With everyone having one foot out the door the day before Thanksgiving, I will send you all off with some quick thoughts on Lopez Negrete’s new Web site (a prominent Hispanic advertising based in Houston, Texas)

1. First, why is the launch of an agency Web site worthy of an email blast from HispanicAd.com? Was it the fact that it was created internally at the agency? Maybe the music (see #3 below).

2. All Flash. Not to pick on Lopez Negrete, but I thought agencies finally got over their fascination with creating all Flash animated Web sites (in 2002). I mean, I get the benefits, but I still feel the drawbacks outweigh them (inferior user experience, clunky navigation), assuming the Flash was optimized for SEO (search engine spiders) and made web analytics friendly (which I doubt)

3. Music. Really? I know CMO’s, the press, and potential employees love music like the rest of us, but is that what they’re really hoping to find when the site loads up (I’m glad the status bar continues to live on!)

4. Navigation. Rule one of usability – make sure a Web site’s navigational elements are immediately intuitive and straightforward to users. I get the Loteria/Village theme, but will a user really know that the “Post Office” is the Contact Us page or the “City Hall” tab is really About us?

5. The splash page! I know most sites lose 50-80% of their visitors off the home page, but doggonit, it’s worth it if there’s an animated carousel involved.

I know, I probably sound really negative and snarky with this post. Again, don’t mean to pick on the really smart folks over at Lopez Negrete, but I think their new site, launched in November 2009 is indicative of the predicament facing most traditional agencies. They still don’t get the intricacies of digital communications. In this case, creating an immersive, usable, and engaging user experience that matches up with their key users’ (Web personas) needs…

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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