“A home page should be useful if you want it to be used.”
The official Web sites for most consumer brands aren’t very exciting. You can pretty much bet on what you’ll see: A huge photo of the product, a button you click to see a list of ingredients or retail locations, perhaps some company history — and of course the ubiquitous “Contact Us” form. With the exception of some fancy Flash graphics (meant to impress viewers, but more often something that gets in their way), it seems like many home pages are trapped in time.
Well, it is time for home pages to become more interactive and engaging.
A growing number of major brands have taken a hard look at their home pages lately, rebuilding them into platforms that shatter the old cyber-billboard model in order to give consumers not just a page to visit, but a portal for learning and interacting. These new-generation home pages are becoming less isolated and more fully integrated into the Web. They feature more social cross-pollination. They also offer a lighter user experience (a refreshingly sparing use of Flash gimmickry) and are more search-friendly. Overall, the pages strive to achieve a greater depth of brand experience, be that selling actual products or simply cementing existing customer relationships.
- Hamish
Share This