In today’s digital age, websites have become an important tool for connecting with potential recruits, providing information to service members and veterans, and sharing news, stories and updates about the military. These websites not only serve as a valuable resource, but also provide a platform for people to connect and share their experiences.
When it comes to design, there are a few key elements that make a good website stand out:
- Navigation: A well-designed website should be easy to navigate, with clear and intuitive menu options. This makes it easy for users to find the information they are looking for, without getting lost in a maze of pages.
- Responsiveness: With more and more people accessing websites on mobile devices, it’s important for websites to be responsive, meaning they adapt to the size of the screen they are viewed on. This ensures that users have a positive experience, regardless of the device they are using.
- Visual Appeal: A visually appealing website will grab users’ attention and make them want to stay and explore. This can be achieved through the use of high-quality images and videos, as well as a clean and polished layout.
- Accessibility: A website should be accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. This can be achieved through the use of alternative text for images, bold contrast, keyboard navigation, and other accessibility features.
With these elements in mind, here are some of the best-designed military-related websites:
1. U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force website (www.airforce.com) has a sleek and modern design that uses high-quality images and videos to showcase the capabilities of the Air Force. The homepage features a compelling video background and modern graphical menus as well as a natural language form to personalize your experience. The website is easy to navigate and responsive, ensuring a positive user experience. The only thing I might knock it for would be the all-caps headings being harder to read, but they look cool and sometimes form wins over function.
2. Army National Guard
The Army National Guard website (www.nationalguard.com) uses big and bold text and high contrast colors which is good for accessibility. It features a video background slider on the homepage which improves the likeliness that the visitor will stay engaged. Sliders and carousels are on the way due to bad usability, but I think this one works with the added video backgrounds and large numbers. The site navigation is clear and the call-to-action and search are well defined. Same thing goes here (see comment above) for all-caps headings as is true for most of the websites on this list.
3. U.S. Army
The United States Army website (www.goarmy.com) has a modern and visually appealing design, with a focus on high-quality imagery. The navigation utilizes a mega-menu with photos to support each section. Although the site has a robust video section, it is a bit disappointing to not see any featured on the homepage like the two websites above.
4. U.S. Navy
The United States Navy website (www.navy.com) uses great photos with big and bold typography and high-contrast colors much like the previous three. The main navigation could get a bit confusing with 3 tiers, but it still feels modern and clear. The main three things quick-wins I would do to improve it would be to add a more compelling action video to the hero, reduce the time it takes for the main navigation to fly-in and make the button hovers more visual.
5. U.S. Marines
The United States Marine Corps website (www.marines.com) features a video background for the hero which is great, but has some quirks. It seems to be showcasing a lot of CGI animation rather than real-world video which I thought was a bit odd. It also has a lot going on with the dots and arrows for the slider as well as a play button and photo overlays that obstruct the video. Overall, it still looks modern with the use of quality photographs and decent navigation.
6. Military OneSource
The design of the Military OneSource website (www.militaryonesource.mil) couldn’t be more different than the others on this list. It avoids the bold dark look and instead uses a light and clean aesthetic which gets the job done for its purpose. I might get lost in the main navigation a little bit, but I think for the most part the website makes it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for.
7. Department of Defense
The design of the Department of Defense website (www.defense.gov) is starting to look a little bit dated, but it is able to give you a lot of content in a relatively clean, visual and organized way.
New Outpatient App Homepage
If you haven’t seen it already, our homepage has a fresh new look. It features a subtly animated hero, a background video and case studies for each of the bases that we work with. Check it out at GetOutpatient.com
From dribbble
Here are some great military-related designs that you can find over on dribbble.
Thanks!
Thanks for checking out this article and I hope these inspired you for your own creative project.
