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In this newsletter:
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CU Village recently redesigned and developed InfoSight, the online compliance source for credit unions, using our Content Management System. Take a look by clicking on the image above!
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Convey Your Message Professionally Using Fonts and Color
No matter who designs and develops your Web site, you want to make sure that the look of your site represents the professionalism of your league. The correct use of fonts and color can enhance the message that you want to convey.
Using Fonts
Have you ever visited a Web site on which the fonts were different on almost every page? Did you think that you might have accidentally left the site you wanted to be on? Or perhaps you just thought something seemed a little “off.” Using fonts incorrectly can make your site appear unprofessional, no matter how up-to-date and accurate the information is.
Selecting the correct font for your Web site should be relatively easy; after all the fonts recommend for use on Web sites are few. Use san serif fonts such as Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, or MS San Serif. San serif refers to a letter or typeface with no serifs. A serif is any of the short lines stemming from and at an angle to the upper and lower ends of the strokes of a letter. (Fonts such as Times New Roman and Garamond are considered serif fonts.) A general rule is that san serif fonts are best for Web sites, and serif fonts are best for print.
Using Color
Because our eyes are drawn to certain colors, such as yellow, those colors are used often in advertising. However, those bright colors on a computer screen can strain people’s eyes after a certain length of time.
What this means to you, is that certain colors should be used sparingly and for effect. Reserve the bright, attention-grabbing colors for those times when you really want to attract people to something, such as “New Low Auto Rates!”
Think of all of the areas where color can be used on your site, including background, headlines, logo, borders and accents, text, and buttons. To help provide a unified, professional look for your site, be sure to select colors that complement each other. These tips can help you use color well on your site:
- Background - Use a calm, neutral color such as cream or white for your background. You can add color in other areas such as your borders and buttons.
- Headlines – While headlines are meant to capture attention, each headline does not need to be a different color. Black is an acceptable color for headlines. If you want to use a different color, though, use one that complements the other colors on your site. This will help provide continuity to your site and enhance your site’s professional appeal.
- Logo - What works in print can often work well on your Web site, but bear in mind that the colors will not look exactly the same. Why? The short answer is that printed materials and Web sites use different color systems.
- Borders and accent - Shades of blues, purples, and greens are usually pleasing to the eye. Of course, we’re referring to the calmer or royal shades here, not the bold fluorescent colors.
- Text - Generally this should be black. However dark blue or dark green can be used if they do not clash with the other colors on your site. After all, the text is what people will be reading, so you want to make reading as easy as possible
Some final thoughts
- Use margins. It’s difficult to read text that butts up to the edge of the screen.
- Keep movement or animation to a minimum
- White space is a good thing. Don’t overload a small space with an abundance of information. Make it easy for the visitors to your site to find what they’re looking for.
- Use only the necessary available tools. If you’re using an online editor (such as the one that comes with our Content Management System), you’ll have access to several tools. For instance, your text editor might offer the capability to highlight text. But how professional does that really look?
The bottom line is that the fonts and colors that you use should attract people to your site—not detract from your message.
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Add Important Information to a Page with Related Links
How can you add important information to a Web page without drastically increasing the length of the page? Use related links.
Related links are text links that you can place on a page to add information that complements a page’s main content. For example, the Regulatory Affairs page on your site will likely contain content about current issues. A good use for related links on this page is to include a list of the personnel who should be contacted if your members have questions. In this instance, the related links could link to each person’s e-mail address.
You can also add links to other pages within your site or to other Web sites. By using related links, you can provide your members access to additional information in a convenient manner.
If you’re using our Content Management System to maintain your site, then adding related links is a simple process. You can manage the links in one location and assign each link to categories. Because you create these categories, you can place the same link in multiple places on your site. And, if you need to edit a link—including a link that appears on several pages—you only need to edit it once!
So, when you need to add supplemental information without increasing the length of your page, use related links.
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Product Enhancement: InfoSight
InfoSight, the online compliance resource for credit unions, features a recently upgraded interface. The product was moved to the CU Village Content Management System (CMS). This transition enables each state to manage its own content, so regulations that are state-specific can be updated and published without affecting content on another state’s InfoSight.
In the CMS, InfoSight consists of a Master Site and the sites for leagues that have purchased InfoSight. Federal content (such as information about federal regulations) is managed in the Master Site CMS. Content that is specific to a certain state is managed in that state’s own CMS.
Moving InfoSight into the CMS offers these additional benefits:
- Calendar of Events – The Calendar of Events Module enables you to manage events by creating categories and assigning events to one or more categories; determining a date range during which the events should display; and display the events within your site’s content as either a list or a calendar.
- Security access management – Each state can assign ID/password combinations and control who will have access to specific pages of the site.
- Unique templates – Each state can have its own design for InfoSight, so the site’s colors can complement each league’s site.
- Variables – Allows the insertion of state-specific text within the federal content. For instance, on the “Bankruptcy > Detailed Analysis” page, variables are used to insert the state name and the median income for the specific state.
InfoSight, the Web-based system was created by League InfoSight, allows credit unions to understand and comply with numerous state and federal laws and regulations. The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) offers their compliance E-Guide within InfoSight as part of a long standing relationship with the League InfoSight company. This serves to bring even more regulatory information within one Web resource.
InfoSight will soon be offered by five additional credit union leagues and associations, bringing total participation to 15 leagues representing 20 states and some 4,800 credit unions. Earlier in 2007 the California Credit Union League, whose membership also includes Nevada, joined League InfoSight as an investor in the company, and most recently Louisiana, Mississippi, Vermont and Maine have also signed on as InfoSight participants.
League InfoSight was created by the Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Texas leagues in January 2003, and now also includes Alabama, California, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania as owners of the organization. The company was formed to help leagues provide value in areas of highest priority to member credit unions (i.e. compliance), and is managed by CUVillage.com.
For information about our products and services, contact your CU Village.com business consultant.
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November 2007