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

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 derek@gravityswitch.com

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

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

derek@gravityswitch.com | 586.9596

twitter.com/derekallard

facebook.com/gravityswitch

linkedin.com/in/derekallard

Ask me Questions

Ask Me Questions

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