Panda Software: Pushing popular pages

An effective fast-track navigation tool risks leaving visitors with the feeling they are being manipulated under the guise of help.

The Site

Panda Software creates and develops anti-virus products and services for home and business computer users. The main content area of its own site’s home page is product focused, but included in the left-hand panel is ‘The Most Visited Pages’, a menu of nine links to content within the site. These range from ‘New 2005 range’, ‘TruPrevent Technologies’ and ‘Store’ down to ‘Latest threats’, ‘Repair utilities’ and ‘Online Technical Support’.

The Takeaway

Assuming it is really based on site traffic data, then Panda’s Most Visited Pages feature is a simple but effective fast-track navigation tool that by definition will be a great help to the majority of site visitors. However, the ordering of the list suggests an overly transparent element of self-serving on Panda’s part.

Perhaps the pages are ranked by popularity and more users do head for the new range and store than for support, job offers and to check latest threats. More likely, the order of presentation has been shuffled by the sales department to push people in a direction that reinforces the selling role of the home page. While the temptation to do so is understandable, it is worth thinking twice about if the execution leaves the visitor feeling they are being manipulated under the guise of help.

First published on 28 June, 2005