Making The Most Of Your Website - Gravity Switch

gravity switchNice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.


Making The Most OfYour Website

April 6, 2011

MSBDC




http://www.flickr.com/photos/ckindel/5432155787



http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbnunley/4164686308



http://www.flickr.com/photos/harleyphoto/3380763369



Overview

01. Introductions

02. Defining Website Goals

03. Design And Usability

04. Writing Better Content

05. Tracking Success and Failure

06. Tips And Tricks



Who I Am / What I Do

Derek Allard [email protected]

Website designer / programmer

Work with clients to build smart websites

Maximize value of website

Return On Investment (ROI)



This Workshop Will Help You

Be smarter about your website

Understand best practices

Write better website content

Avoid common website mistakes

Develop a plan for going forward



Who Are You?

What do you want from this workshop?

Do you have a website?

What has your experience been?



Workshop Materials

Presentation and handout are posted at

http://www.gravityswitch.com/making-most



Defining Website Goals



What Should Your Website Do?

Sell items online?

Provide information?

Gather mailing list data?

Encourage quote form completion?

(Leave technology out of the puzzle at this point)



Not Sure?

Brainstorm with your staff

Ask your users (online survey)

Learn from your competitors

What are your overall business goals?



An action a user can take

Limited in number and focused

Measurable

Reassessed as your business evolves

User focused (not you focused)

Goals should be …



Goals, Examples Of

Completing a “Request of Quote” form

Reaching thank you page of checkout process

Visiting an important page of your website

Viewing 5 or more pages during a visit



Design And UsabilityDesign And Usability



Defining The Look And Feel

Who are your users?

What emotion should they feel?

Mood boards



Mood board

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginamarr/2699306623/



Sesame Street



Tron



Make Life Easier For Users

Simplify / rethink navigation

Card sorting exercise

How can you make it easier for users to

reach your goals?



Make Life Easier For Users

Want a slide example here



Each Page Does One Thing Well

Homepage = Table of Contents

Content Page = Informational

Action Page = Buy / Request / Contact

Keep users focused by focusing yourself



Homepage



Content Page



Action Page



Landing Pages

Consider for paid advertising

Limit navigation

Meet user objections to encourage action



Landing Page



Details Matter

Particularly with forms

You are defining “user experience”

Getting it to work vs. elegance





Simplicity

Less is more

Avoid constantly adding to a design

Add pages instead

The two second test



Threadless



What Do They Do?



Writing Better Content



Website Content Is NOT Easy

Does not grow on trees

Need to understand your audience

Requires great thought and great writing

Often most difficult area for clients

Keep goals in mind to guide you



What Questions Will Users Have?

Write content to answer those questions

Think conversational



People Skim Website Content

Average time on a website ~ 2 minutes

Looking for quick answers

Write content that is easy to skim



Less Is Often More

Over time, tendency is to add

For each add, be sure to subtract

Avoid content clutter

Stay within confines of design



Incorporate Keywords In Content

For Search Engine Optimization work

Target 1 - 2 keywords per page

Repeat keyword on page



Website Content Best Practices

Avoid big blocks of text (largely ignored)

Cut content in half and in half again

Use headlines to break up text

Use bulleted / numbered lists

Conversation tone (avoid marketese)

Use a consistent voice throughout website



GS content capture



Tracking SuccessAnd Failure



Using Data To Improve Website

Google Analytics, WebTrends, etc.

Tie website goals to analytical data

A wealth of information about your users

Will answer questions you have



Regularly Monitor Data

Monthly basis works for most

Automate reports (send via email)

Focus on key metrics

Or else …



Blackout



Poor Reasons To Change Website

The boss wanted to

Boss’ spouse likes red not green

We feel like we should change things up



Good Reasons To Change Website

Users have complained unable to find…

Data shows users fall off during checkout

Popular pages don’t lead to goal pages

High bounce rate



Google Analytics



What Reports To Focus On

Will depend on your website goals

Traffic

Demographics

Traffic sources

Actions taken



Let Analytical Data Drive Changes

Understand users

Find weaknesses

Track goals

Improve your website



Tips And Tricks

Don’t get caught up in design details

Ask your users how well you’re doing

Avoid outdated technology

Every website can be improved

Learn from your quality competitors

Always test before making changes live

If overwhelmed, get help

Have an ongoing plan for your website



Takeaways

Focus on your website users

Set clear, actionable goals

Less is often more with design and content

Regularly monitor success and failure



Additional Resources

Website Grader http://websitegrader.com

Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug

Letting Go of the Words by Janice Redish

Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics by

Brian Clifton

Web Design for ROI by Lance Loveday & Sandra

Niehaus



Thank You!

Derek Allard

Gravity Switch

[email protected] | 586.9596

twitter.com/derekallard

facebook.com/gravityswitch

linkedin.com/in/derekallard



Ask me Questions

Ask Me Questions

Technology

Making The Most Of Your Website - Gravity Switch