Web design thoughts
I was reading We the Media by Dan Gillmor this morning and came across the following paragraph:
“Don’t bury the PR contact information so far inside the website that on one without an advanced agree in Library Science can find it. I look for the “About the Company” page, then look for the “Press” page and then for the “Contact Information” page. Maybe there’s a more logical place for such information, but wherever you put it, don’t’ hide it.”
On first read I was intrigued by his reference to library degrees and the fact that he realizes that librarians are good at finding things. On a second read I realized that despite our abilities in finding and organizing information we still fail to apply these ideas to our own Web sites. The number of times that I am unable to find contact information on library sites is staggering. Simple things like directions to your library, a phone number (including area code please, not everyone trying to call your library is local) and the director’s e-mail address (if not also department heads) are missing or nearly impossible to find on some sites. Please folks, ask yourself the following question: when a user arrives at your library’s homepage, can they find contact information within a single click? If not, your design might need some adjustment.
