Posts tagged ‘Web design’

November 30th, 2009

To Improve Your Website, Click Here

HttpWe found a fun, cool website that provides some compelling A/B test results on website designs. Ann Holland’s WhichTestWon.com does simple website results testing. Visitors have the opportunity to choose which website design they think did better in test results, and then to read which page actually won in real life. Some test results are a little more scientific than others, but they still give some ideas for improving your websites.

Here are a few of their findings:

1. Click Here works better than hyperlinked words. They found that using calls to action such as “To visit our website, click here” was 72.5% more effective than “Visit our Website.”

2. Putting the add-to-cart option on the left side of the page increased purchases.   Simply by moving the add-to-cart button from the traditional right side of the screen increased sales by 16.7%. There was no definitive explanation for why this was so, but it worked.

3. Multi-page forms generally work better than single page forms.   Results from an application form page found that users were more likely to fill out more, shorter pages versus one longer page. It was pointed out, however, that audience preferences vary on different e-commerce sites.

If you are trying to improve your website’s design, this website is a good source to get you thinking.

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November 24th, 2009

Improve the Readability of your Website

WebpagesText is perhaps your website’s most important asset. Make it flow with these quick tips:

1.  Research shows that most people don’t read – they scan instead. Therefore, make the most highly trafficked pages easier to scan. If your current site consists of large blocks of text, break it up so that it’s easier for the average internet user to scan.

2. Consider using bullet points, short sentences and bold text wherever possible.

3. Write your meaningful headlines instead of vague or cutesy.

Short and simple works!

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November 2nd, 2009

How to Increase the Traffic and Decrease the Bounce Rate on Your Website

trafficImagine this. The potential customer has found your website. They’re looking, they’re focusing, they’re reaching for their mouse… but where will they click?

Of course, we want them to click on a link within our site, and not bounce away from the site. Then we  want to see them click our call to action.

What are some ways you can improve the chances that a customer will stay on our website?

1. Improve readability. Add white space, or change fonts (see 7 Secrets for Choosing the Right Font for Your Webpage). Get rid of clutter. Readers are more likely to stay on a site where it’s easier to see the information.

2. Write great headlines. Attracting readers is a big part of the game. But don’t write outrageous headlines that don’t match the content. Readers will learn to distrust your site and will go away.

3. Include customer testimonials. These compel the reader to trust your claims, increasing the chance they’ll look around on your site.

4. Have videos on the site. A picture’s worth a thousand lines of HTML, as they say.

5. Have a blog where employees contribute. Prospects are more likely to trust the people behind the company versus the “company.” Adding the opinion of real people, even customers, can be of more interest to the readers.

6. Make your call to action obvious on your landing page. Be sure to include the solutions that you are providing also. The place to click needs to be obvious.

7. Put most important information above the fold. Users need to see the crux of your message without having to scroll.

8. Make it easy to find information. You’ve been on those sites where it’s just difficult to find what you’re looking for.  If it’s easier for the reader to go back to the original search and try another company, they will.

9. Provide access to tools your customers need. Assessment tools, links to useful sites, or calculation tools will keep users coming back, even if they aren’t buying today.

10. Have a prominent Search Box. Users need to have an easy way to find just what they are looking for.

Look at your site from a consumer’s point of view. What would drive you away? Try some of these tips and watch your bounce rate decrease.

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October 22nd, 2009

7 Secrets for Choosing the Right Font for Your Webpage

alphabet

There is quite a bit of debate on the web about what font is best for websites. It seems that every blogger has their preference. Some prefer Verdana, 10-point, and others prefer Arial, but only at 12-point. Times New Roman, while supposedly attractive, doesn’t appear to be easier to read. The most legible are considered to be Arial, Courier, Calibri, and Verdana.

There are only a few fonts to choose from that all computers can read. Verdana, Georgia and Trebuchet are installed on Apple and Windows operating systems, so are sure bets. Times New Roman (serif) and Arial (sans serif) are usually the default computer fonts when a certain font isn’t readable.

So what will you choose for your websites? Without getting too deep into the Great Font Fights, here are some tips to consider:

1) Choose Serif or Sans Serif: Serif fonts have those little lines at the points of the letters, like this. They make the eye flow easily from one letter to the next, especially in high resolution print. For low resolution, like most computer screens, sans serif is preferred. However, remember Times New Roman has a feeling of formality and establishment, and that can work in your favor on a website where reliability or trustworthiness is important.

2) Study the studies: Here’s an interesting study done in 2001 on readability of fonts online. Conclusion? Arial 12 pt, or Verdana 10 and 9 pt.    http://bit.ly/WilsonFontStudy

3) Decide what message you want to get across: Comic Sans is a fun typeface, as the name implies. A law firm doesn’t need a fun font. It needs a serious font, perhaps like Times New Roman. Don’t let the font distract from your overall message. And this from the web designer sitting near my workspace: “Never, ever, ever use Comic Sans unless you are sending a picture of a kitten to your grandmother.”

4) Test what the fonts will look like: Here are two very cool websites that allow you to try different fonts and sizes on sample text. Decide what looks best for your purpose.

http://bit.ly/TypeTester

http://bit.ly/JiggetyTest

5) Go for the quick read: As mentioned, Arial, Courier, Calibri, and Verdana are easily read. Verdana is generally considered best by designers.  Larger fonts can help, but too large makes it harder for the eye to capture a grouping of words, which makes it slower to read.

6) Consider the background: There’s a reason most print is black print on white background. White text with black background can be OK, too. But avoid ultra-contrast, such as red text on green background. Yikes. Be sure the font you’ve chosen is easily read on the background you’ve used.

7) Keep it simple: No more than three fonts per webpage, please. Don’t confuse your reader. Use Times New Roman for headlines, and Arial for the body, and your readers will thank you.

What are your favs? Have you had any lightbulbs go off with regards to fonts? Let us hear from you.

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October 5th, 2009

Making a Customer-Focused Website

elearning thinkingAs marketers, we know how to sell a product. But have you considered that your website is a product also? Apply some of the techniques that you know so well in marketing to “sell” your website to your customers. Make it customer focused rather than company focused, by trying these techniques:

1. Avoid the “It’s All About Us” Syndrome: The website, surely, has to describe your services and sell your product. But it doesn’t have to do that to the exclusion of meeting your customers’ needs. Can your customer find what they need at all? Can they get their questions answered? Can they get further help from a person if needed? If your website is filled only with words telling how wonderful you are, you’re making it harder for the customer to solve their problem.

2. Provide topics that the reader needs: The website should catch the reader’s attention because there’s a benefit for the reader to be there. In fact, you can even provide topics that explain what the reader needs. Whether you are listing reasons why they should use your services, or you are sharing blogs, the reader needs to see the WIIFM – the What’s In It For Me.

3. Don’t lose credibility: Be sure any claims you make on your site can be backed up. Have customer testimonials, real examples, demonstrations, and/or pictures. If the customers doubt your intentions, they won’t dance with you anymore.

4. Engage the readers: Provide places for the readers to give your company feedback, whether through a link to your Twitter or Facebook site, or through a forum.  Readers are more likely to come back to your site if they feel they are not only gaining information from it, but also contributing to it. Related Links, Live Chat, or membership privileges all engage the visitor.

5. Make it an Easy Sell: We’ve all been on those websites that took so many clicks to find what we were looking for, we gave up. Make the sections easy to find, easy to click, and easy to get back from.

Use these techniques to build a website that focuses on the customer’s needs instead of the company’s needs, and see if you don’t get better responses to your website.

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September 25th, 2009

Warning: Is Your Website Being Read?

HttpThe premise behind the new book Ordinary Greatness, by Pamela Bilbrey and Brian Jones, is that there are people all around who are everyday people doing great things every day.  One of the ideas they promote deserves attention: Read at least six books a year. What a way to keep your marketing skills up to date, and up your awareness of the world around you. It will help you become great.

One of the ways many of us get our information nowadays, however, is not in books. (How sad, sayeth I.)  We get info doing exactly the way you are doing it right now. We read the web.

And here’s some interesting statistics they found that are relevant to our customers who provide information to customers on the web.

“Scholars form University College of London found that people who get their knowledge from online sources do it in a very distinctive way: They bounce from one source to another, rarely reading the piece in its entirety. The study reports: “It is clear that users are not ‘reading’ online in the traditional sense: indeed, there are signs that new forms of ‘reading’ are emerging as users “power browse” horizontally through titles, content pages and abstracts going to quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.”

What does that mean to you as you design your websites? What successful designs for your web pages have you found? Give us your ideas.

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October 7th, 2008

What Dell, Glaceau and Apple Know About Web Design That You Should Know, Too.

There’s an aesthetic in web design that all marketers should know about. Dell, Glaceau, Apple and other brands are already putting this aesthetic to work, and you should, too.

It’s pretty simple, really. In fact it is simple — simple, clean, sparse, uncluttered design, that is.

As with a lot of industrial design these days, Apple led the way by incorporating their clean, crisp industrial design aesthetic into their website. Steve and Company were inspired by the minimalist stuff that’s been part of Asian design for years. You can see it in their stores, their products and their websites.

Dell Computers was quick to follow suit and designed a very clean, very easy-to-use website of their own. (Check it out — the Dell and Apple websites are amazingly similar.)

Now, what about Glaceau? As mentioned in previous blog posts, those guys really have their act together. They have an incredibly likable brand personality that comes across in everything from their website to their packaging. Keep an eye on these guys ’cause they really know what they’re doing.

When you get the chance, take a spin through all of the websites we’ve mentioned here. Then check out some of your favorites and send them our way. We’d love to compare notes on who’s doing the best web design work out there.

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September 17th, 2008

The #1 Mistake in Web Design

In an upcoming “Ask the Expert” column, we’ll feature a question that is often asked by people in marketing, which is “What’s the worst mistake I can make when I’m designing my website?”

We submitted that question to Todd Chambers, who runs iMap, a division of direct response and interactive agency BKV. Todd’s full answer can be found in an upcoming eNewsletter from The 60 Second Marketer, but a short snippet can be found here:

“The number 1 mistake made when designing web sites is not a particular color choice, design scheme or even egregious coding error. No, the biggest mistake designers and developers make is simply not approaching the project from their user’s point of view.”

Being customer-centric is important whether you’re designing your CRM program, your retail space, your email program or, as Todd mentioned, your website.

We could write volumes on this topic, but the basic point is worth revisiting — if you’re going to do anything in marketing, the starting point is inside the mind of your customer. Then, and only then, can you really create something worthwhile.

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May 22nd, 2008

How to Build a Website for Seniors

The seniors market is one of the fastest-growing segments on the internet. But there are some techniques you need to be aware of if you’re going to design a website for them. Do you know what they are?

You can find out in 60 seconds by checking out this video from our archives called “How to Build a Website for Seniors.”

Enjoy!

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