Don't Make Me Think
Chapter 7
A homepage has to accommodate site identity and mission, site hierarchy, search, teases, content promos, feature promos, timely content, deals, shortcuts, registration, show me what I'm looking for, and what I'm not looking for, show me where to start, and establish credibility and trust. The home page is the one place almost every visitor sees, so things promoted on the home page get much more traffic. The home page is what everyone will have an opinion about and the home page will interest everyone, so one size must fit all.
Conveying the big picture is important and must not be forgotten in the compromises of constructing a home page. The "tagline" is a phrase visually connected to the ID. It's generally a description to what the site is about. The "welcome blurb" is a description of the site, displayed in prominent block on the homepage and it visible without scrolling. A couple of guidelines to keep in mind are using as much space as necessary, but not any more than necessary. Keep it short, but enough to get the point across. Do not use a mission statement as a welcome blurb. Always test the welcome blurb on others to ensure you made the right design choices.
A tagline is a phrase that characterizes the whole enterprise. Its a summary. Good taglines are good and informative. They convey differentiation and a clear benefit. They are personable, lively, and sometimes clever. Taglines are not needed for companies with established household word status. The trouble with pull-down menus is that you have to seek it out,they are hard to scan, and they're twitchy. They do save space however.
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