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Above all, your website needs to be engaging and usable. That means giving your visitors... - clear and simple navigation
- the information they came for (quickly and easily!)
- verification that they came to the right place
- rich, relevant content that actually rewards reading
- takeaway materials easily printed and shared with colleagues
But as always, it’s easier said than done. Beyond being simply attractive, an engaging website is one that minimizes frustration throughout the visitor’s experience. Every visitor has a maximum frustration level; reach it, and (s)he is going to leave. A usable site also contains certain elements that visitors have come to expect; these page elements are key in enabling users to achieve their goals efficiently as they visit a website. eMagine can provide help in a’ la carte fashion, where you select the elements of the process you’d like help with (and we describe those on separate pages of this site). However, most companies end up choosing our complete, soup-to-nuts website development service, where our team project-manages the effort and does most of the work. You remain in full control, making all the key decisions among the design and website-architecture alternatives. Our full service is ideal for companies who would prefer that their people focus on running the business, rather than ancillary activities like website-building. And because we employ industry best practices, your website will be guaranteed both usable and engaging. We’ll help you avoid many of web design's more prevelant myths and pitfalls, such as... Myth: “People randomly scan a home page.”
Truth: Users consistently use home pages the same way. Visitors start in the upper left (identifying where they are), scan diagonally to the bottom right, and then focus back in the middle of the page to determine if this page will answer whatever question they came with. These findings come from studies using optical devices to track people’s eye movements as they view a home page. Myth: “It isn’t necessary to tell our visitors who we are and what we do; they already know.”
Truth: You must tell or remind them on impact: who you are, what you do and how you can help them. Clear home page messaging is the most commonly mishandled element on websites. How many sites have you visited and asked “What on earth do they do?” Your company’s value proposition must be clearly stated and given prominent attention. You’ve got to grab them within 3 seconds of impact. Myth: “It’s good to be different... why do what everyone else does?”
Truth: People have come to understand where certain page elements “belong” and what they should do; this is one of the keys to usability. Thinking while scanning seems to be some sort of Internet violation. So putting elements in places they aren’t expected leads to results much like those you’d expect from changing a red light to mean “Go” rather than “Stop” – i.e., chaos and confusion. Myth: “People will patiently read through endless paragraphs of text to find good information.”
Truth: People do not read on the Internet, they scan ...and scan frantically. When first-time visitors hit a home page, they are not reading; they are scanning. They are going to decide within 3 seconds if your company can help them. If they are repeat visitors, they will have somewhat more patience, but not much more. On interior pages, they will scan to find the info they want, but they will not read through 5+ paragraphs of dense text to find that info. From information architecture to brand and messaging consulting, creative services, Content Management and seamless project management, eMagine's talent and process are refined and proven successful by hundreds of B-to-B, technology and healthcare companies.
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