I am working on a website and am curious as to what content people think is the most important for putting on the Home Page. My site is a combination of portfolio, resume, and about me as a professional technician.
If you're trying to convey the quality of your work, then a picture of something you've designed is appropriate. (Remember to get permission to use it if it was taken by someone else, and if there are other designers' works involved. And give appropriate credit.) Not so big that it takes too long to load. In the case of a technical designer a Flash slide show would also be appropriate. If it doesn't involve design, and it's just about you, then your picture, or a graphic that says something about you would be the best approach.
Don't clutter up the homepage with too much information up front, just who you are and what you do. If there's a great quote about your work that you can embed in a graphic, even better. Leave the resume, portfolio, gallery, etc., for their own pages. Consistent menu and template on every other page, but the homepage can be a flashier design.
Also, a portfolio or gallery should be thumb-nailed with short description, and if the graphic it calls up is huge, then tell people how big it will be.
For a group or organization always put important news right up front where people can see it without paging through. For an individual, especially an actor or designer, making the homepage a little flashier is a great way to draw in a target audience. Just don't forget usability and navigation.
It's a bitter pill. But you must face up to it and deal with it rationally. The world does not care about you.
Your market comes to your site to get what they want (not because of any interest in you). So, you must understand what they want. And (here's the tricky part) you must figure out how to get what you want by providing them their desires.
That key benefit (that you provide) needs to be the first thing they see when they browse your page.
Aaron Crosby
I am working on a website and am curious as to what content people think is the most important for putting on the Home Page. My site is a combination of portfolio, resume, and about me as a professional technician.
Feb 5, 2011
Scott Bloom
If you're trying to convey the quality of your work, then a picture of something you've designed is appropriate. (Remember to get permission to use it if it was taken by someone else, and if there are other designers' works involved. And give appropriate credit.) Not so big that it takes too long to load. In the case of a technical designer a Flash slide show would also be appropriate. If it doesn't involve design, and it's just about you, then your picture, or a graphic that says something about you would be the best approach.
Don't clutter up the homepage with too much information up front, just who you are and what you do. If there's a great quote about your work that you can embed in a graphic, even better. Leave the resume, portfolio, gallery, etc., for their own pages. Consistent menu and template on every other page, but the homepage can be a flashier design.
Also, a portfolio or gallery should be thumb-nailed with short description, and if the graphic it calls up is huge, then tell people how big it will be.
For a group or organization always put important news right up front where people can see it without paging through. For an individual, especially an actor or designer, making the homepage a little flashier is a great way to draw in a target audience. Just don't forget usability and navigation.
Feb 7, 2011
Steven Mayfield
It's a bitter pill. But you must face up to it and deal with it rationally. The world does not care about you.
Your market comes to your site to get what they want (not because of any interest in you). So, you must understand what they want. And (here's the tricky part) you must figure out how to get what you want by providing them their desires.
That key benefit (that you provide) needs to be the first thing they see when they browse your page.
Feb 8, 2011