February 04, 2003
Review of KANA Web Site
Flush left, fixed width site. Decent large scale flash piece on the home page, main positive is that it ends with useful items that recap the message and present the user with choices to follow based on those items, though the image used for High Tech seems a bit odd compared to the others in the set. It contains an item to skip the intro and allows the user to jump to the end if they have seen it but would like to use the links again.
Rollover navigation that nudges or moves other navigation items unexpectedly is undesirable, her it is caused by bolding the font in the secondary nav and I am unsure why in on the About Us rollover.
The Yellow content area under the flash intro, offers no explanation of the content that is included within it, it gives them the ability to change out the items and messages without having to redesign the page, as long as the content fits and is visually appealing. The use of ">more" links for all three of the content offerings on the home page is not recommended, on quick scan it may not be apparent that they all link to different items, and what the user will get by clicking them.
They have broken some standards by having the KANA logo on the right and the search material and toolbar flush left. They also do not use the KANA logo as a link back to the home page, but do have a home link in where the logo should be, in the tool bar.
sloppy.
I have not previously seen a large company use the terminology "New and Noteworthy", I do not think that it is incorrect or misleading, it just strikes me as different, it works because it is encompassing of a number of various items that the user might find, news, events, PR, case studies, anything they want to push. But it also becomes less useful to the user because it does not define on quick scan the contents. Press Release section is given a high level of importance, being placed in the top right but only contains two items.
A new background color is introduced on the interior pages, given that the site is not liquid or centered this can make a striking change to the visual feel of the sight depending on user screen size, jumping from a stark white home page to a kaki interior page may seem like they have left the core of the site.
This is another site that refuses to use left hand navigation. This site opts for a horizontal navigation layout, the draw back being a lack of visual hierarchy. Other problems occur with the navigation since the "drop down" navigation is also used for the page sectional navigation if another section is rolled over in the top navigation the secondary navigation for the current section is lost for a period of time. Also large sections become unwieldy in a locked witch horizontal format, such as the second row of secondary items under Training > Education, is that last row 2nd or 3rd level?
The solutions landing pages utilize a strange diagram in a 2nd content column to assist the user in navigating the content, and attempts to organize the information into a usable form, but it does not seem to make much sense, it is clear on inspection of the tiny type that all the links for this section are in here, but it is unclear what type of organizational statement the diagram is trying to make. The creating of this diagram is most likely a derivative of the limited flexibility of the top navigation, and lack of a left nav to offer a clear and comprehensive view of the site offerings.
The main navigation item "eCRM@WORK" is too nondescript, it means the same thing as a case study in some sense, though upon rollover a good amount of description is offered.
One generally good thing that the site does is provide continuation links at the bottom of the content, leading the user, after having reviewed the content, to move forward by contacting KANA, downloading material, etc.
They generally do a good job of presenting multiple means to find a case study that is relevant to the user, a list of 9 that it seems they want to highlight, A-Z sorting, product sort, and more. One major flaw is that the "case study wizard" pops up a new window with what looks to be a previous version (2001) of the Kana site, with similar navigation items but a completely different look that then links back to the current look and feel. They need to kill one or they other, the wizard link, or the old look, it appears very
