How hard is it to get rated as one of the top 10 best websites in Illinois? At Zallas Technologies, we are proving that it's possible!
One of our projects, RPC Software LLC, has recently been rated as 2nd best website in Illinois, based on such criteria as Navigation, Look & Feel, Uniqueness and Content. It has only lost to Motorola.com for the Content, while outperforming or matching Motorola.com in every other category!
We are proving again, that hard work and close communication with our clients bring rewarding results that are recognized by top industry specialists.
CHICAGO – These days, having a cogent Web site can be more important than having a business phone number to call.
In fact, some businesses don’t even list a phone number any more and rely solely on a site to communicate with customers.
With the world relying so heavily on the Internet, a company’s Web site may be the only touch point or first representative a prospective customer may see.
It goes without saying companies better make a lasting impression quickly.
After analyzing scores of Illinois business Web sites, we have created the MidwestBusiness.com Top 10 Web Sites in Illinois list. We used keyword searching via the major search engines as a barometer of success, popularity and legitimacy to find the sites we considered.
Once found, we further scrutinized the sites based on navigation, look and feel, uniqueness, useful and fresh content and an overall score.
Here is the MidwestBusiness.com list of the top 10 sexiest and most efficient technology-related business Web sites in Illinois along with a few that had potential, but even your grandmother would agree needs some expert help.
| Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago |
| Navigation |
Look & Feel |
Unique |
Content |
Overall |
| 8 |
5 |
5 |
9 |
27 |
| Pros: Extremely high search relevance for main site and subsites |
| Cons: Awkward front-page layout; can improve visual impact |
| Aladdin Knowledge Systems, Chicago |
| Navigation |
Look & Feel |
Unique |
Content |
Overall |
| 7 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
28 |
| Pros: Effective Flash; attractive text/graphical product display |
| Cons: Content a bit outdated; contact page buried |
| Illinois Attorney General, Chicago |
| Navigation |
Look & Feel |
Unique |
Content |
Overall |
| 8 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
29 |
| Pros: Attractive use of graphics with headlines; thorough content |
| Cons: Can improve attractiveness of textual navigation |
| Fieldglass, Chicago |
| Navigation |
Look & Feel |
Unique |
Content |
Overall |
| 9 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
30 |
| Pros: Clean design, effective use of graphics and Flash |
| Cons: Text heavy, fonts too small, headlines don't pop out |
| NAVTEQ, Chicago |
| Navigation |
Look & Feel |
Unique |
Content |
Overall |
| 8 |
7 |
6 |
10 |
31 |
| Pros: Effective and interactive main-page Flash; fresh content |
| Cons: Lacks uniqueness; needs more visually appealing navigation |
| Illinois Finance Authority, Chicago |
| Navigation |
Look & Feel |
Unique |
Content |
Overall |
| 9 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
33 |
| Pros: Clean and effective navigation and page-branding graphics |
| Cons: Text heavy in center of site; main page underwhelms |
| Adage Technologies, Chicago |
| Navigation |
Look & Feel |
Unique |
Content |
Overall |
| 10 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
34 |
| Pros: Attractive graphics; compelling before/after feature |
| Cons: Main page is too text heavy |
| RPC Software; Glen Ellyn, Ill. |
| Navigation |
Look & Feel |
Unique |
Content |
Overall |
| 9 |
10 |
10 |
6 |
35 |
| Pros: Highly visually striking and interactive |
| Cons: Too focused on graphics to the detriment of content |
| Motorola; Schaumburg, Ill. |
| Navigation |
Look & Feel |
Unique |
Content |
Overall |
| 8 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
38 |
| Pros: Powerful front-page Flash; fresh imagery and content |
| Cons: N/A |
Runners Up
In addition to the 10 sites making the MidwestBusiness.com Top 10 Web Sites in Illinois list, we are also featuring four additional that had potential but need improvement.
3 Olive Solutions; Elmhurst, Ill.While this site had potential, we feel the olive theme is too overdone and overall graphics and navigation need to be modernized. Also, while deciding to creatively design a company around a catchy theme can be compelling, make sure it makes sense and naturally lends to your services.
Kirix; Elmhurst, Ill.While this site is clean and displays information in an effective way, its layout is plain. The site lacks flair and content doesn’t strike us as compelling.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Urbana, Ill.Despite an attempt at visual stimulation, the top main-page graphical header is awkward and the rest of the page sports small-text overload. In addition, the lack of main-page textual separation blurs content together.
Tune in next month when we bring you the MidwestBusiness.com Top 10 Web Sites in Indiana list.