I have just been in a meeting to discuss our company's new website. There was a lot of support for video being included on the home page. The video would include key messages and client's saying how good we are etc. the feeling around the room was that this would be the best way to communicate these messages with the visitors to the site.
I suggested that this was not a good idea but struggled to come up with any concrete reasons other than it could slow the page load down. My gut feel is that it is wrong to do this and will make the content harder to consume, but I could be wrong.
Are there any reasons why video should not be added to the home page?
We are a small business that offer bespoke eLearning services, the site is to generate leads and promote the business etc.
Answer
Some hard reasons against videos:
- Videos require sound. This is not appropriate - or even feasible - in some scenarios.
- Videos take over control. I can't reliably skip a paragraph, read thoroughly or across - it's your pacing, not mine
- Videos usually offer no navigation. The goal of your home page should be for visitors to quickly find what they are looking for
In sum, videos have a higher acceptance barrier. That is a significant problem for casual traffic, or when users compare different offers they found through a search engine.
This doesn't speak against a well-made animation . The main problem with the "central video" is the expectation that visitors come to your site to learn just how good you are:
Scenario: I have to come up with a suggestion for "some inhouse e-larning". I have allocated 2 hours, and would rather go home right now. Inhouse IT could develop it, we could get an intern, or we look for a 3rd party. To get some idea about the 3rd party market, I google "e-learning".
After five refinements of the search term I have 17 home pages. One of them says
"Do you need e-learning? We have the solution. Click here for examples of our work".
The other has a five minute video starting with a guy saying "Hello, this is Tyler Durden, CEO of company name."
Where do you think I spend five minutes?
Never expect the full attention of the visitor. Never expect the problem you solve is the problem your visitor has. Consider what message you got across in the first 30 seconds.
No comments:
Post a Comment