Input Needed

[justplainwayne]

We have just launched a revised web site ( www.multimediainstitute.com ) and need some input regarding navigation, content and design. Please let us know how we are doing. How we can improve and if anything we are missing. All comments are welcome!

[maninderwalia]

Hi!
The only thing I want to say is that there are lot of empty spaces on the site i.e. you might put more content on the site or have you kept these empty areas for advertising;)

Maninder

[kykex]

cool and simple website. Easy to browse execpt the column marked 1 to 5 (related to the menu on top) is something I didn't get at first (thought it was just additional choices).

It looks really professional, but If I were to be picky I would have chosen a blue a little bit more friendly for the background :D

Good job on the whole.

[scottiecl]

Hi Justplainwayne! :hi:

Welcome!

What are your primary keywords? In other words, when people go to search for a site like yours, what would they be most likely to enter as a search term?

Who is your target audience? Who are you designing for?

What is the point of your website? Is it to display what you do, to be the coolest site you know of, or is it to attract new clients, or is it to show what you think it the "right way" to build a website? Do you "need" high rankings or do you get traffic from other sources?

The reason I ask is that the site really represents your business in a way that many sites don't since you teach people to develop digital content. I can give you some usability ideas but they may not be appropriate for your target audience.

[justplainwayne]

Scottie thanks for your in-put,
The key words or phrases are targeted at individuals seeking training- (ie. PhotoShop Training; Flash Tutorials etc.)
We want to demonstrate what is capable as well as our capabilities.
The primary purpose of the site is to introduce our institution to individuals in need of training.
Usability ideas may be of importance to us because of potential navagational issues (like kykex mentioned) or is our content meeting a percieved need and not a actual one, are we giving TMI? We would encourage all suggestions.
Thanks again,
justplainwayne

[scottiecl]

OK justplainwayne, that is a good start.

The reason I asked for the "point" of the site is that if all the empty space is part of the "concept" and important to show your sense of style or vision of a "clean interface" or anything along those lines. If that is the goal, you may not want to take my advice.

IMO

Definitly not TMI- TLI! As a potential student, there is not enough here to explain to me exactly what you offer and why I should choose you over all the others in this field.

Are you experts? Been in the business a long time? Have the latest techniques? Name-recognition clients? All of these things help build credibility and trust to encourage a student to sign up. They need to feel that they can't get the same experience-customer service-knowledge-whatever anywhere else.

You need more text and information. Both for spiders and for humans. The current text is very small and will be difficult for older monitors and older humans to read. (And some of us not-so-old humans don't care for it much either :) )

The blue is a bit uncomfortable to look at but definitely conveys energy. It may turn some viewers off but you may not be designing for all viewers! I didn't like it at first but now I think I do :)

The numbers along the side are confusing. :confused: They don't seem to relate to anything. Why does #1 correlate to "about us"? I actually would prefer no numbers but just allow them to light up as they do now, highlighting the words in the top bar.

Your keywords (PhotoShop Training; Flash Tutorials) do not appear anywhere on your home page or in your content. You need to put these words in the title and again in the content. You need a LOT more content.

Explain what you offer, why you are the best, include short testimonial snippets from grateful students, and give a short text explanation of each course on the courses pages in addition to listing them. This will help your user and SE spiders.

Enough to get started.. BTW I really like the design and the subtle animation!