Is your organization's homepage a homerun? In this issue of Engage we focus on effective homepage best practices — improvements you can make in 2009 to help your homepage work harder. Take a look at our video interview to get one expert's thoughts, and don't forget to check out the latest launches. If you get even one idea, we'd like to think Engage is worth reading and watching!

industry buzz

Inaugural Media Mania
It was media mania as the world took part in our 44th President's inauguration "through live video streaming... blogging, vlogging and tweeting." Many well-known magazines also engaged in up-to-the-minute coverage through their Web extensions. How did you participate?

Twitter Becomes Search-Friendly
Many organizations are already utilizing Twitter to reach out to key audiences through their cell phones. This microblogging tool is about to become even more beneficial with the addition of a search feature that will bring relevant content to users interested in specific tweet topics. Check it out...

"Free Is Not a Good Business Model"
"Is there a way to reverse the broad expectation that information, including content assembled and produced by professionals, should be free?" With the invention of new "digital readers" such as the Kindle, perhaps it is time the print media industry capitalizes on its online content and looks to create an iTunes of its own.

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diamond in the rough

Home Sweet Home

Think fast — you only have 11 seconds. That's the average length of time a visitor will scan your organization's homepage before he or she decides to stick around or jump to another site.

To keep (and increase) your Web traffic, there are best practices every organization should follow, explains Anthony Pappas, creative director of the Pappas Group, a leading brand development and Web design company. First, have a clear message and quality content. Second, be sure your site is easy to navigate. Finally, keep your homepage proportionate and clean.

Anthony's video interview

Hurry — the clock is ticking. According to Web guru and author Jakob Nielsen, users read "at most, 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely."

To make sure those visitors find important information fast, be smart with your page's real estate. Researchers Weinreich & Herder found that only 50% of visitors scroll down to see what lies "below the fold." Other studies have shown that visitors read in an "F" pattern, focusing first on the upper left corner.

But don't prepare to overhaul everything just yet. According to Web usability master Jared Spool, dramatic relaunches are a thing of the past. Instead, stick to "subtle evolution" and continuous improvements. Spool says the best way to test your site is to sit with people as they attempt to find things or complete tasks — this will help you to see your site through the eyes of the user.

One last tip: Make sure every page on your site is just as informative and easy to navigate as your homepage. On average, 75% of Web visitors get to a site through "deep linking" and search engines. But once they pop up to your homepage — if Pappas' golden rules are followed — those seconds will keep ticking away.

Connect    Effective Homepage Best Practices.

Engage    Share your own homepage tips here!

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