[WEB4LIB] Re: home page content

[kyle.felker at ccmail.nevada.edu]

Here at UNLV, we looked at both logfiles and usability testing, as wall as
other data, to help decide what went on the homepage.  I would be willing
to bet money that students want links directly to mechanisms that allow
them to search online for material-the catalog, electronic databases, etc.
And they want those things labeled in a way that makes sense.  We chose the
phrasing "Find articles," "find books"  "find videos" etc.  It seems to be
working so far.

I would also think that regardless of what else you put on the page, you
will want to include a section on library news and events-this is going to
be the most-visited page on the site, so it's ideal for advertising
anything you need patrons to know about.

Homepage design is a balancing act-you need enough links and information
that students can get to things quickly and make informed decisions about
what link to choose, but not so much that they can't make sense of the
page.  Prototyping homepages and testing them with users can help here.

-Kyle Felker
Web Manager
UNLV Libraries






Peter Murray <Peter.Murray at uconn.edu>@webjunction.org on 08/15/2004
02:38:41 PM

Please respond to Peter.Murray at uconn.edu

Sent by:    web4lib at webjunction.org


To:    Multiple recipients of list <web4lib at webjunction.org>
cc:
Subject:    [WEB4LIB] Re: home page content

Ginther, Craig wrote:

>We're starting to look at a website redesign, and I'd like to draw on the
>expertise of this group as a first step.  Are there certain types of
>information that you feel must be displayed on the 'home' page?
>
I would humbly suggest that you need to ask your users to get the answer
to that question.  What do your users think is the most important
information to display on your home page?  Having been through two
series of usability testing exercises for two sites, I'm amazed at the
difference in the needs of each of the users.  It seems to depend on the
characteristics of your library system along with the needs and
expectations of your users.

(I'm sure others with more experience in usability testing may chime in,
but it also seems like you need to keep retesting because the needs and
expectations -- if not the characteristics of your system -- change over
time.)


Peter