Content
Overload vs. Site Usability |
You’ve spent a lot of time and resources developing
content for your web site. But can visitors find it?
It’s one of the great challenges organizations
face. Far too often you’ll see web sites that
have chosen content over usability or the opposite.
But you don’t have to choose – you can have
both – and look good doing it.
WGBH, Boston’s public television
station, recently launched a new website with customized
user content and a brand new look. As a PBS station,
WGBH has a vast array of content – from program
schedules and descriptions, community services, and
online video and audio – WGBH has something for
everyone.
Notably, your web site is an important source of revenue
– you want to do everything you can to increase
your site’s “stickiness” and maximize
every opportunity for visitors to make a gift.
So how do you manage a lot of content and still make
it easy for supporters to contribute?
|
| Some examples
of how WGBH approached this question and more: |
| |
| Obstacle: |
A content heavy website
that serves a multitude of purposes, only one of which
is fundraising. |
| Solution: |
Revamped a content heavy website by
bucketing content into five main navigation options
– Watch, Listen, Learn, Support and Community
and Impact. |
| Result: |
Site is easy to navigate
around and more user/donor friendly – And it was
done without removing content. |
| |
|
| Obstacle: |
As a member organization, WGBH needed
to present both membership levels and benefits without
sacrificing usability or encouraging site abandonment. |
| Solution: |
We
helped WGBH create of a user-friendly membership page,
where options and benefits are presented in an easy
to read, organized format, and the visitor can either
choose to ‘Join’, ‘Renew’ or
‘Learn More’. |
| Result: |
Visitors who are ready to make a gift
when they first land on the page, have a quick link
to do just that. Others who need more information before
making the decision to give are given an alternative
to abandoning the site. |
| |
|
| Obstacle: |
WGBH has a variety
of Annual Funds that support different program areas
– but all their donation forms were the same,
making it somewhat confusing to supporters. |
| Solution: |
Forms were adapted for program areas
using offers and language specific to the respective
fund.
|
| Result: |
A friendlier donor experience that
also served to prevent visitor confusion – when
the visitor clicked on a support button to support a
specific area, the messaging was consistent throughout
the process. |
|
| In a matter of months,
the team launched a user-friendly and highly advanced
website. Take
a few minutes to look around wgbh.org and let us
know what you think. |
