Tell me more ×
Answers OnStartups is a question and answer site for entrepreneurs looking to start or run a new business. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 0 down vote favorite

I am interested in using a rotating banner on a home page. The presentation is like a slide show, with a series of text messages, each with a simple graphic related to the point of each message. Each slide pauses for 12-15 seconds or so and the content of each slide is a heading and one to three sentences.

Does anyone have best practices for producing this type of content that they can recommend? Do's and don'ts? Or examples of web sites that really do a good (or bad) job of this type of thing?

Is this in general a good thing compared to static text, or is it distracting?

The main problem I am having is providing a series of talking points to a visitor without cluttering up the design or forcing them to read a lot of material. My intention is to give the visitor a reason to browse the site further or to click the contact link.

share|improve this question
1  
Hey, thanks for asking a question. Your question would be better suited to a site like StackOverflow than Answers. Your question relates to web development and usability testing more-so than an internet startup. – DigitalSea Jun 28 '11 at 1:01

3 Answers

up vote 0 down vote accepted

Does it work for your target customer? Does it work for your product? Does it fit your purpose?

The designer or developers personal appreciation or displeasure to a specific feature on your website is second to whether it makes sense for your market.

Different demographics will have a different appreciation for (or tolerance of) motion on your site. The design needs to match the purpose with the targeted audience.

I have found that rotating banners in a primary position on the landing page of a site become the focal point and make all other content secondary. Each picture should have an actionable step association with it. The action steps should be one that moves the sales proposition forward.

share|improve this answer
I really like this summary, Joseph. This is useful advice. Thank you. – user2757 Jul 11 '11 at 3:11
I wound up doing a redesign of this web site that does not use the banner. Your points (as well as those of the other follow up messages) were perfectly cogent to this. It just didn't help or work when I tried the layout. I did use the slide display code, but to display several testimonials in rotation, and off to the side in a block, not as a dominating main element of the page. A very minor use of this device for complementary items of copy seems the best use. Thanks for helping me avoid a black hole. – user2757 Aug 9 '11 at 22:03
@user2757 Thanks for the feedback and comming back to tell us what you did! – Joseph Barisonzi Aug 12 '11 at 22:36
up vote 1 down vote

The reason I don't like this idea is that you will have to make assumptions about the reading speed of the visitor. If they read quickly, they will get bored quickly. Bored visitors leave. If they read slowly, they will be irritated. Irritated visitors leave.

Since people don't all read at the same speed, you can't win.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

Many websites use these banners although slides switch every 3-4 seconds (not 12-15). They are attractive to most users I believe IF they have a purpose, meaning they need to engage the users at some level. Don't do them just for the sake of it. People are more likely to watch your banners than to read a paragraph of text.

My suggestions would be: -Make sure you emphasize your selling points/call to action(s) -Keep them short and to the point -I would keep it to 4/5 slides max -Make them attractive (clean & simple) -If you can afford it (or have one), also place a video in one of the slides. Most of the banner scripts out there allow you to do that.

If you are looking for some good scripts, I found mine on envato.com for a couple of dollars, but I'm sure there are many places where you can find good ones even for free.

Hope that helps!

share|improve this answer
Jan, thanks for the advice. So you're recommending making the banner more active and terser. I hear you about doing it for the sake of doing it - my idea is that some animation makes the site more visually interesting than static text. And this presentation chops up the copy so that it's not one large block of copy. – user2757 Jun 27 '11 at 22:16
@joel True, that's why a banner should be kept to a short headline. I am always surprised at how much faster we process things than we think we do. Think about the sites that ask you to comment on a webpage that is being displayed to you for only 5 seconds before being removed, you'd be surprised about how much you actually remember. And that would be for a full webpage! A few studies have shown that 5 seconds is about the time it takes a first time visitor to decide whether or not to further explore your site. So 4 seconds for ONE headline is plenty enough IMHO but your mileage may vary :) – Jan Jun 28 '11 at 7:12

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.