OVERALL GRADE: C
minus
Even if you've never visited the Barnes, its name is likely
to tug at your memory for something unpleasant ... A scandal, maybe? If you’re
involved in the art world or live near Philadelphia, you know that for over a
decade, the move of the Barnes Collection from its Merion mansion to center
city Philadelphia was a matter for public debate and judicial review. It was
even the subject of a documentary, The
Art of the Steal.
Our Commandment
4 of About Us pages -- “Don’t take your own name in vain” – advises you to refer
visitors to outside sources who can testify to your value and credibility. Since
the Barnes ignores this negative publicity, curious visitors are going to learn
about it from sources who might be very unsympathetic. At the very least, the
Barnes About Us pages should offer links to rave reviews of the new Barnes
Philadelphia facility, which opened in May 2012.
Products/Services: D
The main About Us page would be improved with an overview
such as the one that appears as the first question on the FAQ page (“What is the Barnes
Foundation?”). The headings as they currently appear, “Campuses,” “History,” and
“Careers and Volunteering,” aren't very helpful. About Us pages are supposed to
tell visitors what you’re about. Oh,
and in August 2013 the History page contained this sidebar: “The Philadelphia
campus will open in Spring 2012.
Sign up for our newsletter for the latest news.” Obviously the Web site writer
needs to sign up! Has no one updated this site for a full year?
And also: Where are the pictures on the About Us pages? The
kind of pictures that make you say, “Oh, that’s where that painting is!” or
“Oh, I've got to get to that museum!” Showing Dr. Barnes’s earliest
acquisitions, or the ones that became his favorites, would really punch up the page about him.
Likewise, showing the arboretum would make Laura Barnes’s story
much more vivid. Yes, such images appear on the main site, but you should never
assume visitors to your About Us page have already spent time elsewhere on your
site – or that they’ll ever go there, if you don’t make the trip easy and
enticing.
Personality: C
The pages on Albert Barnes and on Laura Barnes are good, as
far as they go. But why not mention, for example, that Barnes visited Gertrude
and Leo Stein’s home in Paris, where he met Matisse and Picasso? That he
originally restricted visitors to 2 days per week, because he conceived the Foundation
as a school rather than a standard museum? That he prohibited loans from the
collection or color reproductions of the works in it? That Matisse is reported
to have said the Foundation was the only sane place in America to view art? All
these details would make the personality of Dr. Barnes more vivid and rouse our
curiosity to see his collection. Instead, The Barnes squanders so many
corporate storytelling opportunities.
Accessibility: C
The Contact
Us page offers mailing address, phone, fax and general email for Barnes
Philadelphia, and the same, minus email, for Barnes Merion. In the long list of
departments on the same page, offering names and emails would help convey the
impression that the Barnes Foundation really does want to hear from us.
TAKEAWAY
Write your main About Us page as though it might be the
first and only page on your site that a visitor sees. If your company has been
getting negative publicity, either address it directly or send your visitors to
coverage that tells your side of the history.
Does your Web site’s “About Us” section
accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks
we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential
customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for
us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). To talk about your About Us
page, contact us!
Today’s example was chosen at random;
CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.
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