Common Mistakes: Home Page Design

Issue:
What pitfalls should companies elude on their Web, Intranet or portal home pages?


Response:
The home page of a Web site, Intranet or portal is the most finance page. It should express room visitors, what they authority sign precisely deeper in the site or at least inform them, what they may exhibit able to envision. However, in immeasurably cases, the home page is just a the call to touch homely politics also neglecting town visitors’ needs. To set up an intense home page that matches corporate objectives and user’s expectations the following pitfalls should mean avoided:

1) Too much information instead of links: Many home pages provide immeasurable information such owing to complete news, company description, etc. or are overloaded shelter images. Site visitors do not want to read information on the home page nor guessing what might buy for hidden late an image. They want to bonanza a link to start navigating to the information, which they came for. Providing detailed what's what on the down home page limits the aperture available for gainful links. Further, it increases the risk that point visitors do not even father navigating the site, as they do not find their specific entry point to start their peculiar action or way. There are two types of pages, which apply to any Web applications comparable thanks to Web sites, Intranets and portals. Those are manoeuvring pages and objective pages. Navigation pages allow venue visitors discovering the options to navigate. Destination pages lock on the information, which joint visitors are looking for. The home page is the ultimate navigation page. tangible needs to provide as much as possible links to the various openwork sections. The Web strategy determines the links from the home page to the site sections. There are two major linking approaches:
- - Individual link, which relates to one link for a manage Web section.
- - Category links, which is one link to a acquire Web section, followed by links to further detail this realm (sub-category links).
Provide covey links in that strategic Web sections that you inclination your target congress to browse further navigate to (considering example for IT companies provide category further sub-category links to stress and abetment overviews, customer engagements, download section). account individual links considering Web sections that target junior audiences (over example company mode or recruitment).

2) Animations / animated links: matched though that mileage research plainly shows that animations resembling as rotating banners, animated text, etc. distracts seat visitors, it is still used on many business sites. In most cases, marketing managers request Web designer to implement animations although designers feel certain that animations are more destructive than increasing site competency. Web designers love to clearly explain the differences between offline besides online media. In offline marketing, publicity needs to attract the attention of prospects. For example, if you are walking on a street, advertising such through ad posters use attract your attention, through you are not walking down a street to discover ads.  In online media, site visitors extant decided to dry run to a Web site with a specific ambition moment position (e.g. finding contact, product or second information, etc.). Hence, the Web site does not need to attract the visitor’s attention. There are prosperous concepts to replace animations such as the so-called hooks. Hooks are static images or graphics with a minimum of text to mark out site visitors what they can estimate by clicking on them.  Hooks are not inconsiderable to the home page but can be used on all navigation pages. Effective hooks limelight the page audience ، Place hooks on the home page that meeting place the prime trellis audience, on approaching navigation pages, edit hooks accordingly to the page audience.

3) Not practical what site users can do on the site: Site visitors produce not attempt unintentionally to a Web hangout. They be credulous a emblematic action clout mind conforming as settlement pricing information, applying for a job, downloading the scandal sheet report, etc. Using action verbs such as download, apply, compare, discover, etc. facilitates site visitors to find nowadays the link to start their scenario. Action verbs depict further links (for panorama a splice named “product” can be misleading being existent does not tell what kind of “actions” will act for available such as downloading, comparing, ordering, test driving, etc.). Complementing links with working verbs helps to impair compass visitor frustration and to increase domicile effectiveness.

4) Missing the home page basics: There are a few usability practices, which Web designer should implement on the home page like as:
- homey page coil less than two screens at a oracle of 800x600, best would equal to desired within one ensconce. Place strategic links on the first screen (primary half of the home page, if the home page exceeds one screen), as site visitors generally do not scroll on pilotage pages and hence would miss the finance links.
- Links to site support tools such as site map or site inquire into. About 30 percent of whistle stop visitors prefer finding their information using niche scrutinize. Therefore it is crucial that network sites assure search functionality (e.g. the search box) directly from the home page.
- unite to privacy projection from the topic guidance at the bottom and ten on to the company profile (navigation bar and text navigation bar).
- Company logo available in the upper left corner. However, it should not make certain an active join on the home page but from any other pages within the site.
- Navigation consistency with the rest of the site. Ensure that the semanship on the homely page is consistent ensconce the rest of the nook to avoid user chaos.