web sites

Six Ways to Make Your Web Site Rock

By Mark Evans in Startups 1 Comment Tags: , ,

After Seth Godin did a post recently about how to analyze a Web site, it got me thinking about some of the mistakes companies make with how their Web sites are structured and designed.

Far too often, Web sites fail to perform because not enough thought has gone into what it’s supposed to do, the audiences it needs to serve, and the ease in which visitors can do and get what they want.

Here are some fundamentals for any company – be it a startup or large organization.

1. What’s the role of the Web site? It’s a simple question: when people visit the Web site, what do you want them to do? Far too often, it’s a question that doesn’t get addressed because most of the focus is on the look and feel. A Web site can be beautiful but if visitors don’t do what you want, it doesn’t matter.

It means figuring out the Web site’s role. Do you want people to buy products or services? Do you want to provide visitors with information (case studies, whitepapers, blog, videos) to move them along in the buying process? Do you want them to contact you? Do you want them to follow you on social media? Whatever the goal, a Web site has to be designed to make it easy for people to do?

1A. Determine the target audiences. Is it potential or existing customers? What about partners, investors or employees?

2. Navigation has to be simple and intuitive. Let’s face it, most Web users are lazy. They expect everything they need to be served up quickly and easily because they’re not willing to do much work. If a Web site isn’t easy to navigate or makes it a challenge to do things (e.g. find information, make a transaction), many visitors will give up – and they’ll give up quickly.

3. Avoid information overload. It’s surprising to see Web sites that seem to include everything but the kitchen sink. Rather than being useful, they’re unwieldy. It’s like opening a closet door to discover a whole bunch of stuff crammed onto the shelves rather than having everything neatly organized and easy to find.

4. The homepage must perform instantly. It needs to tell visitors what your company does and how what you do benefits its customers. In other words, it needs to answer an important question: “What’s in it for me?”. The structure of the home page needs to be intuitive with clear messaging and easy navigation. The goal is getting visitors hooked so they decide to get more information.

5. Don’t ignore your “About Us” page: Often, “About Us” pages are after-thoughts slapped together without much effort. But, in many respects, I see them as the most important page on a Web site after the home page. “About Us” pages tell visitors what you do, the history of your company, and who’s involved. Done well, they validate your company and provide it with credibility.

6. Have a design that reflects your company and industry. The design has to support  a Web site’s role and target audiences, as well as being user-friendly, accessible and easy to navigate. Not every Web site has to be flashy with lots of bells and whistles, it just has to do the job – whatever that may be.

What are the other things that should go into a Web site?

Note: Don’t use my Web site as an example. It’s in the midst of a redesign, which I hope to unveil in the coming weeks.

Web Sites Aren’t Cheap or Easy to Create

By Mark Evans in Startups 1 Comment Tags: , ,

I’m in the midst of a redesign and quasi-pivot, which involves the redesign of this blog and corporate site.

It’s a time-consuming process that involves many moving parts and, of course, the fact Web design can be a very subjective exercise. In that respect, I’m probably far from the ideal design client because I have – or think I have – a strong feel and knowledge for good Web design and usability.

As well, building or reloading on a Web site is not a cheap process, although admittedly there are ways and tools to create an inexpensive, no-frills, down and dirty Web site. But for people and companies who want to build a Web site that looks good, that’s easy to navigate, meets the needs of users, and has some or many bells and whistles, there is a solid investment that should be made. I’m not suggesting blowing your brains out financially to build and design a Web site but making enough of an investment to meet your short and long-term needs.

This is something that has been lost in the mix as online services make it easy to do things. There’s a tendency to believe Web sites have become commoditized products in which prices are continually being driven down. While costs are definitely lower than they were five years ago, I strongly believe in the adage that you pay for what you get. For a minuscule budget, you’ll get a functional and basic Web site. For anything that has more features, better design, beautiful graphics and intuitive navigation, you obviously have to invest more.

Understanding the different approaches is important because far too often cost is front and centre, particularly for smaller businesses. The downside on being too focused on price is you may get something that may not meet your needs in the best way possible.

Function and Structure Are Key Issues

The other key consideration when building a Web site is taking the time to figure out its function and structure. Who are the target audiences? What kind of information do you want to provide them? What do you want visitors to do? Is the goal to get more information, make a transaction, ask for quote, check out cases studies? These are questions that need time to get your head around before starting the process of building and designing a Web site.

The “cost” to build a Web site boils down to time and money. And the challenge for many businesses is determining how much to invest in each “pot”. The more time spent on what a Web site should do, function, who it should serve, and what kind of content to provide, the easier and more efficient its development and design.

Some interesting links:

- A Web site that caught my attention recently for good design was VanCity Bride.

- A makeover guide/infographic on Pushing Social.

 

 

 

 

 

Web Design is in the Eye of the Beholder

By Mark Evans in Advertising/Marketing 6 Comments Tags: ,

Web designI’m in the process of redesigning my corporate Web site, which has not seen a lot of love or attention since I launched my digital marketing and social media consulting business two years ago.

Having looked at thousands of Web sites (an occupational and personal hazard) and helped a growing number of clients develop and design their Web sites, I have a pretty good idea of how I want markevans.ca to look and what I want it to do. The challenge I’ve discovered is turning a vision into reality is challenging and, at times, frustrating.

At the same time, it has been really insightful to be on the other side of the table. It has given me a new appreciation about a client’s needs and how the process of creating a new or refreshed Web site needs to be structured.

One of the biggest lessons is that simply having a vision isn’t good enough. Nor is it enough to talk to a designer about the look and feel that you want. The problem is neither approach gives a designer enough insight and information about what you want or like. Design is a very subjective and personal thing so one person’s idea of good design can be radically different than other person’s.

Here are a few “rules” about Web design that I consider essential:

1. When you’re deciding on a Web designer, review their portfolios to see if their work and style aligns with your vision. Be critical. If you don’t like what you see, move on. If their works catches your eye, ask for a meeting to get a sense of fit, including how they like to work and the processes they use. Ask for references to get more information and insight about how other projects happened.

2. Before you launch a project, select a number of Web sites you like. They don’t need to have similar themes but it helps to pick Web sites that have the look and feel you’re striving to achieve. At the time, you can pick Web sites that have particular features you like. At the same time, ask the Web designer for Web sites they like to get a better sense of their taste.

3. Make sure there is a structured process that starts with an initial meeting, followed by a brainstorming/information session, and then by wireframes and mockups before you get to actually creating the design. Along the way, there needs to be opportunities to change things, although there should be limits, otherwise you’ll be change/edit hell.

4. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you don’t like the work being done. At the end of the day, it’s your Web site and you want it to work for you. It means if the process or design isn’t hitting home, speak up or forever hold your peace.

5. The cost of a Web design can be small or huge depending on your needs. Establish a budget before you start so a designer knows what they have to work with if, in fact, they decide to work with you.

To get a better sense of the Web sites that I find appeal, here’s a mini-list:
- MailChimp
- Rogers Ventures
- Orange Sprocket

Why A Great Web Site is A Key to Social Media Success

By Mark Evans in Social Media 8 Comments Tags: , ,

In the two years I have been doing social media strategy, one of the most interesting themes has been the importance of having a top-notch Web site.

It’s not something many companies think about when they’re getting into social media. They are more focused on deciding whether a blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or LinkedIn make the most sense. Companies also spend a lot of time thinking about tactics and the need to create content.

But the importance of having a strong Web site to support a company’s social media efforts is frequently overlooked, if not ignored. This approach has increasingly struck me as wrong because social media and a corporate Web site are a powerful and complementary one-two punch.

Why?

At the end of the day, social media is, among other things, a way to drive in-bound traffic. Companies create and distribute content, including a healthy amount that highlights corporate activity. It could be press releases, information about products and services, investor information, videos or blogs.

If traffic is being driven to your Web site, it better meet expectations. It needs to do a good job of telling visitors what you do and why they should care. It should deliver well-articulated, clear and great stories. And it should encourage people who have been attracted by social media to do something – be it asking for more information, request a demo, buy a product or service, etc.

If your Web site isn’t up to the task, if it’s boring, difficult to navigate, or fails to quickly tell visitors why they are there, it doesn’t matter how good or engaging your social media efforts are because you have failed to follow through on expectations. It’s like having great advertising for a terrible product.

For clients, it means I’m an advocate that their Web sites are an asset that can support social media rather than cutting it off at the knees. In some cases, it may mean telling a company it should focus on refreshing its Web site before it embraces social media. Or it could mean a company should get into social media and upgrade its Web site at the same time.

Putting social media on pause so a company can improve its Web site can be a tough pill to swallow because an overhauled Web site isn’t as sexy as creating a Facebook Page or getting into Twitter. But it can be a necessary evil so when a company does jump into the social media fray, it does so from a position of strength.

The other thing about the need to have a high-quality Web site is the fact many companies ignored their Web sites during the economic boom. Why spend money on a Web site when business is booming. It’s the old if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it adage. Now, however, many Web sites are several years old, making them dated in terms of content, features and design.

So while social media is new and sexy, it shouldn’t distract companies from making sure their Web sites do their job so Facebook, Twitter, et al can do their jobs effectively as well.

Facebook Pages Do Not Replace Web Sites

By Mark Evans in Social Media 2 Comments Tags: , ,

I was approached earlier this week by reporter looking at the growing number of companies embracing Facebook Pages. As we went back and forth Q&A via e-mail, I couldn’t help but get the impression the angle he was trying to pursue was how the value or need for a Web site is disappearing.

It’s an interesting idea but it is not something a company should pursue. While there are many benefits to having a Facebook Page, it is not a replacement for a Web site. The biggest reason is a Facebook Page and Web site fill different roles. Together, they form a powerful one-two punch to distribute information and content, and serve target audiences in different ways.

Facebook Pages are sexy, dynamic and a platform to actively engage with consumers; Web sites are solid citizens that provide companies with consistency and a place to deliver information that likely wouldn’t see much reception from Facebook users.

Here’s the biggest reasons why Web sites still matter:

1. Companies don’t own their Facebook Pages. They create them and spend money to enhance and operate them, but Facebook Pages are owned by Facebook. If Facebook wants to change the rules, the interface or the features, they can do it even if a company wants to keep its Facebook Page as is.

2. Web sites are corporate assets they manage and control. Regardless of what happens to Facebook or the whim of Mark Zuckerberg, a Web site serves the needs of a company and provides it with a way to serves it target audiences, not Facebook’s.

3. Web sites can also be social and sexy. There’s no reason why good design and the integration of social media can’t make a Web site more engaging and interesting. A Web site may not have the social appeal as Facebook but it can be a lot more than a place to see senior executive bios and financial reports.

4. A Web site is a content machine, particularly those that have blogs. One of the fundamental pillars of social media is being able to use different services to distribute content. This is where a Web site offers huge value as a resource companies can use to direct people to different content via social media.

5. Simply because Facebook has 600 million users doesn’t mean it will be around for ever or that it serves the needs of everyone. It’s highly unlikely but Facebook could fall out of favour. At the same time, there are Facebook users who may not want to look at corporate information on a Facebook Page. And there are people not on Facebook – as difficult as it may be to believe.

6. There are many people who are unable to access Facebook at work, which means it makes no sense to only have a Facebook Page if it means cutting people off from access to your corporate digital presence.

Bottom line: Facebook Pages are wonderful and useful but they complement a corporate Web site, not replace it.

(Note: This post was originally published on the Sysomos blog.)

Actually, Most Web Sites Do Suck

By Mark Evans in Advertising/Marketing 2 Comments Tags: , , , ,

“Most websites suck because they came from hippos — that is an acronym I like — the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. Online, you don’t have to rely just on how someone feels in their gut. You can collect data and use the data constantly to optimize it.”
- Google’s Avinash Kaushik in a recent interview with the Financial Post.

When I saw this headline in the Financial Post recently, it caught my attention – not only because it’s provocative but it’s also very true. While Kaushik is approaching Web sites from a data and analytics standpoint, my negative view of the landscape has more to do with bad messaging, design and navigation.

It amazes and puzzles me that despite the Web emerging as an important place to communicate, market and sell, many companies have Web sites that do them an injustice. Rather than telling the world who they are, what they do, and why anyone would care, many Web sites are confusing, disorganized and, frankly, ugly. It’s like inviting someone over for dinner, and then leaving the front yard strewn with garbage and dirty dishes in the living room.

Part of the problem is Web sites are far too often created by companies who want to use them to tell everyone what they do, rather than focusing on what potential visitors want to know and do. It may seem like a small difference but we’re talking about two different approaches. Too many Web sites take a “It’s all about me” approach, which does little to address the bigger question: “What’s in it for me (the customer)?”

On top of bad messaging, many companies also make it difficult, if not impossible, to easily find information. This is a combination of bad design and navigation. Given everyone scans online as opposed to reads, if you don’t make it easy for people to find what they need, they will quickly move on to the next Web site, including the competition.

Web site navigation is like supposed to be a puzzle or a maze, it should be intuitive and user-friendly. People should be able to quickly identify what they need and where they have to go. Again, it’s a matter of serving the needs of visitors as opposed to a company focusing on how to get all of its information on the Web.

Finally, design can’t be under-estimated. You can ruin a Web site with strong content and good navigation by applying a bad coat of paint. If a site looks ugly, it will turn people off even before they delve into the content.

Over the past year, my partner, Seth Singer, and I have spent as much time, if not more, working with clients to refresh their Web sites. On several occasions recently, I have talked potential clients into updating their Web sites rather than jumping into social media.

While Web sites aren’t as sexy as social media, they are the foundation of a company’s online presence so it makes complete sense to make them as good as possible.

More: Here’s an interesting chart from FormStack looking at the anatomy of the “perfect landing page”.

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