BC Tips
BC Tips are best practice memos distilled from our constant monitoring of websites, and e-mailed to subscribers twice-weekly. Each tip consists of a characterisation of the featured site, a screen shot of or link to the highlighted practice plus ‘the takeaway’ – our commentary on how it can contribute to a more effective website.
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First Group: Timetabling convenience
The advantages that HTML formatting can give over the PDF format.
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Weetabix: Guessing games
Largely unfamiliar iconography is more likely to hold visitors up than help them move smoothly around a section.
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The World Bank Group: Relating to youth
Mature commitment to engaging with young people involves writing about chosen topics in a more direct and challenging ‘voice’.
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The Democratic Convention: Blogging on to community
Blogs mark another step towards the long-spotted but generally elusive goal of creating genuine community-driven sites.
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Time Warner: Cutting to the action
Design born of practicality shows an attention to detail and an understanding of the target audience that is too often missing.
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The Last Email: Lacking in reassurance
Establishing trust remains a critical but difficult issue for new businesses on the web.
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UNESCO: Getting recruits to select themselves
An effective device to reduce the number of unsuitable or speculative candidates applying for jobs or programmes.
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Greenpeace: Respecting names
A simple and inoffensive way of recognising and respecting national differences.
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Grainger: Failing to get personal
Named contacts are generally a good thing to include on a business website, but sometimes it would be best to leave it at the level of name and number.
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Card Fountain: Keeping quiet about registration
A prompt to sign-up at the end of what appears to be an online demo is not what new users or existing members will want to hear.
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Chicago Tribune: Presenting three faces on one site
Many organisations want to offer a service to different audiences, and face internal struggles over which should get the best billing on the home page.
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Aral Lubricants: Oiling a smooth-running catalogue
The public part of a B2B platform is set up as a supremely accessible catalogue of specification and data sheets.
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IBM: Choosing the right pitch
A simple journey to find the relevant set of products then cleverly offers three sales pitches in one.
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Webmarchand.com: Localising an online directory
Potential customers are saved time by customised country directories.
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Atofina: Getting the chemistry right
One of the more intriguing brandbuilding efforts on the web.