Concise, usable company info pages 'vital'

Category: Usability

September 30th 08, 09:09

Companies need to ensure that their 'about us' website pages are as easy to understand and informative as possible, it has been advised.

According to website design expert Jakob Nielsen, while the usability of these pages for a wide range of organisations has increased by nine per cent in the last five years, more needs to be done to provide users with the information they need.

In his latest Alertbox column, Mr Nielsen explained that good 'about us' sections will typically consist of four main elements, beginning with a brief homepage tagline and a summary paragraph at the top of the 'about us' page.

A more detailed factsheet should follow, together with links to further pages with extra detail.

Mr Nielsen warned against the use of excessive marketing language and phrases that do not convey a clear meaning.

"The web is very depersonalised, but from our earliest usability studies, we've seen that users like getting a sense of the company behind the website," he explained.

In his previous column, Mr Nielsen looked at online company location pages and found that the usability of this content has risen from 63 per cent to 96 per cent in the space of seven years.

This news story was brought to you by Bluhalo, a leading UK digital agency.

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