In between a few of our bigger projects, Richard has been working on some web design improvements for some of our existing clients with website maintenance agreements.

There's anything seriously wrong with the current designs these websites use, but as the content and information contained within them changes, Peacock Carter feel it is appropriate to improve the websites design to better reflect the new information.

Many website owners seem to neglect this issue - they take a look at their site and see nothing wrong with the design: it was, after all, the design they chose and loved - why would that change? Unfortunately for their visitors it can limit the usefulness of the website.

Visitor-centric web design

One of the designs Richard is working on is for a Newcastle school website. The current design they have is great, and has served them well. When we thought through the additional content which is to be added to the website in the future, though, we started thinking about a design centered around roles for the users. In the case of the school:

• Parents
• Prospective students
• Current students

Other content is available outside of these categories (generally linked to from each role's 'portal page', but by organising the content efficiently like this, visitors can see what is most relevant to them.

Doing it right

One very common implementation of such a visitor-type centric design, is to utilise a splash page which states a little bit about the website / company / organisation and then asks the visitor to select which type of visitor they are, and redirects them to a relevant version of the site. Not only does this force the visitor to select the type of visitor they are (which can be restrictive), it is also a splash page.

Splash pages are, for most business websites, not in-line with the business' needs: generating sales through organic search engine result.

General content is available throughout the website, but by selecting which type of visitor they are, visitors will hopefully be able to find what they're looking for much more easily.

Refresh your website design?

Time for a short plug: what has changed within your organisation since your website design was launched? More importantly, what has happened to your content since then? If you are based in the North East, why not arrange to come in for a chat and we can talk about your website in more detail, alternatively - we are just a phone call or email away; we would love to help your website reach its full potential with our web design services!