Elise Georgeson
Usability/Design
As designers, we struggle with many website concerns, from what colors to use to the functionality that is appropriate for the client. But colors and functionality aside, it is really the “voice“ of the site that sets you apart from the rest.
What would your website say if it could “talk”? Perhaps, “Hello, I am straightforward, unimaginative and boring, but I am trustworthy and practical enough to handle your credit card,” or “Hey, dude. What’s up? I am hip and trendy and have cool features, but the joke is on you cuz I caught your eye.”
As designers, we try coming up with appropriate voices for sites by putting ourselves in the consumers’ shoes and consider how outsiders will perceive your image and product.
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12Feb
Cory Grassell
Usability/Design
As you follow through on your 2010 resolution to improve your company’s website, here’s a little more food for thought pertaining to user experience. Of course, user experience relates to how visitors interact with your site — click-through rates, time spent on your site, overall satisfaction with your interactive interface, etc. Improving user experience is an ongoing project, but it’s a project that deserves attention and focus. Picture a disorganized, frustrating setup in your local grocery store, causing you to spend too much time finding the items on your shopping list. Would you be inclined to revisit this store in the future, or would you find an alternative?
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14Jan
Cory Grassell
SEO, Usability/Design
If you’re about to undertake a website rewrite or redesign, don’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to copywriting and search engine optimization. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The various departments within your company need to work together, coexist, cooperate (whatever you want to call it) by developing a content strategy for your site. If your copywriter is constructing online content without input from others, you are empowering him or her with the creative freedom to write whatever. But that isn’t the best strategy.
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21Dec
Elise Georgeson
Usability/Design
What’s your resolution for 2010? Many people will hit their gyms after the hustle and bustle of the holidays to work off the post-holiday guilt for indulging in all those goodies. Do the same for your website. I know when I come back from vacation, I am more geared up for the next big project, so this seems like the perfect time of year to put your best foot forward and show off the new you.
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17Dec
Cory Grassell
Usability/Design, email marketing
Lately, we’ve talked about best practices of website design and development to improve the overall user experience with your brand (see Improve Website Usability With On-Site Search Box, for example), but email marketing also sends a strong message about your brand’s identity and interactive experience. For example, just as you have a limited amount of time to capture your website readers’ interest before they return to the search engine results page, your email marketing messages must do an effective job of quickly reeling in your readers.
Put yourself in your readers’ shoes; they receive multitudes of email messages per day. Many emails get deleted and never read. For some, your email marketing is the first encounter they have with your brand. So how do you create an effective email campaign that gets noticed and reaps positive, measurable results? Read the full article…
25Nov
Cory Grassell
Usability/Design
If you’re looking for an effective way to simultaneously enhance the user experience with you website and encourage online sales, an on-site search box is an often-overlooked feature that you can easily and affordably implement on your own. Did you know that nearly 50 percent of revenue from e-commerce sites is generated by the on-site search engine? Read the full article…
19Nov
Elise Georgeson
Usability/Design
With a communication medium as ever changing as the Web, setting your business apart from others seems increasingly difficult. Statistically, consumers decide in seconds whether or not your site has what they are looking for. So what sets apart your site from the competition, and how do you make a unique site that attracts visitors? Read the full article…
13Nov
