Know-How Exchange : Website Critique

Hi Una,

Firstly excellent idea, carrying out a annual survey.

I am assesing your site using a Apple Macintosh, running OSX and the Safari web browser. Some of the things that don't work for me may work well on a PC, running Explorer. Background on me: I coem from a graphic design/advertising background, and am based in the UK so these things will colour my responses.

1. Room for improvement here I think. It doesn't completley hang together for me. A bit of a confused colour palette, Mix of fonts, and cluttered design give it a bit of an amateurish feel. Every time you visit a new page it seems a different font is introduced! For an example of consistency check out www.themindgym.com.

2. Yes! the information is there on page one, but it could still be communicated with more clarity.

3. Unqualified to answer, as I am not your target demographic!

4. Nope. This is definitley the area that would benefit most from a redesign. The navigation appears in FOUR places on the homepage alone! There is no constency in the navigation, some appears as text, some in buttons, some in a bar. Our Products, Our Service, Our Expertise, Our Partners don't work for me. (Probably a Mac/Safari issue.), had to navigate to them from the sitemap page. (This is nice, and works, but if your navigation is thought through it should be uneccessary on a site your size.)

Also once you are in to the body of your site, there is no easy way to get back home, and any godrej branding seems to disapear.

Other: IMPORTANT There are a couple of typo's under your client names, FMCG, should be Golden TOBACCO, likewise with Borsad Tabacco. (My rule 1. Spell the clients name right :) ). I would change the words "Customer Care" in your homepage navigation to something like "Client Area". You are then taken to a completley unexpected page: Call handling? A bit confusing, (to me at least!).
Also the words "Identify Yourself" seem overly aggressive... maybe "Log In" would be freindlier.

Overall, it does the job, but there is a lot of room for improvement on the design/usability side. I would suggest you look to somebody outside your organisation to professionally and dispassionatley audit, and redesign it, so that you give a much more businesslike impression. This will be especially important if you intend doing more business internationally (as more and more Indian firms are doing!).

Hope this doesn't come over as too negative.

Does this website:
1. Create a professional impression?

No. Too much going on, too much animation, too many menus. Not enough relevant visual interest. Lots of words scrolling by, and none of them stick.


2. Tell you clearly what we do?

Not clearly enough. You need to lead with the benefit, not the internal workings. If you provide peace of mind because your product never breaks, then don't talk about how well it's built; talk instead about how you can have peace of mind. (Etc.) I still can't pass the test of knowing the most important benefit I'll get if I use your services.


3. Compel you to contact us to find out more about our services?

No. But that might be because I'm not in your target audience and don't understand what's in it for me (i.e., what's the benefit).


4. Present information in an easy to use interface?

Not really. Too many different kinds of links/menus/pages. I don't know what to do first. You probably need to simplify the site and focus on just one or two key ideas. Fewer pages might actually make the site better at presenting the important information.