Question

Topic: Website Critique

Website Critique: You-niversity.com

Posted by Anonymous on 10/25/2004 at 4:28 AM ET 125 Points
I would like to ask your critique of the web site I help maintain. I invite you to provide any feedback but would specially like you to address the next issue:
Do you think / feel this site communicate well to prospects from LARGE or prospects from SMALL organizations? How can we improve (our product is geared toward larger companies, Gov., established not-for-profit, etc.)?

Again please feel free to provide any other feedback.

www.you-niversity.com

Background – You-niversity provides software and services for organizations to produce online webminars, webcasts, web-conferences (presentations that include video, slideshow presentations and audience participation). Our differentiating factors should be: affordable solution; features that are a step ahead of others; and friendly customer service.

I appreciate everyone's assistance!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 10/25/2004 at 3:41 PM Accepted
    Caros,

    overall I think your website has some interesting appeal.

    THE COLORS and the color harmony work real well together (I like that).

    THE MUSIC (sound wise, i.e., Type and Volume) are overbearing and should reflect a similar harmony as the image aspects of your website. Pull those two closer together so that they are harmoniously playing off one another (If using sound for you is a must).

    ANOTHER THING you can do to help you make this transition between visual and sound harmony is "see the picture image" quality as if it were a sound and translate that into your music and you've got it going on.

    REMEMBER YOU are trying appeal to Major Corporations & Govenment agency types. What kind of music do you think they listen to. How does the music appeal to the culture you are trying to reach. Is there anything else I can do for you?

    Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)
  • Posted by telemoxie on 10/25/2004 at 9:28 PM Member
    You say that you want to target larger businesses.

    I don't think my answer is what you wanted to hear - - and I did read that you are responsible for the web site and are looking for comments on that... but I would like to approach this from a slightly different perspective. I have talked with many, many businesses who tell me, "We can sell the small businesses just fine, we just can't seem to sell the large businesses".

    And I always say, "Let me see a copy of your brochure."

    And they always say, "Oh, we don't have a brochure, we just email PDFs and web links..."

    If you want to sell large businesses, you will need a professionally printed brochure. You will also need to wear shoes when you visit them. If you think you can make a reasonable impression on a large organization without a professionally printed brochure - you may as well leave the shoes at home as well.

    If you are to be serious about selling large businesses - I believe the web site should be a tool to assist in obtaining names of people to mail to. You will find that simply putting a professionally printed piece of marketing material will differentiate you from 95% of your alleged competition, and will (in my opinion) be tremendously important in closing these large businesses.


  • Posted on 10/26/2004 at 10:36 PM Accepted
    All right folks, I'm going to throw my two cents into the pot. Forgive my non-technical language. And, I tried to put myself in the shoes of the prospect. Maybe I was out Googling. Maybe I've heard of the firm and wanted more info.

    I, too, am on the Mac OSX platform. So, on the home page, I saw only the header with links. No body. Then, on the other pages, the body showed up, but the header reduced to about 50%. Tiny, tiny, baby links.

    On the look of it, I find it middle of the road. I actually agree with D4Demand. It doesn't look big-company. But, it's not quite small time, either. It looks like someone in-house with some programming knowledge made this site.

    I was particularly turned off by - now hold on, this is new information - the music. I know, you're shocked. I also found the little opening animation cheesey. I could do without it altogether.

    I do like the every present right hand link buttons. I felt comfortable having those options available.

    Overall, I felt that this is a close-knit group that really believes in what they offer. They might be a bit small, but I understand that technology affords that business model. I work with other small vendors. Based on the confidence in what this group says about themselves, I know they'll get it right for me.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 10/27/2004 at 12:02 AM Member
    I have to add my voice to the chorus of disapproval. The music adds absolutely nothing and should be axed.

    What were you thinking? (I mean that, it's not rhetorical). What did you think the music would do for the prospect?

    Likewise the "plink plink" sounds when you mouse over the nav buttons. WHY??? I thought I was in a video arcade.

    BTW I have had the same issues some other KHE members have reported with Safari and Mozilla browsers displacing content way right. I think you will find you need to change your "Leftmargin = xx" to = 0 and it should be fixed. That's probably really, really bad programming advice but it worked for me for my "temporary" site and put me back on the page. so to speak!

    I have to say something about the name. You-Niversity sounds like one of those dummy degree places that give you a fake diploma without which your whole life is on hold. What was the thinking there? Are you targeting the academic institutional market? I would have thought Webconferences-R-Us is what you are, your name confuses me.

    I hate the narrow width and excessive depth, which will be even worse on a wide screen monitor. Why waste the real estate each side, then hide stuff below my desktop?

    Also, why not explain webevents/conferences to people who are newbies (e.g. Webevents 101 as a selling tool) so they can see the reasons why they should include it into their marketing mix.

    Other than that I thought it was great!

    Good Luck!

    ChrisB
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