Question

Topic: Website Critique

Please Critique Our New Website

Posted by Anonymous on 9/17/2006 at 12:27 PM ET 250 Points
Hello,

Just this past Monday, we launched a new site. I'd appreciate any feedback, particularly suggestions on content and ease of use.

Thank you,

Dale Hansman
Language Line Services

https://www.languageline.com


To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by Frank Hurtte on 9/18/2006 at 10:10 AM Member
    I would say you have a winner....

    My only two minor suggestions are..

    one make the colors just a bit more vivid. I think bold color schemes get more customer action.

    two.. make it easier to see that your company is based in the United States. Many people will see this as a major advantage.
  • Posted by jpoyer on 9/18/2006 at 12:29 PM Accepted
    Dale!
    Wow! What a change from the old site. This is wonderful! I think you really addressed most of the items mentioned in the previous critique. This front page really does a great job of showing what you do and for which groups without overpowering the user with too much info. The highlighted items are great, and it's easy to get around... now THIS site has some credibility built in. Just a really superb job here.

    My suggestions:
    1. Make sure your FAQs page is HTML not PDF. I always think of PDF as a supplement to the online info, not the sole source. It appears that the content would lend itself well to being a web page instead of a PDF. The exception to this would be like how you have the e-bills as PDFs. That is totally appropriate and more expected for that use.

    2. The "in the News" stuff could be highlighted better - the "Announcing" on the front page doesn't really do it for me. I actually didn't see that until I went to company, saw the news there, and then went back to the front page to see if I could find an appropriate placement to suggest. I think the placement of "Announcing" is great, but just not clear that it is news.

    And, although these are not content/usability related, a couple of design suggestions for you:
    1. I do think you should choose a different color other than the brown to complement the color of your logo/links. Something brighter or more vivid. You could also use this color as the hover color as well to enhance the look.

    2. The look of the "how it works" page needs to match the other pages. I think it just may be the ALL CAPS in the headers. And use the font size/color like you did for the headers on the other pages to match. If you change that, I believe it will be more consistent with the look of the other pages. There are also all caps in some of the subheads on other pages (specifically Support Tools, but I didn't check all the pages, so it might be elsewhere as well), and from a design perspective ALL CAPS is harder to read anyway, so I highly recommend that you ditch them altogether.

    All in all ... if I had to sum it up in one word, it would just be "WOW!" (yes, that is all caps!) Nice, nice work. Kudos.

    Best,

    Jennifer
    XPRT Creative
  • Posted by MANSING on 9/20/2006 at 8:56 AM Member
    Hi Dhansman,


    Nice website!! Every thing looks where it should be! I have given 10/10 but the colour is bright for the link. If you could mild then will be OK

    I hope this will help!!!

    Regards,

    M Bhor
  • Posted by Jesse on 9/20/2006 at 12:54 PM Member
    Decent html work, the use of CSS and xHTML helps usability (increase font size - layout doesn't break, etc) and search engine friendly, easy to maintain, etc.

    The "next steps" column on the second level pages is good guide copy / appropriate feature for this site.

    Everyone should note the URL's for their pages - this is how you do it for usability, search engines, bookmarking, etc. It's good copy wise... and for a language site - just a sweet little touch.

    A couple of points on the home page.

    What you do isn't 100% clear right away. The right column ("Need an interpreter right now", etc) should be in the large font (maybe switch with middle column) - that would make it a clear focal point.

    The "handshake" photo... we see this too much. Really promote your brand - the press release graphic on the left has some great attitude and flavour... carry that over on the website.

    Website in general:

    I see some humor and personality in the copy, but the design makes me think you are too "serious", almost stale.

    Drop shadows on the photos... they aren't necessary and outdated. I'd lose them.


BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Website Critique)