How do you structure a website if your organization offers far too much in terms of primary services to fit neatly on a home page?

YOA’s content slider comprises the bulk of its new site (click it for a larger image).

If you’re smart, like Youngstown Orthopaedic Associates, you use a content slider. Also called a carousel, or a rotator, such a device helps organizations make the most of the prime internet real estate “above the fold.”

YOA, the region’s largest orthopedic surgery practice with nine surgeons, had a lot of information to pack in. The practice treats virtually every part of the body, but typically identifies four major areas – the joints, the spine, hands and arms, and feet and ankles.  It is also a sports medicine specialist.

Moreover, YOA has its own therapy center and imaging lab, both of which serve not only its own patients but those of other local doctors.

Even a cogent summary of those seven elements would crowd a typical home page. And that’s before any discussion of doctor bios, a blog, a news section, a patient education center, patient information forms and a tool for scheduling appointments by email.

Solution = content slider

That’s why a content slider made sense for YOA.

“We had a lot of ground to cover, and we wanted to cover it in an attractive way without overwhelming our users or discouraging interaction,” said Beth White, director of marketing services and specialty imaging at YOA, located at Route 224 and Tippecanoe Road.

“We used the carousel to accommodate our four primary anatomical areas, as well as sports medicine. That freed up room to adequately cover therapy, imaging and ways for patients and referral doctors to interact with us.”

The content slider’s panels change every 7 seconds. Each panel includes a feature photo, a header, a few lines of text and a link to “read more” on another page about that subject.

Below the slider is a stripe that includes small versions of each slider element, and the one currently portrayed in the slider is highlighted.

“As a result, users can quickly understand all of our offerings without scrolling or clicking,” White said.

Others use sliders, too

YOA built its new website with Pecchia Communications, a public relations and marketing firm led by Dan Pecchia, an advocate of content sliders.

Pecchia Comm’s own site uses a slider to showcase its work for marquee clients. Similarly, a new website from Ohio Valley Energy uses a carousel to showcase the advantages it offers.

“The jury is still out on whether internet users like to scroll,” said Dan Pecchia, president of Pecchia Communications. “Older studies confirmed that they certainly do not. More recent research suggests scrolling is OK.  We encourage our clients to get their primary content above the fold so the matter is not in doubt.  Content sliders help make sure that happens.”