The Governor’s Prevention Partnership – Connecticut Mentoring Partnership
This mentoring website is run by the Governor’s office of Colorado. It is an example of great organization, with a large amount of information that is balanced and easy to see and understand. There is a search box you can use to find mentoring opportunities in your area and a button to click to sign up to be a mentor. A well-structured site map helps visitors and search engines alike find their way in the website. The navigation is easy to find and use. This is a well-organized and -designed website.
Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County
What makes this website an excellent choice is the use of drop-down menus for navigation. This lets you choose your pages without going from page to page to find what you need. There is a search box that enables you to search the website. The use of red and orange keep the website from being boring, although the design is pretty straightforward. Two other elements set this website apart: the use of embedded videos and a visitor feedback section. Videos create interest, and having a visitor feedback section lets you know if your website is meeting its goals.
Oregon Mentors
The use of bold images adds interest and gives you a sense of connection with the people on the website. Visitors like to see real people and if you use regular people in your pictures, you will convey a sense of connection more than picture-perfect models. Another factor to notice about this website is the use of white space. Text blocks and images aren’t crowded together, and the use of white space gives the site a clean feeling and look. Use this mentoring website as an example of “less is more.”
Coaching.com
This is another example of the “less is more” concept. Smart use of white space, bold images, and the fact that the page fits on one screen make this a simple yet effective coaching website. You can move about in the website by using the drop down menus to the left of the main text box. As you make your selections, you are taken to the page automatically without having to click on anything with your mouse. This website practices the three-click golden rule, which states that everything on your website should be no more than three clicks away. Use this coaching website to see what a simple website can do.
Coach U
Coach U makes use of a strong brand identity. On each page, the Coach U logo is the same. This consistency helps to build a strong brand identity. If you click on the Find a Coach link, a new tab opens in your browser so that you can refer back to the home page easily. The other pages load quickly, and each page has a useful navigation feature. You can search the website and sign up for their newsletter right from the home page. Use this website for an example of brand identity and a consistent look throughout a website.
Bill Baren
This website uses bright, hot colors to create a feeling of excitement and energy. This reflects the energy that is conveyed in the content. There is an explanation of his coaching philosophy and client feedback on the home page. A long list of articles adds to the interest of this website, and there is an option to subscribe to the site. This is an excellent way to keep people coming back and interested in your website. As they share your articles on Facebook and Twitter, you may pick up new visitors and clients. The description of the clients they have makes you want to say, yeah, that’s me, which is a very clever use of content to connect with your visitors and persuade them to become clients. Use of color and customer feedback is what sets this website apart and is an example of how important color can be to your website design.
Coaching and mentoring services are all about connecting and helping people reach their goals. Keep this in mind when you make your own website and include the elements you find on these superior websites and others that you may find in your design research.
