In the podcast Dunlop discusses how firms should manage the navigation of their website and how best to shape the design to meet customer needs. Listen to the podcast to hear advice from Dunlop on how to make your site work for your business.
Dos and don'ts
Dunlop offers plenty of tips to help firms improve the design of their website, including the following:
- Do not 'major' on things that are minor. Focus your time on the most important areas of the site. Factors that seem important at the beginning of the design process may turn out to be less relevant as time goes on.
- Do put significant effort into good navigation. Make sure it is easy for visitors to find their way around your site, ensuring they can access the information they want quickly.
- Do speak your customers' language. Abandon corporate jargon and other terms customers may be unfamiliar with.
- Do not have a message from the chief executive on the homepage. Customers do not make purchasing decisions based on welcome notes; they would much rather have faster access to the information they want about a firm's products or services.
- Do base the design around the needs of customers. As with language, the website's design should prioritise the interests of those visiting the site.
- Do not use garish colours. The most successful business websites on the internet are built around black text on a white background. Pastel colours can also be beneficial but avoid any colour that makes it more difficult to understand the information on the screen.
To learn more about these and other issues, listen to the podcast.
(For more on how to listen to podcasts, and advice on how to create your own podcast, see Issue 187.)