Good Design Can Get in the Way of a Great Web Site

One of the most common mistakes in web site design today is the design itself. The most common “abuser” of this is the firm that comes out of the graphic design world and decides to start doing web sites (but there are other perpetrators as well).

How does this happen? It’s simple actually. A stunningly beautiful or moving design is put together. And it looks really good. But when it becomes the web site two things don’t happen:

There is no next step. It looks good but the web site visitor has no idea what to do once they get there. Every good web site and even every good web page should have a next step. But with just a nice design, there often is no call to action or next step for the visitor to take. So they leave.
There is nothing for the search engines to see. With a design that has complete control over what the user sees, there is no content for the search engines to index. With a heavily graphic web site, even written content becomes a part of the image – that way you can show the precise font – but then the search engines either don’t index it or index it differently than they do written content.

So don’t let a good design get in the way of a great web site. Instead incorporate the elements of your good design into the site but also make sure that it is usable (has a next step) and that it is searchable (search engine optimized). Then you’ll be on your way to success.икони

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Choosing a Domain Name

There are still good domain names to be had if you are looking either to start a new business or to claim a better domain name for your existing business.

First let’s examine why it is important to choose a good domain name. Say you were a church called Mt. Zion Christian Church. You decide to go with mtzionchristian.org. Seems pretty straight forward at first. But then once you start telling people you realize they’re going to mountzionchristian.org. Oops. So it is important to get a domain name that is descriptive of where you are or what your business does.

We had a client whose last name was one of those difficult to pronounce east European names. Though that was the name of their company, we went with a much more generic denvertreeservices.com for their domain. This served them well when they later changed the company name. And “Denver” “tree” “services” rolls off the tongue much more easily. It is more memorable as well.

Sometimes it is OK to have a long domain name if it is descriptive. Imagine if you worked at the Colorado Historical Society and decided to go with coloradohissoc.org to make the domain shorter. How would you say that domain? “Colorado” “his” “sock”? You’d spend all your time trying to spell it out and folks would undoubtedly still get it wrong. But if you went with coloradohistoricalsociety.org it is easy to say and easy to remember.

Not long ago I strongly advised a client to not use hyphens in their domain name. So instead of two, they used one hyphen and thought that was a pretty brilliant idea. Then just the other day while we were meeting with them, they realized how the domain doesn’t roll off the tongue when they have to insert a dash. Just listen in your head: “mybusiness” “dash” “mysecondbusinessname”. Or, to reuse the example above – “Colorado” “dash” “historical” “dash” “society” “dotorg” doesn’t roll off your tongue very easily.

So here’s what we recommend for choosing a domain name:

1. Do NOT use dashes or hyphens

2. Do NOT abbreviate

3. Do NOT use a name if it is easily misspelt

4. Do use longer names if necessary and if memorable

5. Do use something descriptive if the company name is not a good choice

6. Do consider whether to buy other top level domain names such as .biz, .net and .org to protect your brand.

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Templates and Web Site Design

There are web sites that are built on templates and then there are template web sites. Which would you prefer?

Many of our clients are uneasy with building a web site using a template – seems like anyone could do that, right?

The answer is ‘ You’re absolutely correct.” Templated web sites abound. I live in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and they city just implemented a program where you build your own web site from a template program. Here’s why we don’t build websites using templates:

Templated web sites tend to all look the same
The template programs used to create these sites are generally built without any way to customize the site.
A template website builder limits creativity and options.

Having said that, I will proudly tell you that we build template web sites. What’s the difference?

Simple. We don’t start with a template. We start with a look that is customized to your needs and business goals. Once we’ve got the look designed to your satisfaction, we turn that look into a template. So it is sort of a chicken and egg deal. We design the look first and then create a template based on that look. We don’t start with a template and try to make your ideas fit.

But it is very important to turn the design into a template. We can then manage the look of the site from one or two files rather than having to touch (edit) every page of the site when we make a minor change to the look.

A good template for a good program is very powerful. Last week we converted a client’s site from a non-templated site to a simple template within WordPress. Last week the site wasn’t ranked at all for any of the targeted key words. This week we’ve already got 11 key words that the site is ranked for and one is already ranked 11 in Google. We’ve still got work to do but simply by creating a good template within WordPress, we’re already helping this client be successful.икони

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What Makes a Good Web Site Good?

We design web sites. We do this all day long, every day. One of my primary roles is working with the client to establish the goal and the look. Frequently the client comes to us with “I want these features on the site and I want this element and this element”. As we talk through it though, it turns out that the features they want have nothing to do with their business goals. So my question is “What makes a good website good?”

The single most important aspect of web design is focus. We need to be able to focus the web visitor on something. EduCyber has chosen to focus that attention on the call to action. By first creating a focus – many web sites don’t really have a focus – and then having that focus be on the call to action, we help web visitors determine whether the site provides what they want.

We’ve all heard that we only have a second or two to capture people’s attention. Why waste that time showing them something unrelated to you or your business? Often the home page call to action is simply an invitation to click deeper into the site. A realtor might feature one prominent link for buyers and another for sellers. An insurance company might feature one link for homeowners, another for auto and a third for life insurance. Whatever the call to action is, the design should focus on that.

The second most important aspect of web design is depth. In this case, I’m speaking of visual depth. This makes the web site more visually engaging and is more likely therefore to pull in the visitors attention. Providing depth in a site can be accomplished in a variety of ways from drop shadows to juxtaposition of elements to arrangement of lines and objects.

Often depth is one of those intangibles that make a visitor say “I like this site” if it has depth or “This site just doesn’t work” if depth is lacking.

There are many facets to good web site design but getting these two points right will set you on the path to a good web site that is good for business.Икони

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Web Design Key: Clarity

Clarity

It’s something we all seem to appreciate.

At least we appreciate it until we get to the front page of our web site. Then there are so many things we want to share with our visitors, tell to the world and shout from the mountain tops.

So we cram it all in.

A local realtor’s web site screams out with no fewer than 14 calls to action. It is so crammed with ideas that I have no idea where to click. I’d share the site with you but he’s a decent guy AND he sold me my first house when I moved to town.

Anyway, this site has everything. Everything but clarity. A few years ago we designed a real estate site for a large brokerage that faded away with the recession. We went for clarity – the assumption on the front page was that there were two kinds of folks that came to the site: buyers and sellers. So we set it up so that there were essentially two choices – a link for sellers and a link for buyers.

As we delved into the site further we made a critical assumption: the deeper I go into a site, the more willing I am to have to make more than one A or B choice. So at the next level we offered more choices but those choices were specific to whether you were a buyer or seller. So for the homeowner who was looking to downsize or upsize, depending on their needs, was offered the choice of finding out what their home was worth, learning about how that agency could help them, viewing testimonials from happy customers and more. Buyers on the other hand were offered a way to search for home geographically, a request form, calculators, and other resources specific to being a home buyer.

Is there clarity in your site? Can a visitor look at your site and pick out what you want them to do in a second or two? If not, you need to try again.

Throw away superfluous stuff. I recommend starting with a blank page and putting the one or two call(s) to action on the page. Then add other supporting elements IF necessary. If they aren’t necessary, don’t put them on your site at all.

We actually have four on our home page. Can you tell what they are? There is one for each of our four main services.

If you want help with clarity for your site, give EduCyber a call at 303 268-2245.

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Change Drives the Internet

The way the Internet works today, in January of 2011, is different from the way it worked in January of 2010 and so completely different from the way it worked in January of 2001 as to be completely unrecognizable.

One of our clients made the comment “I hate old-fashioned web sites” the other day.

And then we all laughed. But it’s true.

Take a look at these shots of the Amazon Web Site

Circa January 2001:

Note how text heavy the site was. Since most folks were still dialing up to the Internet, it was important to have only a few pictures. Even the navigation was text heavy and designed to get you to a category quickly. Notice also the prominent search box in the upper left hand corner – some things haven’t change and the value and importance of search was well understood even back then.

Circa January 2010:

Now we’ve got a lot more and larger graphics in order to showcase the products. Now the search bar is considerably longer. In all likelihood in the 10 years ago site, I would have only typed in one or two words. Now I’m comfortable typing in the whole title of a book or model of an item that I’m looking for and can see the whole thing in the search bar.

January 2011:

Looks pretty similar doesn’t it? Even the Kindle is prominently featured. Notice in both last year and this year how the immediacy of an experience things are. You can see what other customers are looking at RIGHT NOW. While there is more “stuff” in this year’s page, there is still a good use of white space to focus attention – that Kindle really stands out. Amazon has figured out though how to add more advertising on the right without overwhelming the page and they have tightened up the navigation on the left opting for pop-out menus instead of a longer listing of categories.

So what does this mean for you and your site?

First it means that if you haven’t changed your site in a few years, the time has come. It needs to be refreshed. Like your logo? Keep it. But consider what you want your site to do and then look at it and ask yourself if it is helping you do that? How can it be done better? Have you changed your services or products? Do you have something you should be featuring as prominently as Amazon features their Kindle?

Next it means you need to stay on top of (but not necessarily on the bleeding edge of) change. What is happening that will affect your business and your web site. When the automobile was first invented, how many blacksmith’s thought it was a passing fad? When the computer was invented how many typewriter makers thought it was just a flash in the pan? Don’t be left behind because you’re not staying on top of change.

It also means that some of the things you try might not work. Over the years Microsoft has had some spectacular failures (anyone remember Microsoft Bob?) but they continue to be a very powerful force because they try new things. Right now social media marketing is all the rage. Passing fancy? Who knows? The one thing I do know is that 100s of millions of users are out there so we’re engaging because that’s where our potential customers are.

If you want help changing your site, call EduCyber at 303 268-2245.

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Test Your Site across Browsers

When I worked in Tokyo (in the late 90’s) I remember looking at a web site affiliated with where I worked and it looked terrible. Worse than terrible. When I went to talk to the designer (this was not his job) I understood the problem even before we began to talk – he worked on a huge monitor (21 inch CRT) and the site looked great on his monitor and while using Internet Explorer.

The lesson I learned that day was the importance of testing a web site in a variety of browsers, resolutions and monitors.

There are more browsers out there than some realize. The main ones are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera. When testing with Internet Explorer you get the joy of testing several different versions as well. The much despised Internet Explorer 6 has finally dropped in usage to the point where designers can design without all the goofy restraints that come with it.

So for Internet Explorer flavors, you should test with IE7 and IE8 and perhaps even the test version of IE9. Basically since the demise of IE6, you get a similar look no matter which version of IE you are using but it doesn’t hurt to check different ones to be sure.

With the other browsers, testing across different versions isn’t as important as making sure you at least take a look at the site with a current version of the browser. The vast majority of Firefox users are on version 3.6 so that would be a good one to test with (at least in January of 2011).

Chrome is an up and coming browser, primarily because it is a Google product. Between September of 2009 and September of 2010, Chrome nabbed about 8% of the browser market from Internet Explorer.

Safari and Opera account for 4.4% and 2.0% of browsers being used so it isn’t a bad idea to check in these browsers as well.

Except for multiple versions of IE, it is relatively easy to install and run these browsers, all within the same system – I’m writing this on a system with IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari installed.

Other factors to check to make sure your web site displays correctly include testing it on different operating systems and testing it on handhelds. The biggest problem we’ve heard so far is about Apple’s decision not to support Flash. There goes your nice Flash presentation if you’re getting a lot of visitors using Apple’s iPad, iTouch or iPhone to view your site.

A little bit of testing can save you the embarrassment of having your site look like it was designed by a middle school student.

Need help making your site look right across browsers? Turn to EduCyber and we’ll help. Give us a call at (303) 268-2245.

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A Look Back, A Look Ahead

What did you measure this year? All of us measure the bottom line but what else? Did you measure the number of new customers / clients? What about number of leads and number of those leads that converted into clients? Number of sales online? Number of new newsletter signups? Number of fans or followers on social media?

How did your numbers measure up? Some interesting things we noticed in our numbers: With the year not yet finished, we’ve already had 16% more visitors to our site this year over last. An online store we manage has had a 5 fold increase in sales and a lot more traffic.

For our site our traffic from search engines is actually down a bit over last year but that is because we’ve been focusing on our customer’s campaigns more than our own so we’re not too upset over that one.

Whatever you measure, make sure it adds to your marketing goals. If our goal was to get a lot of traffic from the search engines, you can be sure we would have paid a lot more attention and performed a whole lot better.

For the year ahead (don’t give up on this one yet though – there are still almost three weeks left) take time to set out your Internet Marketing goals. Start with your web site itself. If it conversion optimized? That is, is your site ready to convert visitors into customers? If you want to measure newsletter signups, for example, is the site geared towards getting visitors to do that? Are there barriers that you may have inadvertently put in place (such as asking for a physical address when all you need is an email address)?

Typically you want to have a conversion and a micro-conversion. If they aren’t ready to buy from you or ask you for a quote, perhaps they’ll sign up for your newsletter so they can stay in touch. Asking for a quote would be the conversion and the newsletter signup, the micro-conversion.

Once your site is ready, you can look at other marketing venues. Do you need Pay Per Click? Would a local search campaign make sense for you? How does social media marketing fit into the picture? Should you be tweeting? Do you need to claim your business on Foursquare? Will using QR codes help you reach your goals?

If you’re not thinking about these questions, I would suggest that you ought to be. If you’re not but feel like you should, give EduCyber a call at 303 268-2245. We can help you plan for a fantastic year.

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Can’t do Business the Same Old Way

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During a meeting with a potential client this week I made a casual inquiry, asking which payment processor they currently used for the ecommerce web site.

“Oh, we do it manually” they said. It turns out they use an antiquated system that sends them the customer’s credit card information via email. They then take that information and run it through their Point of Sale software to charge the account.

Oops. That is a dangerous if not illegal procedure.

Emails, by their very nature, travel from computer to computer across the internet. There are ample opportunities for one of these relaying computers to cache a copy of the email, with the customer credit card information. This then creates an opportunity for the information to not be secure. If this data is encrypted, it is reasonably secure. If not, it is a ticking time bomb. I don’t want to be there when the ticking stops.

Once the email has arrived, a host of other security issues arise:

Is the network secure?
Is the computer secure?
What happens with the email after the transaction has been processed?
Was it printed out?
If it was printed out, what is done with the print out after the transaction has processed?

In Colorado it is, to my understanding, illegal to store a hard copy of the complete credit card number of a customer.

If you are a merchant and aren’t sure if your system is compliant, a good place to get started is https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/merchants/.

Another valuable source is EduCyber Endorsed SGP Services. Give Sean a call at 303-697-7799.

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36 Ways to Market Your Web Site

Put your web site on business card
Incorporate your domain name into your letterhead
Buy an ad in other ezines or email newsletters
Engage in online communities and make sure you include your domain where appropriate (like in your signature)
Include a link to your web site in your email signature
Build a corporate Facebook page and post interesting information that links back to your site.
Include a link to your site in your Twitter profile
Include a link to your site in your Facebook profile
Include a link to your site in your LinkedIn profile
Include links to your site in your Tweets where appropriate
Exchange links with a related site
Develop an affiliate network where others get paid to market your site.
Create press releases for anything new: staff, location, service, product, etc. Be sure to mention the web site as the source for more information
Write on your blog regularly (if your blog isn’t on your web site, include links to your site in each blog entry)
Create an informercial video about something relevant to your company. Upload it to video sites like YouTube. Make sure the video finished with a link to the site and that the site is mentioned in the description.
Create a podcast on a relevant topic and don’t forget to mention your web site in the audio.
Use email marketing (like iContact or Aweber) to regularly communicate with your customers. Include links back to your web site
Write guest blogs for other sites with links in the bio back to your site.
Buy an ad in the local newspaper with your domain name as a prominent part of the ad
Create a TV commercial and buy some spots on local TV. Include your URL in the ad.
Run a radio ad that mentions your URL
Create an amusing video that highlights how your company solves problems and make sure the video links to your site. Upload it to Youtube.
Share company videos that you’ve uploaded on Twitter.
Share company videos that you’ve uploaded on Facebook.
Create a PowerPoint presentation about something your company is good at. Include your URL. Upload this file to a site like SlideShare.
Create a new award like “Best <your industry service or product> in <your area>”. Advertise it on your web site asking for submissions / nominations.
Create a press release to go with this new award and send it out to news organizations, pointing them to your site for more information.
Use an email blast to all your subscribers to announce the new award and point them to the site for details.
Read other blogs. Engage in that community by leaving comments (with a link back to your site)
Devote time to write a really good white paper on a hot topic in your industry. Provide this as an incentive on your web site for users to sign up for your newsletter.
Advertise this white paper on social media sites.
Post the white paper download info on sites you have access to – don’t neglect chambers of commerce and other business organizations. They’ll often share your info for free.
Offer a free seminar on a popular or useful topic. Post the details on your site and then refer people to the site for details.
Use social media to promote your seminar and direct people to your site.
Engage in or start a group on LinkedIn regarding your industry (better to engage in existing groups) or area of expertise. Establish yourself as an authority and regularly link back from the group to a pertinent part of your web site.
Blog about current events and tie them back into your topic.

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Category: Denver Web Site Design

Good Design Can Get in the Way of a Great Web Site

Choosing a Domain Name

Templates and Web Site Design

What Makes a Good Web Site Good?

Web Design Key: Clarity

Test Your Site across Browsers

Can’t do Business the Same Old Way

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