My year-long goal is to get the local VA site's user interface friendlier and functional. I have yet to get access into it's CMS, but have a good idea of what to start on. First of all, design. The site feels static. No, excuse me, it IS static. I want my eyes to tear up upon loading onto my screen. Much like the White House site...*drool (ok, maybe not that nice, I've got be realistic here). My co-worker and I were thinking of a scrolly picture thing similar to the VA's national site . I also have to keep ease of navigation in mind. Much of the links on the page are duplicates and I can see how a visitor could easily be confused.
Anyway, I've been reading David Meerman Scott's book, "The New Rules of Marketing & PR." He's a big advocate of knowing your demographic. Keeping that in mind, here are some questions I ask myself while brainstorming its redesign:
-Who are its clients?
-How intuitive is the navigation?
-Will the client find what he/she is looking for?
-What is the client looking for?
-What will get the clients to return?
Do you have any suggestions? Questions to add to the list? Or examples of sites you think I should take a look at? I'm looking to YOU APOCians for help!!! Not Micheal J Fox, YOU! Be a part of this wonderful opportunity to help veterans all accross Southern California!
Posts
Hey Blake,
ReplyDeleteI know we had a brief conversation about platforms for your site. I'll be interested to hear which one you choose. I know that there are proprietary concerns as well as security. My advice - contact similar webmasters doing similar sites in the .gov business. I know that ICANN uses Drupal
Christopher
Thanks Chris! I will do a little digging and get back to you. I need all the technical help I can get :) It can be overwhelming at times!
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