Victory Communications Re-Design
I was hired to refresh the look and feel of Victory Communications, an older website for which I originally wrote the copy. There were several objectives that needed to be met in the re-design. The site needed an updated, modern look that was right for its industry. The site needed to be brought up to speed technically. And it needed a navigation system that made it easy for users.
Design Elements
I needed to establish a look that was in line with the company's objectives. There were several design elements about the old site that bothered me. In particular, the header and main menu needed to be enhanced in a way that communicated to the user in a bold and clear manner. The primary links on the old site were too small. I also didn't like how the old header image seemed to chop up the page. And the header image had too much orange in it for my liking.
The new design clearly separates and highlights the primary links. The main image is bolder and communicates the basics of each section the user is in. I got rid of the orange-red and just used the deep red in the company logo. The last touch was to use a background that would frame the content.
Technical Elements
There were three technical areas that the old site was really lacking. First, none of the pages had any meta data. This was a minor problem in that the site is not targeted at consumers, but it is used by sales reps and current customers.
Second, the site was built using tables with embedded style. This made the site inaccessible and, today, is just bad practice. The new site is built to web standards (pages pass validation for XHTML and CSS 2.1) and is table-less.
Third, navigation was difficult on the old site. Users had to click on the 'Products' link to find a full listing of the company's offerings. The re-design uses a left-side menu for all pages except the index page. This way all products are just one click away on any page on the site.
So, the new website has an updated look that fits well within its industry and, more importantly, the technical foundation of the site is now sound.
Discussion
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