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Website Design Feedback
Posted By: Michele on 6/17/2004 5:03 AM (CST) 650 Points
We have just launched our website and I would like your honest critical assessment.

You can see the website at www.confluence.co.za.

Does this website:
1. Create a professional impression?
2. Tell you clearly what we do?
3. Compel you to contact us to find out more about our services?
4. Present information in an easy to use interface?

Any other comments about any other aspect of the website are more than welcome.

Thank you in advance for your time.

Posted by: Nicolas Accepted Answer
6/17/2004 5:31 AM (CST)
Hello Michele,

an excellent Web site indeed. To go over your points:
1. Very professional and technically sound (title, description and keyword tags).
2. Informative (FAQ is nice).
3 & 4. Yes to both.

Additional comments:
- 'Can u see the big picture' is a great addition.
- First time I notice an 'Ethics' section on a Web site. Nice thought and concept.
- Can we expect to have sample reports available in the future?

Hope this helps,

N.
 
Posted by: Ricky Accepted Answer
6/17/2004 6:31 AM (CST)
Hi Michele,

This website is concise, cogent, and well-thought out. I like the technological & copy aspects. I would only add a work sample for people who don't really know what digital research is. I would aslo put a quote on the homepage. This could be a quote from a part of your website, or from one of your clients.

I'll just make some quick "psychological" comments (which may seem frivolous compared to the technical issues, but what the hey):
1. Whenever you have boxed-in text, it's going to feel "tight". Just as you don't want to box in your resume, you don't want to do so on the Internet. Therefore, the homepage as well as the services page (boxes within boxes) feel like I'm in a tunnel and I can't get out (is it just me?). My advice is to get some white space in there, get rid of the boxes, and let it breathe.
2. Color. Digital research is serious stuff, but your colors don't need to be so serious. Greys and blues are "cool" colors, but not in the "groovy cool" sense. I realize that your logo has these colors, but maybe you can go toward neutrals and beiges instead of blues and greys.

I'll think about this some more and maybe post other comments later.

Ciao!
 
Posted by: Carl Crawford Accepted Answer
6/17/2004 7:07 AM (CST)
Hi, Michele

Nice website. I liked it a lot.

In answering your questions:

1. Yes, it did create a professional impression to me.

2. I think I know what you do. Is it market research for South African companies using the internet and online panels? If I am wrong please tell me.

3. It got me to sign up, and I don’t even live in South Africa. I would use it if I had a need for it. (it got added to my favorites and that is no easy task).

4. Yes the information was presented in a easy to use interface.

Some comment I have to improve it would be add photos to the "about us meet, our people page". It would be nice to be able to see who we are going to be dealing with.

You could also add some color to the pages it is kind of boring with just the blue/grey and grey.

Please note I was using "Mozilla Fire Fox 0.9" to view the page and some pages look a bit different depending on what browsers you use.

I also liked the fact that you made it so that all the info fitted on one page.

It is a really well designed website in my opinion.

I do have one question though: are only people who live in South Africa allowed to sign up for the panel? It is not clear.

Oh and they fact that their are no ads is really good as well. And don’t ever use pop up they really piss me off (I know your site does not have them it is just if you redesign the site to make a note of that).

Hope this helps

Sweetasman01
 
Posted by: NuCoPro Member Response
6/17/2004 9:25 AM (CST)
Okay, and now for a contraian point of view.

1. Your Home page really reads and looks like an About US page
2. You DESPERATELY need to incorporate graphics within the pages - they look like excerpts from some academic paper
3. Agree with statements by several others - the color palette needs changed to something more inviting. What you have now makes me NOT want to stay on your site.
4. The "Big Picture" part is the best thing you have going in that it brings some color, levity and curiosity to your site. Unfortunately, you didn't bring this approach in to any of the rest of the information.
5. Don't use up valuable Home page real estate as you do with contact information. Put your address, phone, email information into the footer and let it unobtrusively reside on ALL pages.

Except for the big picture feature, your web site looks like its straight out of the late '90's. You do have a lot of information available, but I doubt that people are going to be drawn in to reading it. I suspect that most people will quickly click on maybe a couple of pages and leave.

My suggestion is to link up with a good web creative person and have them polish this into the site it can be.
 
Posted by: kwinters* Member Response
6/17/2004 9:38 AM (CST)
1. Create a professional impression?
Honestly, yes I think it is professional enough, the only first impression is that confluence is in all small letters...why? It is natural in english language to begin with a capital, so why not do what is natural? plus all smalls communicate that you are weak...also it seems like there is too much info on the left side, I would group it and just use the major headings by putting the other inside the link, ie. Research (I would only have that then when you click on research, benefits, services, etc. all come up) it will clean up your page...there is too much information and not anything specific...Like I say below, I think you would be better off if you clean it up and get more specific...
2. Tell you clearly what we do? NO! you say insights that count...what kind of insights?...specifically...you deliver what kind of research fast?...it is important to be specific, generalities lose interest...

3. Compel you to contact us to find out more about our services? No it doesn't compel me to want to know more, because it seems that you do not know about yourself because of the generalities, I think you need to work on a good headline that can get attention and explain in a short phrase or sentence more specifically what you do...
4. Present information in an easy to use interface?Yes, the interface is easy enough...
 
Posted by: kwinters* Accepted Answer
6/17/2004 1:03 PM (CST)
ps. I just noticed the ethics button, that is a great idea, I would make that prominent on the left side...it is not every day that a company cares enough about ethics to put a button on their site...I would capitalize on your commitment to ethics...even make a gaurantee about your ethics...it is a sad day when ethical behavior can be a competitive advantage...but sadly that day is today...
 
Posted by: Frances* Member Response
6/17/2004 2:09 PM (CST)
Hi Michele

Not being an 'impartial' user, I won't add anything here to the good points made above.

All in all, I think you did a really good job - and I think we're all looking forward to seeing version 2 one of these days...

In my question about user-testing of web sites (still open! in Branding!), you pointed out that experts' opinions sometimes differ from those of your target markets. Be interesting to see if this will apply to this site...

Frances
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Accepted Answer
6/17/2004 5:35 PM (CST)
Michele, I agree with some of the points already made by Vevolution. The home page needs more attention-grabbing USP messages, less of the "about us" kind of content. And yes, move Contact info into a static page footer.

Perhaps you could ELIMINATE the Benefits page (under Research) and move THAT content to the Home page.

A picky point regarding hyperlinks: In the body text, I think it's okay to leave out the underlining, but completely. You're using hovering to flip on a more intense color as a visual cue that boldface text is a link; it's better to flip on the underlining when you hover. Underlined text is the standard way to communicate "Click me!"

On your Services page, your opening statement needs more muscle! Something like: "Confluence brings balanced expertise in business strategy, brand consulting, and the technical aspects of research."

I don't have time to go into it any further, but I wanted to offer this much to you for now! Maybe I can take a deeper look later tonight...

- Shelley
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Member Response
6/17/2004 5:42 PM (CST)
Oops, I meant to say...

A picky point regarding hyperlinks: In the body text, I think it's okay to leave out the underlining, but NOT completely.
 
Posted by: dcrouch* Accepted Answer
6/17/2004 8:33 PM (CST)
Michele,

A couple of quick comments:
1. Take a look at your main navigation from a first time visitors standpoint, someone who does not know what you do. In Research I would expect to find research articles or reports, what do Panel and Influence mean?
I would consider using more universal navigation descriptions like About Us, Services, Products, Contact Us etc. Don't make users guess where to find the content they are looking for.
2. Developing a site in frames is not good from an Search Engine standpoint, you should also have a Site Map for SEO.
3. What happens in navigation if you want to add 50 new pages to this site over the next two years. The way the site is designed you have limited yourself in how deep you can display inner pages in navigation.
4. You should have contact information on every page, not just your Home Page.
5. All hyperlinks in the site should be underlined text, and only by accident did I discover the images across the top are clickable.
Hope this helps.
 
Posted by: addspice* Accepted Answer
6/18/2004 4:41 AM (CST)
Michele,
I think it does what you are setting out for the site to do, content is good, layout is functional, BUT, I dont know if you realize it but, it is definately not going to do well in the search engines.
#1. Number one problem, Frames-Get rid of them search engines ignore them, because they cant find the pages.
#2 Your link color, I think may not be the greatest choice, it blends too much with the rest of the page. People who visit web sites, skip and do not like to read a lot of text.
#3 I think the colors are cool and text is easy to read, but I would suggest that you use more photos
#4 Images on top, seemed to be of poor quality, not crisp and clean, somewhat blurry. They may be over compressed a bit.
Overall, the site is well thought out and has excellent content, just needs a little bit more to entice the reader a little more to go the next step and hire you. You may want to consider using a flash intro.
Hope this helps!
 
Posted by: dcrouch* Member Response
6/18/2004 7:15 AM (CST)
Michele,
All good comments from addspice except for the last one, you do not want to add a flash intro. Research shows that users hate them, particularly on BtoB sites and they are another roadblock for SEO.
Rich Media such as Flash could prove effective for delivering surveys, but not as a site intro.
 
Posted by: Michele Author Response
6/18/2004 7:47 AM (CST)
Wow - you are a rigorously critical bunch. Thank you for your time and for your feedback.

To reply to a couple of points (and please do not take these as either argumentative or defencive - but as points of strategic clarification). I also realise this is more like a novel than a post - so I understand if you skim read it!

We strategically decided to present an academic yet accessible image as research is a serious business. The choice was made to be content rich and image light to reflect this positioning. We also needed to ensure that the requirements of our technical team were met - and their key requirement is download speed. In SA we have serious bandwidth restrictions and 20 seconds is about as long as someone will wait for a page over dial-up (which is about 65% of the current user base).

We did work with a top creative team (who have won numerous web design awards) - but are also not happy with the jaggy quality of the top images. These will be refined as soon as possible.

Confluence / confluence It simply looks better in logo type with a small c. However, our convention is to use Confluence Digital Research in body copy.

General / specific info: The key problem is that our services actually are quite general in nature. We help companies solve business problems through traditional research techniques made simpler using online distribution methods. A bit fuzzy - but perhaps tightening it defines us out of the market. We are (to the best of our knowledge) the first SA company to be doing this seriously - so we are defining the market to suit ourselves. We do not 'rent software' for do it yourself surveys as there is little long term value in that.

The Influence panel At the moment, this is restricted to SA residents only. Our intension is that we will partner with international research organisations for global studies. If this direction changes - Sweetasman01 - we promise to let you know!

People pictures I think this is a great idea. We will look into this in the next short while.

Iframes: We understand the limitations of iframes - both from a SE and cross platform compatibility point of view. From a technical perspective, this will probably be the first major modification to be implemented.

Underlined in-line links: I think you are right about this. If I had to choose between making them a jarring colour, or making them underlined, underlining would win out.

The colour palette: form follows function. We are not a cheap and cheerful outfit - so cheap and cheerful colours would not reflect our brand personality. That said, we will consider incorporating a contrast colour to lift the design.

Flash intro: I must agree a definite no-no. Not for technical reasons as our developers have the capacity to create award winning flash stuff - but for the irritation factor.

Navigation extensions: The intension is that as soon as we have a couple more site sections, we will collapse the nav bars. It looks a little bare, collapsed, at the moment.

Quality of copy: for those of you who commented on this, we have Frances to thank! As you can see, she knows her stuff.

I will leave this question open for a while longer, as this feedback is invaluable. Please continue to be critical and honest.

Thanks again,
Michele.
 
Posted by: NuCoPro Member Response
6/18/2004 8:32 AM (CST)
Are you selling to the academic market or to the corporate one???? Your comments confused me.

Don't confuse presenting an inviting site with being considered "lightweight".

You have taken the approach (it seems) to market to academic researchers. Are they you're target market? Who will be making buying decisions - researchers or executives.

Its hard for me to believe your target market is on dial-up connections. You have to be going after larger organizations. I don't believe you are marketing to people in their homes. With that in mind, why are you so concerned about dial-up load times? People are NOT attracted to sites with lifeless color palattes and never ending text - I don't care what the market or who the site visitors are.

My experience with "informational" sites like yours (and my own) is that there primary intent is to secure prospects and secondarily to attract new ones. My feeling is that your current site won't accomplish either objective. In fact it may well have the opposite effect.

P.S. There's nothing wrong with being cheerful. Stephen Hawkings one of the world's most noted "researchers" is a very cheeful and engaging person, even through his handicaps. Lighten up!
 
Posted by: Jett* Member Response
6/19/2004 12:20 PM (CST)
I hated it. I will never go there again. How could you design such a crappy site?

Actually, I never got a chance to see the whole thing because I left as soon as I got there...repulsive!

You should consider another professonal.

I hope this helps! Good Luck!

P.S. I know Michele and I'm just pulling her leg. She knows I am joking around. So please don't take this out of context and start feeding of of it...it's a joke.
 
Posted by: LJW* Accepted Answer
6/20/2004 6:10 AM (CST)
Hello Michele,

My initial impression was that this was a professional website. I liked the muted colour scheme. I wonder whether the colour appeals universally; should you just be asking your South African target audience about that aspect?

That was the good news. When I looked closer, I was less impressed with your website. I dislike text enclosed in a box. Take your "Contact Us" page. I have room in my browser window to see all of that page but you are forcing me to use the scroll bar to see text hidden under the footer.

The standard problem when designers use a box is also exhibited on your site. You have fixed the text size. What if I can't read it? I tried re-sizing the text on your homepage and found that only the bullets re-sized.

That is a serious accesibility issue. Perhaps you haven't become concerned about Accessibility in South Africa yet but the US/UK have, so there's plenty of information available. Another aspect of that impacts your choice of colour - there's insufficient colour contrast between the white text and blue background of your footer.

Also on the technical aspects, your FAQs shows a horizontal as well as a vertical scroll bar - very No No - very unprofessional!

I think the graphical idea of the big picture was clever. But it confused me at first as I wondered what it had to do with your business. It wasn't until I'd really spent some time on your site that I realised that the big picture changed for each section. But please, if your viewer clicks the wrong answer for the artist, doesn't it give a negative emotional response to your viewer - look how smart we are and how dumb you are? A further point, shouldn't you credit the sources in your "Copyright" page? I'm impressed with the big picture idea, I just think that's it's too clever!

Another point of confusion on first glance, was the use of the word "Influence". On the menu, Influence comes under Panel: expectation - one panel; further expectation - either factors influencing that panel or how the panel has influence over others. Then on the "Influence" page, you start with "on-line panel" but go on to write "Why not give us your details, and we'll let you know the minute the panels are up and running. "
I am confused. What is INFLUENCE?

Please also look at the "Stats test" page: in your diagram under 2 populations, should that be independent not "inependent"? You can't afford mistakes on-line because it impacts your credibility.

This isn't an easy to use interface. Get rid of the box so that you don't make me scroll unnecessarily. Also I've grown used to using the down-arrow key to scroll down a page but that doesn't work with your site's implementation.

I'm not compelled to contact you and none of the points in your snap poll would persuade me. I think that it would be the Issues - specific panels like one for "the role of women in business"

Hope that helps,

Linda
 
Posted by: Michele Author Response
6/21/2004 7:40 AM (CST)
Hi All
Thank you for your comments and your feedback.

Just to let you know we have:
1. Changed the links so that they change colour when you mouse over them;
2. Removed the box borders from the text;
3. Fixed up the spelling errors on the diagram;
4. Fixed up the quality of the big picture pictures;
5. Finally managed to track down the bug that caused the scrollbar on the bottom of the FAQs.

We will be adding photos of our people in the next short while, and change the home page right hang text box to a quote rather than the contact us information.

Thanks again for your input.
Michele.
 


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