Bonafide.com is holding a redesign contest in 99designs. Below is a screenshot of their existing site along with the details of what their looking for. Followed by my design proposal and findings of what they should expect in their new website:  

Design details:

We are creating a new website for our company.  The goal is to get perspective clients to view the website and then click through to a demo sign up form and submit it.  The old website is www.bonafide.com  It is a bit too cluttered on top and does not have much color.  We would like to use the bonafide logo on the main page as well as maroon and grey as the primary coloring.  We would like to give a breif description of the product and then have a side bar of links to information pages about different features.  (Billing, enteral supplies, High-End Rehab, etc)  Probably will have 5 categories with 5 sub categories which each link to their own informational page with probably a picture and 2 paragraphs of text

To elaborate on what problems they have on their existing website:

Bonafide.com Current Website

1. This is the most important content where it talks about the software they are trying to sell
2. Contains very important information that builds client trust - should be brought out more
3. Information regarding industry - should be updated frequently or make it so that it’s in a “Latest News” container
4. “Demo” Link is a bit out of place and too small

Additionally, most of the content talks about the company history - which should be placed in the “about the company” page. Furthermore, the aesthetics is a very bland, navigation is crude and graphics are outdated.

My Design: I picked up the color schema from their original logo. Added buttons, icons and many typographic styles to enhance presentation. Fixed the navigation issue by placing it in a fixed spot before the footer section for faster lookup and reference. But the big task for me was to re-organize their content. I added several ”compartments” (I find this approach similar to bullets in presentations - it is much more appealing to the eye and easier to read):

1. Compartments that highlight company message and achievements
2. an “In the News” section that provide industry related events
3. a section for “Customer Testimonials” and a “Clients” box - an almost guaranteed way of building new customer trust
4. Most importantly, the software they’re trying to sell is in the largest container with an enhanced “Demo” link as the main attraction of the page

Bonafide.com Proposal

Conclusion: I may have thrown in more than what they have asked for - but from my experience of being a webmaster, I can’t help but include some marketing techniques I’ve picked up along the way. I believe a strong web designer doesn’t just follow what looks good - or what is the latest design trend, but an understanding of what works - combined with a good taste for art. This is what defines talent.

Hopefully the folks in Bonafide.com see what I see. I’ll keep you guys updated on the outcome.