The picture at right shows the raw typeface
categories for Helvetica Neue, but in this simple listing it is difficult to
get a feeling for how clean this typeface really is. The one below it, the
one with the heart in it, shows how well the typeface comes together when
used to create actual sentences. One caution though, don’t forget that if
your website is composed of just HTML web pages, you can’t simply use
Helvetica Neue as a base text for your style sheet. You can’t because 99.99%
of the people who view your web pages won’t have this typeface installed on
their p.c., so when they come to your site their web browser will simply
default to Arial or something like that. If that happens, not only will they
not see the Helvetica Neue type, but all of your well wrought efforts to
make your site clean and unique will have been for naught. For HTML web
pages, you will need to use this typeface to create text set in GIFs and
JPGs. Your other option is to build your site using Flash animation. In
fact, if your website is based on Flash animation, then this is most
certainly the type for you. If you use it, its aesthetic will add to your
site visitor's pleasure by offering a simple and clean effect. That, plus
your efforts to unclutter the content on your web pages will not only make
everything look cleaner, more simple, and easier to navigate, but also make
the pages load more quickly on mobile devices.
As for the future of large, photographic backgrounds (see, for example Web Designer Wall), the jury is still out on this approach to webpage design. Many think the trend will continue through 2011, while others say it is already being overused. Our view is that it all depends on whether you can integrate your photo background into the page well enough to keep the look easy to read and navigate. If you can accomplish “clean” and “uncluttered” at the same time as you create “exciting,” then go for it. Otherwise, lose the large, photographic background. Remember, the idea is to move towards a more simple design that packs a punch, without all the bells and whistles that make a web page complicated. In this regard, content is still king. If you can convey your content via a great image that grab’s the user's attention, immediately establishing a theme or idea about your business, then more power to you.
Mobile and Tablet Surfers Are Here To Stay
If you are involved in retail, of any kind… from
selling theatre tickets to pushing tee shirts… then you can’t ignore the
fact that the 18 - 38 demographic has moved from their desktop to their
palm-top. To reach them you are going to have to develop a coordinated line
of attack that creates portals that integrate mobile, tablet and “normal
website” presences. This means designing a look and feel that conveys a
seamless experience across all of these communication portals.
As you do this, don’t forget that there is a difference between a Mobile App, and a Mobile Website. A Mobile App is a standalone application that, while it looks and feels like a website, is in reality a functioning program. A Mobile Website is nothing more than a normal website that has been redesigned to load more easily, use less bandwidth, and fit within the available real estate. You can learn more about the do’s and don’ts of Mobile Web design by reading what the W3C has to say about it. They have published a simple and easy to read Mobile Best Practice guideline that you can find here: It’s well worth the read.
Recognize it: if you are involved in retail, then Mobile Websites are a must these days, and getting one up and running during 2011 should be a key part of your Web Strategy for this year. Compared to mobile apps, websites built or optimized for mobile devices are cost-effective, easy for users to find, and can be updated quickly and easily. But remember: to catch the surfer’s attention, proper Mobile Web design is essential—mobile users won't bother with your Mobile Site unless it has great design and usability.
Should You Spend Your Money On Improving Your Site’s Design, Or It’s Search Strength?
Guess what? Good news! You don’t have to choose one
or the other. You can focus on both… but in doing so, you should consider
these simple points:
Design Your Site So That It Supports Google’s Quick View: Remember, Google now
has a feature it calls Instant Preview. Instant Preview
provides a quick look of the sites listed on a search page. When you
design your Home Page, consider how it will look as a thumbnail… but be
aware, Flash sites don’t work with this feature.
It’s Not All About Graphics… Focus On Your Content As Well: Your overall design,
and the images you use are important, as they make an impression on site
visitors. However, you also need to focus on content, because it’s the
content that is crawled by search engines. Yes, pictures are too… but the
amount of information that can be conveyed in the word or two that you use
to describe a picture is far less than what you can convey via content.
After all, content is all about what your site is about. You need to focus
on it. More specifically,
many websites don't
need a unique and innovative
design. If your business depends on online leads and sales, then the best
way to do this is via clear and unambiguous content, not design. This is
because keywords underlie effective search results, and that in turn drives
visitors to your site. Having good content that clearly explains who you are
and what you do is fundamental to thriving sales. Better still, balance
good, solid content with a clear and uncluttered design, and you will find
that visitors keep coming back, and customers continue to work with your
business.
Seek Results:
While content is king, you need to focus on whether the copy you use is
delivering results. Measure it. Do a small focus group study, and find out
what people think of the writing style of your website. If your focus group
study shows that site visitors don’t like what they are reading, or that it
doesn’t register with them to the point where they have internalized your
message, then change writers.
Don’t Forget To Tell People What You Do: If you are Ford you probably don’t need to tell people what business you are in. But if you are not Ford, then make sure you tell those who come to your site exactly what you do. Do it quickly. Do it succinctly. Do it at all costs. And do it at the top of your page. If people can’t immediately figure out what your site/business is all about, chances are they will navigate away before your fancy pictures get a chance to load. If you want to engage with those who come to your website, telling them what your business does, and what it’s objectives are, is essential.
A Call To Action
Sprinkling
Calls To Action throughout your website is essential. Asking people
to do something, rather than just sitting there gawking at your web pages,
is imperative if you are planning on achieving “conversions.” Whatever it is
that you want users to do, you have to take the time to ask them to do it.
As for what you should be asking them to do, that is up to you… but at a
minimum it should include:
·
Signing up for your newsletter
(so that they can find out the latest on your product offerings and the
like);
·
Reading your Blogs (so that
they will understand that you have expertise where others do not);
·
Follow your social networking
sites (so that they will become part of a larger community that shops and
does business with your company); and
·
Seek more information on your
products/services (so that they can see that your customer service is as
good as your products).
As for how to create a Call To Action, here are some tips:
·
Build intuitive logic into your website’s design… where the logic leads
visitors to a Call To Action. Don’t make them search for a means to
accomplish the bullet points above, make the action instinctive and
spontaneous and your site visitors will do what’s expected of them. One way
to make sure the Call To Action is intuitive and instinctive is to make sure
that the gateway to the Call To Action is not surrounded with too much
content
·
Use icons to request action on the user’s part… and make sure that the icons
themselves are intuitive, instinctive, invite spontaneity, are both clear
and visible, and convey exactly what the Call To Action is.
·
Icons can be fun to play with… sprinkling them all over your site to break
up the mass of text you fill your pages with. However, be careful. Don't
group icons together to the point that the site becomes cluttered with them.
This will only degrade their utility, and make their visual image
overwhelming for the site visitor. Use them to reinforce your Calls To
Action, but use them sparingly.
·
As users continue to migrate among the various Twitter, Face Book, YouTube
and other social media sites, it is important that you reinforce this
migration pattern in ways that keep your company’s name in the mix. You can
do this by including links to and from these and other sites to your own
social media sites, and let people share your content among all of them.
Having your customers promoting your company and its products by tweeting
directly from your Blog posts and news updates is a very effective way to
build brand awareness and increase sales.
Calls To Action are important. They not only help
with conversions, but also provide you with information that will allow you
to tweak your site to become more effective with each passing month. Via the
personal, tailored communication that they enable between you and your
customer, they are a key means for you to gauge the effectiveness of your
web strategy.
Focus Your Financial And Other Resources On Web Design Rather Than Print
As
2011 unrolls, you should focus your efforts and financial resources more
towards web design, and less towards print. Unlike in the old days, your
primary gateway to the public should be via your websites… all of them… the
HTML ones, your tablet sites, your hand held sites, your mobile apps, and
more. Print should be reformatted within your company to play a supporting
role to your web presence.
As an example, if you have field sales people, they
should be using portable tablets to present your products and services to
your customers when they visit them. And the content they display on these
tablets should be accessed via a website. In the salesperson’s briefcase, in
place of a big, thick, product manual, they should have a four sided four
color brochure that echoes the design of your website and reinforces the
“closing position” that your sales force is expected to conclude each sales
visit with. This fold over brochure should be the “leave behind” that your
sales person uses. Seen from this perspective, it is easy to understand that
your use of web sites, mobile apps, landing pages, social media pages,
newsletters, and HTML eMail will get more attention from your customers
during 2011, and therefore deserve a larger part of your company’s budget,
than print design does. It’s not that you should increase your budget and
spend more on these areas, it’s just that as their contribution towards
creating corporate and product visibility increases, you should be prepared
to reallocate your financial and other resources to make sure that what you
do within these areas works. Print design isn't dead, it’s still an
important part of the mix… but it is just that: part of the mix; a part that
should support the mobile and web portion.
See you next quarter...