Organize Header | close
The current header has two "San Diego Public Library" bars, they are redundant lets loose the top instance.
The navigation seems out of context way up there, let's move it below the main header. Another big problem with the current navigation is its use of images to display text. Using images to display text is bad for a number of reasons, it makes it impossible for Search Engines to index the text as keywords, the text can not be resized by the browser and this technique increases your total cost of ownership, even small text changes require the production of new images. Let's loose the images and place the text in a list, pump up the font size and add some color. Our navigation is much more readable now. Since we are using text instead of images the Search Engines are happy and our older users can use the browser controls to set text size.
Log In (conversion = successfull log in) | close
Currently this important bit of functionality is buried under the catalog search functions where no one will ever find it
It is probably safe to assume that the Library is going to continue to add more and more personalized content and functionality. We want to make user log in a top level function, so let's remove the "My Account" link from the page content and create a position for it right under the main navigation. The new positioning will bring the "My Account" functionality right into the user’s eye path making it much easier to find. We want this functionality to really pop so let’s add an icon and visually enhance the text a bit, much better.
<< back | next>> Search the Catalog (conversion = search submitted)
Search the Catalog (conversion = search submitted) | close
The catalog search is really the key piece for the site, it needs to be easy to find and simple to use. The first thing we need is a well written title. We need something that will prompt the user into action, "Search Library Catalog and Databases." That should be clear enough for them.
Next let's add a brief definition telling the user exactly what this component will be used for and place it right under the title. This way the user will know exactly what they are doing and how to do it. Now that we have a nice title let's take a look at the information we will need to conduct a successful catalog search.
After spending some time looking at the advanced search functionality I identified "Choose Location" and "Enter Search Words"as the minimum inputs required to complete a search. Let's use these on our page so that users can complete the search with as little friction as possible; we also want to provide an "advanced search" option for our power users.
<< back | next>> Click on Content (conversion = user selects to view content)
Click on Content (conversion = user selects to view content) | close
Let's start with the right hand column images. At first glance they appear to belong to a category titled "This Month's Events." If this is what you thought, like I did, you were wrong. It turns out they represent a navigational metaphor for Library topics of interest. We need to remove any ambiguity regarding this content and pull all that keyword rich text out of the images.
Since we already have a section on the home page dedicated to Library News and Events let's lose the first item in the list, take what we have left and add a descriptive sub header to each. The addition of the sub header will give the user some insight into the page content resulting in more clicks and will provide more content for SEO. Now we can take this new section that we have titled "Library Topics of Inerest" and group it with our "News and Events" section to create a cohesive content area.
The content is now in one section but it seems kind of stale, was it written last week, last month or ten years ago. We need to give the user some indication of our contents "freshness." Adding some dates to the "News and Events" section should do the trick, fresh content is always more relevant.
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