If you’ve visited Sun.com in the last week or so there’s no doubt that you noticed a brand new home page that is a dramatic departure from the previous iteration. From a visual perspective, the most striking changes are the full use of bold color that gives the page more weight & substance (which translates to sophistication in the minds of visitors), and a re-architected template that — although not radically different from the previous construct — delivers a wealth of links in a much more efficient manner.
Striking changes include the bold use of color, more balanced navigation, and a more efficient design
Beyond these immediately eye-catching alterations are an assortment of more subtle modifications that achieve a couple of objectives. First, navigational options are more evenly distributed, which balances home page content. Second, popular features, including downloads & free trials, are more prominently positioned making them particularly obvious & accessible to visitors.
Visual changes aside, the most significant modifications to the Sun.com home page lie in the reorganization of existing links — and addition of new links — that allow visitors to enter the site based on affiliation or objective. Admittedly, the previous home page provided access to resources via a smattering of audience-specific links and often encouraged visitors to navigate forward by activity, the explicit focus on audience segmentation, however, is a new approach at Sun.com.
As important, this new design incorporates nuances that elevate these behaviors to the next level. The terminology used to label links is consistent with how IT Websites should communicate with visitors & customers in the age of Web 2.0. In fact, the “Community Voices” nomenclature is a stroke of Web 2.0 genius that effectively conveys the social networking nature of the content delivered beyond this link and its subsequent fly-out menu links. In addition, the “Sun For…” global navigational option is more than a passing nod to the fact that one of Web 2.0’s underlying principles is tightly-focused communities of interest, and that these types of venues are available at Sun.com.
From a usability perspective, including links not previously available on the Sun.com home page makes this new version much more effective than its predecessor was. A case in point is the “Innovating@Sun” link that consolidates access to Sun’s flagship technologies into a single fly-out menu; previously these links were littered about the home page (or missing from Sun.com’s home page completely). More important, the audience specific links provided in the secondary horizontal navigational panel substantiate the inference of the “Sun for…” global navigational option; strengthen visitor awareness of Sun.com’s community-based zones; ensure quick access to pertinent content based on affiliation; and give Sun the opportunity to educate users about products & solutions that are designed to meet their unique needs.
It also bears mention that the tone of Sun.com’s new home page is quite different than it has traditionally been. In fact, a quick scan of the page’s various content modules reveals a much more product-centric focus with storage systems at the center of the discussion and strong enticements that encourage visitors to download free software. In contrast to previous messages that invited visitors to explore Sun’s programs & concepts; discover Sun activities & innovations; participate in social networking activities; or begin the research & selection process, this new home page content is distinctively more “hard sell” than ever before.
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that Sun.com’s new home page isn’t free from some glitches. In particular, the links in the secondary navigational panel don’t return a corresponding zone home page as most users will expect. Rather, clicking these links simply loads an audience-specific feature in the primary home page module. In addition, scrolling over the individual downloads modules fails to reveal any information or options associated with the corresponding technology; instead, visitors must click on a specific option to reveal this information. Lastly, siteIQ analysts were quick to note that the links in the “Community Voices” fly-out menu lead to independent mini-sites that neglect to include the Sun.com global navigational panel or an obvious reciprocal link back to the Sun.com home page.
These anomalies are trivial, however, when one important fact is considered — this new design approach is only skin-deep. With the exception of the updated global navigational panel, none of the attributes or concepts employed on Sun.com’s latest home page has been incorporated into pages within the site. As a result, visitors experience a huge visual disconnect as they navigate deeper and encounter content that bears no resemblance to the originating page.
SITEIQ VIEW | While we are impressed with the visual, structural, and organizational changes recently made to Sun.com’s home page, were aren’t surprised to see them in play; similar approaches have been employed by many competitive venues for the past twenty-four months. Consequently, we view the launch of this page as evidence that Sun is engaged in a furious game of catch up rather than as a groundbreaking event that ushers in new behaviors or best practices. Only time will tell, however, whether this page will effectively serve all masters, and if the approaches used will permeate the remainder of the site. While we encourage the Sun team to explore all possible options that support current and evolving business strategies, we also offer this reminder. HP flirted with posting a home page that was designed to eliminate clutter & escort visitors into the site based on a handful of highly focused objectives & audience segments earlier this year, then it disappeared in a now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t moment when the HP team realized it didn’t effectively achieve all objectives.
Tags: good practice, Home Page, Navigation, sun.com, website design
