Question

Topic: Website Critique

Ideas For Improving This Website

Posted by Anonymous on 3/2/2011 at 7:32 PM ET 250 Points
Hello,

Would you please provide any insights for improving this website in terms of content, navigation, graphics, calls to action, etc. www.solugenix.com

We are a business with diverse set of solutions and our eternal dilemma is how to address that with our website given that the targets for each set of business solutions are quite different and we don't want prospects to come to the website thinking that we do one thing only to discover that what they are looking for is buried under a pile of other solutions. Each side of the business wants their fair share of the home page because they all market under the same name but they all feel that they are overpowered by the other solutions. Any ideas how to effectively address that?

We have been playing around with setting up different websites for each. Our current website is a reflection of the latest compromise to feature all.

Thank you for any input.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by michael on 3/3/2011 at 8:49 AM Member
    Didn't care much for the pictures. Depth? That would be better with a water picture than rocks.

    "Managing your expectations" that sounds more like "you might be asking for too much so let's dial them back a bit"

    I'm not a tech guy and maybe your target is the CIO but it's not working for me.

    Just my 2 cents.

    Michael
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/3/2011 at 8:52 AM Member
    Your website fails to quickly identify:

    - who you're targeting (who are likely to need/want your services)
    - what clear benefits you offer them (hint: it's not about the menu of services you offer - it's about how you save them time, money, worry, etc.)
    - what makes you the clear choice for solving their problems (hint: it's not simply about being in business since 1969)

    (Aside: the scrolling news area is too distracting - it's causing my eye to constantly try to read it, rather than the rest of the page).
  • Posted on 3/3/2011 at 8:30 PM Moderator
    Without even looking at the website, it sure sounds like you're trying to create a website without a clear understanding of who your site visitor is, what they want to know, and how they got there in the first place.

    Why would you have different businesses, with different target audiences who need different benefits, all coming to the same website? I don't understand how you got to this point ... or why you'd want to stay there.
  • Posted on 3/3/2011 at 8:35 PM Moderator
    OK. So my curiosity got the better of me and I went to the homepage. BORING. Not engaging. Hard to figure out what you do, or if I'm really in your target audience.

    And with all the changing pictures, not one of them has a human in it! Are you a robot? Is your target audience into travel pictures? Or are they humans who like to interact with other humans they like and trust?

    You probably need to re-think what you expect the website to accomplish and what success looks like for you. How will you know when it's working?

    With no call-to-action, it's really hard to figure out what the site visitor is supposed to think/do once they land there.

    This is a fundamental strategic issue, not a website critique.
  • Posted by Norwood on 3/4/2011 at 1:41 PM Accepted
    I agree with previous comments, you do have to make sure you know what you want your website to accomplish. Also, how are people going to find your site and services? The answer to these questions may give you indication of the road to take.

    OK, so here are some specific suggestions just based on what the site looks today and having seen other consulting websites (most consulting sites suck btw):

    1. The rotating images with words like "depth", "stability", etc. are useless. Instead, move the "customer testimonials" that is buried at the bottom and make that part of the rotating banner. Use images that represent the industry, or the customer.

    2. Another option for the rotating banner is to clearly state there what you do. If you do more than one thing, that's a good place to have your offerings rotating, but do so in plain English (instead of "we deliver excellence in support services for your whole organization" have something like "the best help desk IT support in the market").

    3. Stop that rotating news, is annoying. Have the last two news items there and a "more..." link for people to see more news.

    4. Live feed seems useless, too much stuff there. What is it that is most important for someone visiting your home page to see? You can use that space in a better way, focus on one message.

    5. Your "about us" section needs some serious copy writing help... there are some good things there, but overall you don't say much that will help me decide if your company is the right choice. Identify the 3 key things that makes you different and put that in the home page.

    6. It seems you have some decent success stories. You could have an area on the home page where you rotate success stories. People always want to see what you've done for others before hiring you for consulting.

    7. You can also highlight a whitepaper or fact sheet on the home page. Again, it all depends what you want the site to do... if you want people to download and read your materials, make them easily available.

    Hope this helps.
  • Posted on 3/8/2011 at 6:29 PM Member
    I’ll actually address your question, and not tear apart your site design…..Sounds like you need a “portal site” approach. Many large companies use them as they have too many sectors, products, services, etc. Have a landing page that is simple and clearly outlines your key corporate sectors, etc. Perhaps use clean pictures or graphics and a few words under each one to represent each major corporate entity, product, etc, that you represent. You could also have your corporate overview info on this mini site also.

    First though, start with Marketing 101….ask your customers what they want and need from your website(s)…this removes the subjectivity and personal biases of the employees in each sector.
    Then develop 2-3 portal landing pages and test them on customers using A/B split and multivariate testing. Google promotes this strategy heavily and even offers a free tool to help you - www.google.com/websiteoptimizer

    Ensure you have Google Analytics tracking code in your website to measure the incoming traffic, the entrance paths, paths, sources, etc. Then go in and review the analytics to show you which sub-site got what traffic, from where, and what did they click on next, etc.

    Ensure each site has a master header menu that leads back to the portal or any other site using a drop-down menu or similar too. Cross link from internal pages and services too. This gives each area inter-connectivity to all other applicable ones.

    These objective tactics, steeped in marketing fundamentals, should take personality and personal opinions out of the equation. Let the customers and their traffic patterns help decide.
  • Posted on 4/21/2011 at 3:01 PM Member
    I love it! Especially the 5 simple steps. After reading the Crush it step, one can do anything!
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