website design | Aqua Vita

2.09.2010
Eureka!

Good Site, Bad Site: Edition 1

Published by Jonathan Cox under Eureka!

The other day, I began researching branded jump drives for AVC. Nothing says “I love you” to clients like a stylish, pocket-sized piece of technology that makes their lives a little easier, right?

But alas, this path was filled with far more peril than I had realized. Here’s how it went down:

The first step, of COURSE, was to Google it.

Holy thorough search query, Batman! This is a good lookin’ list. Time to check out the holy grail of search engine results: the first link. Man. I can’t wait. First stop, geeks.com! Off we go…

GAAAAAAH! It’s hideous! Putting aside the psychotic guy in the top left whose body is being consumed by an army of green Pac-men, the site is a wreck.

When I clicked on this link, I was promised flash drives. Instead, I get whacked over the head with giant ads for laptops, mice, laser pens, and let’s not forget the tabs crammed in to the header navigation. I spent all of 10 seconds trying to figure out where I could find a selection of jump drives, or if they even offered custom jump drives before getting a headache. Bad website! Bad!

Let’s move on to the second link: lexar.com.

Ahhhh, thank you, Lexar. After geeks.com, this site is like a cool glass of water after 40 years in the desert. The first thing I see when I arrive is the nice USB Flash Drives header graphic with an attractive spread of flash drive products. The tagline beneath it isn’t bad, either: “Portable storage and backup for everyone.” *sniffs* How beautiful.

At a glance, this site boosts my consumer confidence. They prominently display the subject matter I was interested in, and they’ve put some thought in to the sales copy and layout. It answers the question “why am I here?” for me, and then gets right down to business with a clean list of USB flash drive categories they carry.

I just have one complaint. This is what happens when you click on one of the USB flash drive categories:

I had hoped to see some prices at this point. Instead, I have to continue to drill down through the site, and what I find when I get there is a moderately confusing order page. I think I’ll continue to look around a bit.

Let’s continue on to our next stop: tigerdirect.com.

Visiting this page was like being hit in the face with a pie. You don’t really get the full effect of this page with a screenshot, but basically, every ad on this page is animated in the most annoying way possible. The second you arrive, you’re being bombarded by flashing neon signs and long lists of model numbers that mean nothing to me.

*BUZZER SOUNDS* Bad site! Moving on.

We’re going to jump down a few links for our next stop: www.customjumpdrives.com

Wooooo, pretty…

I really like this site. It grabbed my attention from the get-go. Why?

Well, first of all, the tagline says is great: “Print your company logo on bulk promotional Lexar jumpdrives.” That’s EXACTLY what I wanted, and it’s not just WHAT they said, it’s HOW they said it. The header graphic uses soothing colors. They’ve manually sized and spaced the text in the tagline so that the sides are justified, and that’s hard. The font they’ve chosen has nice lines, and it’s easy to read.

Better still, they’ve got a big, fat picture of a sexy-looking jump drive with the words “your logo” imposed on it. I can’t help but imagine Aqua Vita’s logo there, dang it!

These guys know what they’re doing, if the front page is any indication, but we’re not done yet. Let’s see what a product page looks like:

Oh man. I’m in love. Not only does this page contain the pricing, they have color options, a button to get an estimate, further customization options, the ability to add this product to my cart, product details, delivery info…you want it, it’s on here.

And hey, if I’m not happy with this, no problem! They’ve got a nice photo grid of other hot-looking jump drives in the right sidebar. Gorgeous.

If there’s one fly in the ointment, it’s that clicking on a product link took me to a different site: printusb.com. I suspect this is the parent company, and they use customjumpdrives.com because of the keyword-optimized nature of the site address.

And hey, there’s a quick way to see how effective that strategy is. Let’s do another search, this time for the phrase “custom jump drives”:

Boom. By using this custom URL in their marketing, they’ve landed themselves the first AND second spots in Google search results for “custom jump drives.” Just for kicks, let’s try Yahoo!, same keywords:

Yep. They’ve got the first and second slots again.

We’ve got a clear winner here. Thank you, customjumpdrives.com. You were easy to find, easy on the eyes, and you put a lot of thought in to your customer’s experience on your website. You just earned yourself a customer.

Have a “good site / bad site” example you’d like for me to write about? Comment below! I read and appreciate each and every one of your comments.

1.26.2010
Marketing Alchemy

14 Web Design & Marketing Tips from Paul Newman, Pt. 2

Published by Jessica Cox under Marketing Alchemy

As an actor, entrepreneur and humanitarian, Paul Newman found numerous ways to dazzle an audience, from the silver screen to the kitchen table. Before his rise to stardom, those baby blues overlooked a lifetime of hard work.

A man of many talents, Newman’s old-school advice rings true through the world of web design and Internet marketing.

For Part 1 of this series, click here.

8. “I’ve been accused of being aloof. I’m not. I’m just wary.”

With an ongoing recession, betrayals in the financial sector, and general corporate misconduct, buyers are extremely careful about who they choose to do business with.

Do everything in your power to reassure them. Post privacy policies alongside your newsletter signup. Include all relevant association badges to let them know you’re well-respected in your industry. For e-commerce sites, include security badges and security notifications to let shoppers know their money is in good hands.

9. “A man can only be judged by his actions, and not by his good intentions or his beliefs.”

Can people tell what your site is about without visiting your About page? Assume your visitors know nothing about you. If you don’t tell people about your case studies, previous experience, past clients, testimonials, and how your product/service works, they will never know.

10. Robert Redford on Newman: “He has the attention span of a bolt of lightning.”

On the web, this is exactly what you have to contend with. The average “decisions” time of a website visitor is 6 seconds. If you don’t immediately spell out “What’s in it for me?” you are officially back-button bait.

The instantaneous nature of the web has led visitors to expect a customized experience that gives them exactly what they need. Be the website that answers the important questions quickly, and you have a chance of making a sale. Who are you? What do you do? What’s in it for me?

11. “Every time I get a script it’s a matter of trying to know what I could do with it. I see colors, imagery. It has to have a smell. It’s like falling in love. You can’t give a reason why.”

Who doesn’t want visitors to fall in love with their website? Find ways to invite visitors in to interact with your company and your website. It could be interactive photo galleries, video reviews, maps, calculators, buying guides, podcasts, etc. Appeal to the imagination and the senses.

12. “Newman’s first law: It is useless to put on your brakes when you’re upside down.”

The best product in the world won’t save you if your website throws visitors for a loop. Customers simply won’t stick around to figure out a broken website. Make sure your site functions. I’m talking broken links, long load times, missing images, misspelled words, and confusing navigation, just to name a few.

It’s important to do a sweep of your own site every few days, just to make sure everything is running smoothly. Test your checkout process and your contact forms, and visit each page just to look things over.

13. “As long as my heart continues to beat, I think I will continue.”

Remember, you’re in this for the long haul. You need to plan for the future and keep your website active and fresh. Search engines and your visitors need a reason to keep coming back for more.

You want to make your site an active resource for them, something you can use to build long-term relationships. With new offers, fresh content, and updated resources, your website can become the hub of any campaign, via old-school, social media, email, and mobile means.

14. “For those of you who like to scarf your popcorn in the sack, the good news is that Newman’s Own contains an aphrodisiac.”

Find out how your visitors like to view your website. What browsers are your visitors using? Do they have flash enabled? It doesn’t matter how impressive your graphics are, or how mind-blowing your animations and widgets are. If your visitors can’t see it, your site design might as well be an empty box.

Tailor your entire site to their experience. This is the first step of customer service online, and it begins long before the sale.

What’s your take? Have a favorite Newman quote?

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1.20.2010
Eureka!

The Three Acts of Website Magic

Published by Jonathan Cox under Eureka!

How is a good website like a magic trick?

I saw The Prestige recently, and I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to draw the comparison between my craft and magic. Everyone knows we techies are wizards, anyway, right? So here we go. Are you watching closely?

Act 1: The Pledge

In The Prestige, Michael Caine’s character begins his explanation of magic by describing the three steps essential to the success of any illusion.

The first step is “The Pledge.” During this step in magic, the magician shows the audience something ordinary, something to root their perception in their familiar.

We use “The Pledge” on the web, too. During this step, we show our viewer conventions they’ve come to expect to make them all comfortable and snuggly with their surroundings. For example, we put our company name at the top of the page, and we make sure our contact information is easily accessible and in plain sight. We lay out useful information in an easy-to-read and comprehensible manner. Everything is all warm and fuzzy and familiar…but where’s the magic in that? Oh, you’ll see. Oh yes.

Act 2: The Turn

In the movie, Michael Caine goes on to explain the second stage of a good illusion, “The Turn.” This is where the real fun begins.

In “The Turn,” the magician takes the ordinary object they introduced to the audience in “The Pledge,” and makes it do something extraordinary. The result is strong emotional responses from the audience as they see an everyday object do something wondrous and strange.

On the web, we do the same thing to kindle curiosity and desire in our audience. For example, we take this everyday, ordinary link, and make it do something extraordinary.

The result is a nice little surprise that may make you laugh, cry, or think more deeply about what you’ve seen. We can entertain and educate with our little tricks, and best of all, we can stimulate the imagination of our audience. We can push the boundaries of their expectations, and show them new ways to use old ideas. These new ways can save money, win contracts, attract new customers, or change the public image of an entire company.

Pretty amazing, huh? It sure is. But it’s not enough.

Act 3: The Prestige

Are you watching closely? This is the most important part. The audience is transfixed. You’ve blown their minds. They’re on the edge of their seats, waiting to see what happens next. Enter “The Prestige.” We’re very near the heart of the thing, now.

In the third act, the magician reverses the illusion and makes the extraordinary ordinary again. The audience sighs collectively in relief, and all is right in the world again. As the true wonder of what they’ve witnessed sinks in, so their applause begins. The magician, resplendent in their glory, takes a bow.

On the web, we plan our content much to the same effect. The first act makes them comfortable, the second act shocks and amazes them. The third act converts them. How? By following up your nice bit of sparkly magic with something ordinary, like a well-written paragraph and a custom illustration that sells your product or service, or a short contact form that snags their info while they’re still hot. What’s important is that you make them a believer and find a way to keep them as such.

That’s it for now, ladies and gentlemen. I do hope you enjoyed the show. If you have any comments or questions, please post them here. I’m always interested in what you have to say.

Let’s make some magic.

My team of talented magicians and I can help you to create a wondrous experience for your customers, too. Drop me a line to find out how.