Website Review Case Study For Mnsaltco Water Softener Salt

Review Brief

Website: mnsaltco.com

• Using a slider on top of the page is not a good idea. It used to be a very common design feature during the desktop-only era, but on responsive (mobile-friendly) websites it's highly ineffective. Users won't stop and stare at these long presentations on mobile devices. It's not only inconvenient, but it also drains batteries. You should use one single visual with a powerful headline over it. One single relevant, high-quality, optimized image. Leave the other messages for the main content area.
• The "A better way" title is too generic. I'd use a more specific, attention-grabbing title. Also, don't use an exclamation mark on headlines. The subheader should be an opening phrase, not a subheader.
• The opening text is fine, but don't use such a huge block of text. Use instead short paragraphs, which are much easier to read, especially on mobiles.
• Your opening text is structured as a problem-solution text, which is fine. But if the first part would be placed beside an image of a bag in the trash (for example) and the second beside an image showing one of your containers, the impact of your message would be much stronger.
• "What Makes Minnesota Salt Co. Green, Convenient, & Affordable?" I'd replace the question with a powerful statement.
• I already explained the problem with sliders. I'd replace this second slider with a bulleted list of benefits/advantages. It would be much more effective and easy to read.
• You MUST end your homepage with a call to action.
• About us: It's not a mistake to use the friendly, personalized approach to the about us page content. Though there are studies that recommend the more common business-related approach. Meaning a text that introduces a specialized and experienced company, focusing on team professional expertise, strong customer service, etc. It depends to a large extent on your targets, whether they expect to receive their container from the nice next-door neighbor, or from a reliable and specialized company. (it doesn't matter if you're actually a one-man business, or a team company).
• How it works page: I don't think that the top visual is relevant. I'd replace it with one of the visuals you have now on your homepage's slider.
• I wouldn't use the image of the cute child on this type of page. Keep in mind that this page is actually the essence of your business. I'd use instead a more business-related image. For example, a satisfied person receiving your container.
• The "our philosophy" text doesn't belong to this page. It belongs to the "about us" section.
• I'd add a call to action to this page or at least a short paragraph to encourage people to get started.
• The FAQ page: This page is very important. It's great that you added it to your website! But after seeing the detailed information you have on this page, I think that it could be a good idea to add a new page to the website: a page like "our salt", or "our service", or "why Minnesota salt"... What I mean is a page that provides information about the salt.
• I'd replace the "sign in" link on the navigation menu with "contact". It's important to display a contact us link at all times. If you want you can add a "get started" link after "contact".

These are just a few preliminary comments. A detailed report has been created for the business owner.

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