Exec-Appointments, one of the leading job boards for Executive Jobs has redesigned its website.

Since the website is owned by FT, a long standing ‘old’ media company with a commanding audience in the Executive and Senior Management sectors, this new site has incorporated stronger elements of FT.

On the surface, its quite sharp and persuasive, and demonstrates a break from the older version of the website. It has adopted modern design, of compartmentalizing content and using more boxes and lines to define the homepage. This kind of format makes the homepage to be less clustered.

However, since the target audience are senior executives, who may/may not have lots of time online, I think the new website lacks a brightness that could illuminate the reading experience. By this, I mean that the site decided to retain black / darker colours which potentially makes it hard to read the content better and see them clearer.

Take the header for example. How about using a white background (but a black/red logo), so that the menu can be seen better. It is so hard to easily differentiate these two, and the menu is swallowed under the very darker header.

I do like the main banner in the center on the homepage. I think the website should have used more of that lighter grey colour (in the Sections). Grey colours are warmer.

The font size for the browse jobs area is quite small. For the normal Internet user, one has to look closely to find a sector of interest. Besides usability, bigger font sizes are good for SEO.

It is nice to get latest industry news from FT on the sidebar, but their background doesn’t have to be that of FT’s website. It could still have retained its own brand, while delivering news from its parent company.

Overall, its a crisp new look. Modern, I have to say, but slightly more harder to read things on the website. Yes I know – I am biased, as websites with more whitespaces rock my boat.

Tags: Exec-Appointments

Category: Job Boards, Recruitment Web Design, Recruitment Websites, Web Design Review