Website Redesign Purgatory: Usability and CivicActions' "As Is" Site
on
May 24, 2008
Website Redesign Purgatory: Usability and CivicActions' "As Is" Site
I WANT YOU TO READ MORE
The CivicActions team is in the process of redesigning our website at this very moment. In my role as information architect, I am helping to design the site's navigation and page structure so that users can meet their goals. Here are some sample scenarios:
When you reach the end of the first few sentences of the blog, nothing indicates that the piece is truncated; the Read more link floating way out in right field is easy to miss. Content contributors generally have a few options for addressing a usability flaw:
- A potential client wants to find a savvy web consulting firm to transform their site and increase their audience and fundraising base.
- A job-seeker wants to find a cool place to work.
- A CivicActions team member wants to be sought after in their area of expertise, and more broadly, wants to express their ideas and get feedback from creative, brilliant people.
When you reach the end of the first few sentences of the blog, nothing indicates that the piece is truncated; the Read more link floating way out in right field is easy to miss. Content contributors generally have a few options for addressing a usability flaw:- Hack it. (By adding a specific html tag to the end of my post, I can force the CivicActions blog landing page to display the entirety of my post--let's say, an essay on the history of the world wide web).
- Solve the problem once and for all. Blow off other projects and deadlines, and focus entirely on the site redesign.
- Be zen. Those that are meant to read this will.
- Suffer with the knowledge that once again, true genius will be yet another victim of poor usability design.












