Re: Conversion thoughts please

---- Original Message -----
From: Tamara Abbey <tamara(at)abbeyink.com>
Subject: Conversion thoughts please

> Now, the TD background colors are causing some real concern since the
> members are accustomed to the look and it was sort-of created by someone
> they were fond of who was able to do all this despite . . .
>
> What would be the most painless way - for me and the members -- to convert
> the site to a more valid and consistent look while not doing any obvious
> finger-pointing?

What an unenviable position to be in.  If the situation were different, I'd
say, lift the content, gut everything else and rebuild from the ground up.
The index page alone breaks almost every rule of design, beginning with
"keep it above the fold".  There are no links in the first third of the page
and the user has to scroll way down to see what few links are there.  It
also seems very "internally" targeted.  Like it was more important for the
officers' names and contact info to be up there than to provide useful
content to visitors.

The bright and opposing colors assault the eye and just seem to be
haphazzardly tossed down on the page.  Also, throughout the site, the links
are out of wack, changing color, size, weight and face < !! > once they've
been visited.  It all just gives me a headache.

The internal pages fare better as far as navigation goes, with the links at
the top where you can get to them easily.

But enough of all this... you already know you've got a challenge.  The fact
that the members are familiar with the look doesn't really justify letting
it end up on www.sitesthatsuck.com, now does it?  Obviously, you want the
site to be the best that it can be but you're not sure that they do.

Maybe they just don't know any better.  It's your job to educate them.  Ask
them what their favorite web sites are.  Then ask them why.  No doubt,
they'll tell you it's because of things like content, organization, eye
appeal.  They like their favorite sites because they have value of some
sort, either intellectually, aesthetically, or both.  Tell them that their
site could have the same advantages going for it.  When you make
suggestions, back it up with "standards" and "accepted practice" and
"statistics show that people visit a site more often, and stay longer if
<insert lacking quality here>".

For instance, moving the navigation -- the overwhelming majority of sites
use navigation at the top, left, or both.  This site does neither on its
home page.  It confuses people.  The members might be comfortable with it
now, but do you think there were comfortable with it the first time they say
it?  Probably took some getting used to.

As you propose changes and explain that "the links at the <insert area here>
will give your visitors an instant feel for what's on the site and will
capture their interest" or "lining the text blocks like <insert description
here> will be more condusive to browsing, since the human eyes moves
thusly"... blahblahblah..... you will be moving the site *forward*, which
will take the attention off what happened in the *past*.  The focus will be
your design's *advantages*, not your predecessor's design's *disadvantages*.

You're very right when you infer that web design is an emotional thing for
the site owners.  In a previous reality, my profession was real estate, the
MOST emotional type of industry.  I've found that dealing with site
owners/clients is extremely akin to dealing with home buyers and sellers.  A
philosopher once wrote that it isn't the fear of the unknown that bothers
people, it's the fear of the known coming to an end.

Show them what they have to look forward to and not only does that fear of
the unknown go away, but the contentment with the known goes away as well.

And now we all know why Karin doesn't post very often <snicker>.

Karin, The Long-Winded

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Karin Ransdell  kransdell(at)squishedmosquito.com
Escapade Development Team
Squished Mosquito, Inc.
http://www.squishedmosquito.com  or  http://www.escapade.org
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