The incredible growth of Pinterest

Uploaded to YouTube on February 6, 2012

Clarity is key

I love this diagram ‘explaining’ the well-known Apple logo. On the surface, the logo seems so simple, right? But the diagram below shows that a lot of thought went into it. Unseen thought. Unseen planning. The same kind of thought, the same kind of planning, needs to happen on your website.

Source: acsoc.kylelamar.com via Paul on Pinterest

Assuming by now that you’ve checked over your site from your readers’  point of view, and that your navigation makes as much sense as it possibly can, let’s look at the clarity of each page, shall we? Because really, clarity is key. And by ‘information’, I don’t just mean your text, but your images as well. Let’s look at images first.

1. A picture ‘tells a thousand words’

I’m sure you’ve all heard that one. And it’s pretty true, right?! So if you want your visitors to remain on your website, looking for the information they need, enhance the look of EACH PAGE by adding a good quality image that relates to the text of that page. It’s going to be worth it to pay a photographer, and get your business a ‘branding photo’ library. If you’re planning on retaining the interest of your website readers, high quality images will ‘hook’ them much more effectively than just any old photo.

And don’t skimp on the image size, either. Any smaller than 200 (either in height or in width) probably isn’t large enough. That being said though, you don’t want to overwhelm your page with its image. Think of some websites (or blogs) that you like the appearance of, and match the size of your images accordingly. And always think about the impression you’re leaving in the minds of your readers. Balance each image out with text that clearly explains it. Don’t leave it up the the image itself – this just makes you look lazy, or that you don’t have anything to say. So… once you have some great images up on your website, look at the text that accompanies it.

2. The text. How are you writing your information?

Yes, this is where we go back to the High School English classroom, and look at our grammar. Do the sentences on your site make sense? Are they structured correctly? Do you have spelling errors or typos?

You may think I’m being pedantic, but if you can’t write clearly, then your website visitors aren’t going to bother trying to decipher what you’re attempting to communicate. They’re just going to leave, and find someone else’s site, which can give them the information they need. Make it as easy as possible for them to get what they need from your site! And what will help is ensuring that your information is up-to-date.

3. Currency – are you with it? Or behind the times?

Many websites roll over information from year to year. School websites almost always do this. So have you clearly archived your ‘old’ stuff? Or is it in amongst your current stuff? Nothing annoys me more than reading something that I think is current, then discovering that it was in fact months (or maybe even years!) old. Archive – and make this archiving clear to your website readers!

And keep your website information current, too. If you’re not posting new information on your website – say, at least on a weekly basis – then you’re giving your existing customers absolutely NO reason to return. As I wrote in “Design for Your Audience“, you need to keep your existing customers happy! Perhaps you could include a blog on your site, updated regularly? Yes, this will also mean regular maintenance of your site – but I’m yet to see how this is a bad thing.

4. Does your content accurately reflect your business – as it stands right now?

It’s funny, but this is often an overlooked part of a business website. But it can easily give your website visitor the wrong impression of your business. Make sure that the content on your site reflects the workings of your business – and in its correct proportions, too. If your school has a big ICT program, then the amount of website content should reflect this. Having dozens of pages covering incidental information, such as the past several years’ annual reports, or discussing the governance system of the school, is going to be counter-productive for you. And finally…

5. Is your site easy-on-the-eyes?

What’s your colour scheme? And font size? Because there are some shockers out there, and you don’t want your site to be one of them. Make it easy on your readers’ eyes, not hard. That way, they may stick around and keep reading.

This was Hint Number Three – Keeping your information clear – in the series on ‘Successful Website Design’. Ready for the next hint? Let the sun shine in!

Lightbulb moment: Design for your audience

What’s the purpose of your website? Some might say ‘to sell our product’, others ‘to promote awareness of our brand’, still others ‘to be our online representative of our physical business.’
Each of these answers, although good, miss the mark in my opinion. Personally, I think that the purpose of any website is to interest, and then engage the attention of, its readers.
Yes, providing information is important. Yes, having that information logically organized, easily accessible, and coherent is important. But none of that matters if your visitors click away after only two or three seconds because of the poor choices made in your site design.

Which makes Hint Number One in ‘Successful Website Design’ : Keep your audience in mind!

Source: Uploaded by user via Ashley on Pinterest

It’s amazing how easy it is to forget this. How quickly we fall into the trap of thinking, “It’s *my* site, so I want it to look like this, and this; and show this, and this; and say this, and this.” All of which is fine, planning-wise, but it needs further development before your site goes live.
A little bit like ‘The customer is always right’, the online version should read ‘the needs of your website visitor trumps all’. If you’d like your business to grow, then you need attract new customers first and foremost, and (rating a very close second) keep meeting the needs of your existing customers. Both of these aspects need to be addressed by your website.
1. Attract new customers
Just like I asked you in “Is Your Website Layout Holding You Back?“, think about your own habits when you visit websites. What appeals? What frustrates you? Chances are, your likes and dislikes are fairly indicative of your own website visitors’ opinions. You probably appreciate a clean layout with easy to find navigation, and were annoyed by websites that included pop-ups, or highly animated banner ads in garish colours.

What is also absolutely crucial when you are designing for new customers? Make it obvious who you are, and what it is that you do! Is your business name and industry clear? How about where you’re located? Because if those facts aren’t immediately clear, then you’ve got quite a problem!

2. Meet the needs of existing customers

Existing customers range from those loyal people who have been coming back for ages, through to those who’ve just discovered you exist. Your website needs to clearly cater for the whole spectrum of existing customers. Perhaps you have new product releases? Or you are offering a new service? This information needs to be obvious – right on the homepage if possible – with links to more information for those customers who want to know more. A warning though – be wary of displaying too much information on your homepage, as clutter will turn away both new and existing customers.

So. Think, think, think. Forget about what it is YOU want to see, and step into the shoes of your customers. What do THEY need? How will you meet that need? Once you have the answers to those questions, then it’s time to look at Hint Number Two in Successful Website Design: Clear and Logical Navigation.

Yes, size is important!

I was looking at Bushwacker EcoTour’s latest A4 trifold brochure yesterday, and noticed it sported a QR code. Interested to discovered what it linked to, I tried scanning it. To no avail. The QR code wouldn’t scan, leading me to believe that 1) it was too small, 2) the person who created the brochure should have checked it prior to printing, and 3) however many copies of the brochure they had printed, they printed that many too many. Because each one tells their customers that 1) their QR code is too small, and 2) their work wasn’t proofed prior to printing – possibly insinuating that the quality of their work isn’t that great, too!

I need to make a confession here – I am guilty of exactly this mistake. A QR Code made it through the printing process, and was too small to scan. Luckily, it was only 200 copies of a mailout letter. Also luckily, it wasn’t for a client, but my own (Bloxham Marketing) promotional material. Silly me, I still used them. And regretted afterwards the impression that I had given, to those who I had sent the material to. In my defense, it was the first time I had used QR codes. Nevertheless, it was a lesson I quickly learned – to check, check, and check again!

This morning I read an interesting blog post. In it, serial entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore commented, “If you don’t have 100 percent confidence in your product, it’s better to miss a deadline than to own 20,000 of something that isn’t quite right.” How true is this! I regretted those 200 letters. I wonder how many copies of their A4 trifold Bushwacker EcoTours printed and distributed?

Inbound or outbound?

Today I’ve been pondering the merits of various marketing strategies. Specifically – how (and why?) to use inbound marketing campaigns as opposed to outbound ones. Or to use a combination of the two styles, depending on the particular aspect of the client’s business that I’m creating a campaign for, at that particular point in time. To be sure, using inbound marketing strategies – basically, getting your customers to find you – may sound in theory far better practice, with far better return on investment (ROI), than outbound strategies – where you go out to find your customers – but seems also more time-consuming (at least, initially) in a day and age where time is far more expensive than money.

And I must admit, walking around Morayfield Shopping Centre this afternoon and seeing the St Paul’s posters that I created, and the people around said posters, discussing them, made me think that sometimes outbound marketing strategies can feel pretty darn good.

This afternoon I also met with Brad Price, of justsigns.com – hopefully the beginning of a successful working relationship…