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AltaVista 2.0: Email and Tools

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Assignment: Aggregate all the tools, web applications and utilities offered by AltaVista in one easy-to-use centralized location. Part of the Network 2.0 redesign.

Approach: The Email and Tools area was anchored by the Email application and the main login for Email was on the front page of the section.

The main page was architected to showcase at the top, the three most popular tool - email being the most important. Below this, utilizing the same grid as all the other main tab pages, was a Search box, which could be used to search the entire web.

Below the search box, we allowed up to 7 tools to be featured and rotated in the center area. This section proved to be extremely popular. It became a way to promote various tools and to offer premium promotion to tools that were partnership deals. We had icons designed for each tool and used those to accent the offering copy.

The team worked several weeks in finalizing the navigation approach to the entire site. We went through several rounds of user testing of different models and finally settled on a left nav being the subnavigation for each major tab. In the tools area, we decided that once a user clicked into a specific tool - the left nav would become specific to the tool. Rather than expand out a third level and force users to scroll down through the long list, we dropped all the other tools that were not selected and revealed more contextual functionality.

The central area of each page contained the application, in the case of Maps and Directions, or benefits of use information, in the case of Community applications that coudn't fit in one page. If registration was required to use the tool, a large button prompted the user to join. The far right column held smaller modules of information including rotating recirculation links and promotion of member created content, in the case of the Community applications.

Outcome: After launch of the redesign, this section grew tremendously, spurred on by the presence of Email. It was an extremely useful section for users and provided the product marketing plenty of contextual real estate on the pages to drive recirculation and promote both internally and for partners.