• Business Identity - the new user should be able to see immediately what it is that your company does. They should receive confirmation from your mission statement that they are in fact where they want to be.
• Navigation - no matter how big or small your site might be, the home page is the gateway to the rest of it. The navigation must clearly show the site hierarchy and make it very easy for the user to navigate straight to the part of the site he is seeking. The navigation on the home page can be unique - i.e. the navigation on subsequent pages might be different depending on the part of the website. However, all subsequent pages should have a clear link back to the home page.
• Make Links Clear - ensure that your links are clearly identifiable as such. Ideally they should be underlined, in a different colour and the colour should change to reflect links that have been recently used.
• Pull-Down Menus - while these can save space, they can also be annoying if they overlap essential text undeneath. Also, the user doesn't like pull-down menus which drop down as he moves his mouse around the page. A drop-down menu should only be triggered by a definite click of the mouse button. The disadvantage of a pull-down menu is that the user doesn't know what is underneath until he actually triggers the list.
• Searching - if your site provides goods and services, then a prominently displayed search box is essential. Many users will go straight to the search facility to find the item that they are looking for. Ideally the search box should just provide a single entry point, together with a clearly marked GO or SEARCH button alongside. It might be legitimate to add a further drop-down box with product categories to help reduce the search time and improve the results.
• Promotions - if your site offers promotions, special offers etc., then is is legitimate for the home page to provide a shortcut to obtain more information about these offers.
• Frequently Used Shortcuts - if your website contains downloads and other frequently used features, then the home page should provide a quick link to go straight to this part of the site.
• Registration - if your site requires user registration, then the home page should provide the necessary links to a registration page as well as the means for existing members to logon.
• Logical Layout - the home page needs to be laid out logically so that the new user can clearly see where he is. There is nothing worse than a home page which is confused and makes the user spend valuable time searching around for content that he thinks might be there. Remember, the average user just scans the page so his brain needs to register the bits that you want him to see and not the bits that are unimportant (keep the content of the home page down to a minimum). Show the user where to start for searching, browsing and special offers.
• Taglines Are Important - a good phrase which sums up what the site is all about is a very efficient way to get the message across, and will certainly be better than a wordy introduction to the site. The phrase should be less than 10 words if possible and should convey differentiation and clear benefit.
• Home Page Advertising - it might be tempting to sell space on your home page. However, this reduces the available space for your message and may be counter productive (how many times have you clicked on a banner advertisment on someone else's website?).

Software Options and the Internet

Software Options are developing an Internet Marketing division which can provide the following key services: