The same kind of thought, the same kind of planning, needs to happen on your website.
Assuming by now that you’ve checked over your site from your readers’ point of view, and that your navigation makes as much sense as it possibly can, let’s look at the clarity of each page, shall we? Because really, clarity is key. And by ‘information’, I don’t just mean your text, but your images as well. Let’s look at images first.
1. A picture ‘tells a thousand words’
I’m sure you’ve all heard that one. And it’s pretty true, right?! So if you want your visitors to remain on your website, looking for the information they need, enhance the look of EACH PAGE by adding a good quality image that relates to the text of that page. It’s going to be worth it to pay a photographer, and get your business a ‘branding photo’ library. If you’re planning on retaining the interest of your website readers, high quality images will ‘hook’ them much more effectively than just any old photo.
And don’t skimp on the image size, either. Any smaller than 200 (either in height or in width) probably isn’t large enough. That being said though, you don’t want to overwhelm your page with its image. Think of some websites (or blogs) that you like the appearance of, and match the size of your images accordingly. And always think about the impression you’re leaving in the minds of your readers. Balance each image out with text that clearly explains it. Don’t leave it up the the image itself – this just makes you look lazy, or that you don’t have anything to say. So… once you have some great images up on your website, look at the text that accompanies it.
2. The text. How are you writing your information?
Yes, this is where we go back to the High School English classroom, and look at our grammar. Do the sentences on your site make sense? Are they structured correctly? Do you have spelling errors or typos?
You may think I’m being pedantic, but if you can’t write clearly, then your website visitors aren’t going to bother trying to decipher what you’re attempting to communicate. They’re just going to leave, and find someone else’s site, which can give them the information they need. Make it as easy as possible for them to get what they need from your site! And what will help is ensuring that your information is up-to-date.
3. Currency – are you with it? Or behind the times?
Many websites roll over information from year to year. School websites almost always do this. So have you clearly archived your ‘old’ stuff? Or is it in amongst your current stuff? Nothing annoys me more than reading something that I think is current, then discovering that it was in fact months (or maybe even years!) old. Archive – and make this archiving clear to your website readers!
And keep your website information current, too. If you’re not posting new information on your website – say, at least on a weekly basis – then you’re giving your existing customers absolutely NO reason to return. As I wrote in “Design for Your Audience“, you need to keep your existing customers happy! Perhaps you could include a blog on your site, updated regularly? Yes, this will also mean regular maintenance of your site – but I’m yet to see how this is a bad thing.
4. Does your content accurately reflect your business – as it stands right now?
It’s funny, but this is often an overlooked part of a business website. But it can easily give your website visitor the wrong impression of your business. Make sure that the content on your site reflects the workings of your business – and in its correct proportions, too. If your school has a big ICT program, then the amount of website content should reflect this. Having dozens of pages covering incidental information, such as the past several years’ annual reports, or discussing the governance system of the school, is going to be counter-productive for you. And finally…
5. Is your site easy-on-the-eyes?
What’s your colour scheme? And font size? Because there are some shockers out there, and you don’t want your site to be one of them. Make it easy on your readers’ eyes, not hard. That way, they may stick around and keep reading.
This was Hint Number Three – Keeping your information clear – in the series on ‘Successful Website Design’. Ready for the next hint? Let the sun shine in!
