Lost in Space: Clear navigation will stop your site's visitors getting lost Written by Nigel Gordijk
When visitors first arrive at a Web page they ask themselves three questions: 1. What is this site about? 2. What can I see or do here? 3. How do I go about doing it? If they can't answer any of these, then site’s design has failed. 1. What is this site about? It’s important to realise that most people visit a Web site with a specific purpose in mind - for example to learn latest news, or to buy a particular book. A Home page should make it immediately clear what site’s owner would like you to do there. At Amazon they’re selling you books, amongst other things; at news.bbc.co.uk you’re being offered up-to-the-minute news on a variety of subjects. Within a couple of seconds it's clear what these sites are about. 2. What can I see or do here? This should be answered in part by site’s navigation. This should be in a clearly defined area with clearly worded links or buttons that give visitor some idea of what to expect when they are clicked on. Hierarchical content layout should also point out most important areas to go to. As usability consultant Steve Krug points out in his book Don’t Make Me Think, navigation acts like road signs or department store signage. It tells you where you are as well as helping point you in right direction for where you want to get to.
| | Get to Know People through WebsitesWritten by Jesse S. Somer
Web sites are places to get to know and understand each other as real people. Web sites are not just places to sell things; they are a medium where people can get insight into other people’s lives. Take musician Xavier Rudd for example. I recently saw this guy play at a concert and had never previously heard his music. He was really cool, literally blowing me away with his many skills, beautiful music, positive energy, and humble attitude. So being thus affected, I decided to check out if he had a website on Internet. After finding his site (http://www.xavierrudd.com/) I automatically got to become more acquainted with man, not as a fan looking up to a so-called ‘star’, but as a human being receiving real insight into workings of another individual in our global human community.First, just let me tell you a little about seeing this fellow play live. He is literally a one-man band! While sitting down he plays a stomp-box (type of drum), a lap guitar or several other 6 and 12 string acoustic electric guitars, while simultaneous alternating between playing one of three Australian Aborigine Didgeridoos or harmonicas which are placed in front of him on a stand. He sings intelligent thoughtful lyrics in between blowing and his voice ranges from softly spoken to powerful rebellious yelling. On his site he explains in one newspaper article interview that he goes into a trance while playing…I don’t see how he’d be able to do it all otherwise! The idea is, and this goes for any and every website on Internet, business or personal, that your website is a place to share your identity as well as links to other identities (people) in community. On Xavier’s site, (I call him by his first name as I now feel I know him on a more personal level, although he doesn’t yet know of me) you can read a few journal entries from his recent tour in Alaska and Canada. As these words come straight from his own mouth/pen/keyboard/mind, visitors to site can see into how this guy views world around him. The style and content of personal language can really tell you a lot about someone’s personality. Of course in old days there was no real way of knowing people you admired. This personalized approach to website communicative interaction need not be solely used in this paradigm. Businesses and individuals can now connect with wider community on a much closer, intimate level. Just imagine if you got to know what CEO of your electricity provider’s views were on important issues that affect us all, like environmental sustainability. Or, how about knowing that they like to listen to Mozart and play with remote control cars?
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