February 21, 2006

Design Tips for Dance Websites

Here are ten tips for creating websites to promote dance:

1) Objectives: Start with your objectives in mind. What is it that you want visitors to your website to do? Buy tickets? Sign-up for dance classes? With these objectives in mind, how can you design a website that will help your visitors achieve these objectives?

2) Text: Ensure that website visitors can read the text on your webpages. Internet users access the web with different web browsers and screen resolutions. It may be the case that on your computer the text is easy to read, but another users with a very high screen resolution may see very small print when they access your home page and the print may be too difficult to read.

3) Navigation: Creating a sensible navigation system is critical. Users should be able to find the information that they want as quickly and effortlessly as possible. So it's important to spend time designing a navigation system that helps direct users to the content and tools that they seek.

4) Clarity over design: It's more important for a site to be functional than for a site to feature a beautiful design. Of course having an attractive site is a major plus. But most of the time, users have specific objectives when they visit your site. They want to know the dates and times of a performance. They want to find and print driving directions to a theater. They want to purchase tickets. If a fancy design ever interferes with providing this type of straightforward functionality, then your website is not delivering what your customers need.

5) Constant updates: Websites should always be updated. If users visit a site that doesn't feature the latest performance and/or class schedules, they will leave the site in a fraction of a second. Ideally, you should have a way to make changes to your website through an easy to use content management system that does not require knowledge of HTML. You should be able to add text and schedules and push a button to update your website.

6) Weblogs: As I've written many times, weblogs (blogs) are invaluable. First, they are easy to update. But more importantly, blogs are a great way to communicate directly with your audience. Most websites just include traditional marketing copy that doesn't usually grab the attention of readers. But if choreographers and dancers write in the first person and communicate directly with their audiences, they will get more people excited and interested in upcoming performances.

7) No frames and no little text boxes: It is never a good idea to embed text in small, scrollable text boxes that are a pain in the neck to navigate. The focus should always be on providing users with easy to access content that does not require struggling with little directional arrows that are too difficult to use.

8) Repertory: I'm often surprised by how short and unhelpful descriptions are on many dance websites for upcoming performances. Why not write extended descriptions of performances so that readers can learn about your dance programs in-depth before attending the performance? I like what the San Francisco Ballet offers in terms of program notes and study guides.

9) Pictures: There's nothing like good pictures to enhance a dance website. Once again, however, I'm not thrilled with the quality of the pictures that I've seen on dance sites. It pictures are carefully chosen and clearly annotated, they can add significant value to the user experience.

10) Video: Add video segments of your upcoming performances. In some cases, due to contractual limitations or copyright issues, it may not be possible to add video clips. But if at all possible, try to add videos of performance highlights and interviews. Make sure you test the videos on different computers to ensure that your website visitors will not have trouble access these clips.

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