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This is a redo of http://24hrhr.com as we are adding a Product. A few odds and ends need cleaning/improvement - but the biggest need is the index page. I think need to cut about 50% of the text but having a tough time. Editing text is about 10x more difficult (for me) when I'm the one that wrote it in the 1st place.
can I ask why it's so necessary to remove 50% of the text? It's very text heavy, but not to the point where it's unreadable. I'm afraid I can't advise as to which sections of text could be lost, I don't have sufficient understanding of what it is you wish to do, who your target audience is, and what your message is.
The 50% figure is my 'gut feeling'.... & echoes what you said, "very text heavy".
Market is Human Resources, leaning to Benefits managers & HRIS departments.
Maybe it's OK. I guess my bounce rate will give me a better clue over the next month.
So I assume you'll be adding another column similar to the 4 already there?
another column ? I guess you mean for the benefits managers. No, their functions cut a pretty broad swath so they won't need a lot of steering. All 3 left columns touch on their work. HRIS often reports to Benefits & Comp anyway, but they would probably go to the HRCS column.
In that event, I don't think it's so crucial to significantly reduce text on that page. It's a bit text heavy, yes, but the intent is to inform, and it does that. If you want to go with a heavier eye candy approach and less text, that may also work, but I'm not really familiar with your niche. Yours is the first site of its type that's been posted here.
Thanks -- I'll leave it as it is. It' has been picked at quite a bit.
Let's see what some others here have to say. They often have more insight than I do.
I only looked at your homepage and nothing else. Others will pick up the other points. Here are my suggestions:
Your site needs to by symmetrical. It is a simple psychological finding that humans are more accepting and less discriminatory to symmetrical objects. (That's why the prettiest people and things are more symmetrical than others).
If I were you, I would redo the header so that the columns can be evenly spaced and easy to read. The background image makes it rough on the eyes and is too "noisy" - disrupts the message. Consider choosing a different image/header.
Finally, add some borders to the text columns. Just like a newspaper, each column needs to be isolated. Otherwise, I just see a whole lot of reading to do, get scared, and run away.
Hope these tips help.
-BEC
added some text borders & did what I could with headers + symmetric issues. Kind of stuck with the image for a few months as it ties into an upcoming ad campaign + printed marketing materials. The penguin throws off the alignment, but for now, it is what it is.
what about making the site flexible width?
The site was created and is served by the new product (HRCS). I made the decision way back to go with fixed width as the HRCS is also the wysiwyg editor for pdfs. But -- this line has got me thinking... I'm not the imaging person, but I'm sure that the image can get a slight rework and move the penguin to the right so that it's under the Partners column. Currently, there is only 1 link anyway and it's using the index page Theme.... so thanks for the comments. I'll ask her to do it today. Small enough change so that the print collateral won't need to be trashed.