Question

Topic: Website Critique

Suggestions For Website Re-designed

Posted by guru on 8/25/2009 at 7:40 AM ET 250 Points
Hi,

Would appreciate comments on my company's upcoming website www3.ocimumbio.com.

Brief intro about my company:

We are a leading integrated genomics company providing GLP-compliant microarray services, comprehensive genomic reference databases, life science lab information management solutions and essential research consumables. Majority of the top 25 pharmaceutical companies, leading research institutes and emerging biotech companies worldwide have chosen us as their preferred outsourcing partner and utilize our expertise for understanding underlying mechanisms of diseases, discovery and prioritization of gene targets and biomarkers.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 8/25/2009 at 9:11 AM Member
    Dear gurmukh.s,

    Zzzzzzzzz. Hunpth? Whu! Gerrof! Whssamatta Zzzzzzz! Hunhrahand!

    What?

    Sorry. Nodded off for a moment there. Not sure why. But it might well be because your site took over two minutes to NOT load.

    TWO MINUTES! And this, via a half T1 connection.

    What gives?

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA
  • Posted on 8/25/2009 at 10:09 AM Member
    Took about a minute to NOT load on my cable modem.

    Is that the correct address?


    Jodi
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/25/2009 at 10:17 AM Member
    The correct URL is: https://www3.ocimumbio.com/ (no period after the .com)
  • Posted on 8/26/2009 at 7:20 AM Member
    hey! is it correct URL of your website. I have got error while loading your website. Please give me correct URL so that I can try again.


  • Posted by guru on 8/26/2009 at 7:25 AM Author
    Hi,

    The correct url is www3.ocimumbio.com

    Thanks.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 8/26/2009 at 7:57 AM Accepted
    Dear gurmukh.s,

    Now we're getting somewhere.

    Under or next to your logo you might want to include a line or two of copy that describes what your company does or its major benefit to your customers.

    The scrolling list of images with headlines on the left of your page, the copy here all needs to be the same size. At the moment, the last word is smaller, which is off putting. You might also want to do away with the couloured pencils because they have NOTHING to do with biotech. Within this screen cast, there are no clickable links within the first four images. But the last image is clickable, but it opens a new window and what appears to be a new site (I know it isn't a new site, but visitors might find this off putting).

    Give people reasons to click on things and links that take them places within your site.

    The NEWS section on the right of the page that lists events and webinars could do with being bolder, and possibly suit you better by being on the left of the page, not the right.

    Additionally, is it REALLY necessary to repeat the company name on each of these posts? They sound like press releases that have just been dumped there. If they ARE press releases, edit them down so that they sound less press like.

    And unless (or until) you've got something to PUT under the banners EVENTS and WEBINARS, remove them because at the moment, each tab takes your site viewer nowhere, which isn't good.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA

  • Posted by guru on 8/26/2009 at 8:38 AM Author
    Thanks for the comments and suggestions Gary.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/26/2009 at 9:32 AM Member
    First, take a look at Website Grader's report (65 / 100): https://www.websitegrader.com/wsgid/3954402/default.aspx

    Start with less on your home page. There's too many options/images to explore. Having fewer choices is likely to produce better clickthrus.

    The Tweet About Us graphic is not clickable. Is that intentional?

    There's no easy to find way to contact you (phone, email, etc.). Only your about page has this information.
  • Posted on 9/1/2009 at 4:27 PM Member
    I would grab a copy of Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think" and follow his advice about your home page. It needs to be clear who you are, what you sell and why I shouldn't bail out in the next 2 seconds. I agree with the others that there's way too much on your page and it all has equal "weight", so I don't know where to start.

    There are some styling issues as well. In Firefox the blue menu bar doesn't fit seamlessly, probably because your 3rd menu item is too long and wraps to 3 lines. The news module is covered up at the top too. The text in the intro slider is to small to read.

    The biggest problem I see is a very common one. The site is designed for you, not your visitors. There should be blog posts and opportunities for visitors to interact via calls-to-action and sign-up forms leading to great, valuable content like whitepapers and webinars. Web 2.0 is here and your site is Web 1.0.
  • Posted by guru on 9/2/2009 at 5:54 AM Author
    Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions
  • Posted on 9/2/2009 at 1:14 PM Member
    I understand from the description of your company what it is you do. What I don't understand is what your goals and expected outcomes are as relates to your website. There are a number of things your site can be used for regarding your customers, employees and potential customers. Before anyone can comment on the success of your site they would need a clear understanding of your online marketing plan and what the particular marketing mix is. Then once goals and outcomes are realized your website can be analyzed more effectively giving you a truer picture of what works and what needs to be worked on.

    Now from the standpoint of strictly looking at your site from an aesthetic standpoint I would have to say that you have a few design issues that need to be addressed like the logo for example. Also a look at standard usability test and readability patterns would help (https://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html).

    Kevin Ward
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