Archive for the ‘Website Design’ Category

User Interface Design – Information Design – Search Design

Monday, May 24th, 2010

Google has confirmed what academics have claimed with mixed success for centuries, “Information is gold.” But, how do we access the gold?

Google has kind of answered that question too; you google it. But, what do you get in the data return. “Mary Kay Smith” returns 2,160,000 records, most of the top ones being from services offering to help you find your own Mary Kay. Maybe this is a good start when on the open Internet, but what if Mary Kay Smith works in the Kansas City branch of your company, even with some filtering words like, Kansas City and your company’s name, the return is still going to be front-loaded with helpful services.

This type of search is called a “Free Word” search. It has exception value. Most of us use it more than daily. But, it is not the only way to search and it is often not the appropriate way.

Assuming your company has an employee database you could use an in-house search tool, maybe still a Free Word search tool accessing just that one database. The return would show you all the Mary Kays in your company. Assuming only a few, you quickly click the one showing the KC address and there is her phone and fax number.

We could save a click. Why not have a drop-down list of all the employees? Let’s assume a few thousand. Yeah, the drop-down is too long. So maybe we have instead two “controls”. One is a radio button set asking “First Name” or “Last Name”. The other is an alphabet list. So now we get all the Matts, Marys, Marthas, and so forth. Right, what if we add one more control to limit us to Kansas City. Now we have a “Structured Search”.

You have probably thought of a still better or different way to find Mary Kay using a Structured Search, or maybe even, a combination of Structured Search and Free Search. This is Information Design – the search aspect of Information Design.

Let’s ask a polar question, what is the essential difference between Free Search and Structured Search? Answer is Capital Cost. It will always cost less, even much less, to setup a Free Search. But what about Operational Cost. If employees are searching each other out all day, how much is saved by providing a quick and certain search method? How much is saved by shipping the printer to the right Mary Kay?

Structured Searches cost more upfront because someone has to imagine them, organize a database, setup strict methods for adding, editing, and deleting from the database, and provide a set of controls for making the search. Not all of these costs are avoided by choosing Free Search, but many are.

It’s finally a User Interface decision involving cost, scalability, and accuracy. This is a favorite subject of mine. Call me for quick discussion or to arrange analysis of your search needs.

User Interface Design – Information Design and Design Evaluation

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

In some inner circles the terms “Information Design” has been around for a long time. There are even famous “information designers” such as Edward Tufte at Yale University, the author of Envisioning Information and possibly the inventor of the term.

So why am I inviting you into these inner circles? An information system known as the Internet has pushed its way into your space. You have a website and you may or may not be prepared to deal with anything called Information Design. Here is some help.

Tufte alone has written seven books touching this subject, so I will not presume to encapsulate it here. My goal is to alert you to the existence and depth of this field, while also providing the rudiments for evaluating Information Design in your business application, database application, or website.

Here are two websites by GORGES that show just what Information Design deals with. The first site, http://birdsandbayous.org, is so simple that information design is little more than not making basic mistakes or omissions. There are only a few “information points” and only a basic navigation is needed to reach these points and return from them. This information design is analogous to the chapter ordering in a very small book.

The Martha Stewart site, http://www.marthastewart.com, is on a different planet. Every graphic and text object on this home page is a link to something, and amazingly, it all makes sense. It is visually organized to lead the visitor comfortably through dense information.

Note further, that much of the home page information is layered on top of other information and the visitor is invited to interact with it – to engage.

So it is dense, multi-layered, diverse, and interactive.

Your website’s complexity probably lies somewhere between the Birds and Bayous website and Martha Stewart’s. What can you learn from these two sites to help you evaluate your website or work with your website designers? Here’s one thing:

Insist that when presenting a design to you the designer makes at least three systematic passes across the demo pages in some carefully ordered, slow-paced way.
• In the first pass you should be told both “how” and “why” the information design suits your information set.
• In the second pass you should be told both “how” and “why” the graphic design suits you information set, as well as “how” and “why” it is appropriate to your brand and your communication intention for each of the audiences you have identified.
• In the third pass the designer needs to explain how the graphic design and information designs reinforce each other.

For the best result, allow the designers to make the points above without interruption and then go through it all again in a question and answer format. Good designers seek good criticism.

Here’s one more information design evaluation thing:

Ask two or three innocents to do the “What do you see?” test. With the page hidden, tell them you are going to ask them what they see first. Show the page. Then ask what they see second. You will get variation from person to person, but not much. Do this for the home page and for several subordinate pages. Does the visual prioritizing match your message plan?

My next posting will be also about Information Design – searching for information.

User Interface Design (UX) – Checklist – Data Records

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

User Interface Design – Content Checklist – Data Records

When designing and critiquing Websites or Software the User Interface (UX) needs explicit and systematic attention. Designers and Clients need to use checklists and apply them in prescribed ways. Here is a small part of one of my Content Checklists. This applies to data presentations and forms.

A) When the number of the rows, also called records, in a page reaches more then XX, a pagination bar should appear above and below the list. It looks like this:

First  Previous  1  2  3  4  [5]  6  7  8  9  10  Next  Last  [optionally,
All]

You just need to click on the page number of where you want to go.

B) The page numbers must be easy to read and click on. The font size must be readable and there must be enough spacing between each number so that clicking on the number you want is faultless.

C) An appropriate number of rows is a complex decision. It depends on the content and the user’s need to compare data row-to-row. Typically it can be 10 or 25. The number of records is also a consideration.

D) In some cases it may be necessary to provide an option for showing “ALL” records, or even showing a page of records “Beginning with Record # XXX”.

E) Unless budget constraints are very tight, the records should be sortable by their header titles. It is important for the current sort order to persist while the various record set controls described above are changed.

Getting good rankings on Google

Friday, December 18th, 2009

This article is a brief overview on some of the many effective strategies to help your potential customers find your website.  I’d like to answer one of the most common questions we get here at Gorges Web Sites: how do I get good rankings in Google?

You may be doing many of these already, others you’ve heard of but haven’t done, and there may be a few that are new to you.  There are thousands of articles on this very topic on the Internet.  I can’t claim to have read all of them, and the items in this article aren’t really earth-shattering, but perhaps will represent a kind of a summary for you to help you focus and get more traffic.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategies

The most important, and inexpensive strategy is to develop high rankings for your preferred keywords in the ‘organic’ searches, for instance on Google.  So let’s start with ways to deliver to search engines concise information about what your website is all about.

1) Write a keyword-rich title for each page

Use keywords in your titles.  The title of a page is very important to Google.  So take great care here.  Don’t use common words such as ‘and’ or ‘the’ if you can avoid them.

2) Write a description META tag

While META tags aren’t as important as they once were for search engine rankings, they still matter.  A description is  a sentence or two describing the content of the web page, using the keywords that page is focusing on.  The first 60 characters or so will appear in Google when that page is being returned in a search result.  Every page in your site should have distinct title and META description.

3) Include your keywords in the headings and sub-headings of your content

Search engines look at the headings and sub-headings (H1, H2, H3 etc) tags, to learn more about the content of your page.  So craft keyword-dense headings as part of your content development efforts.

4) Position your keywords in the first paragraph of the body text

Search engines read content the way humans do, top down, so put the most important keywords and phrases early on in the content.  More is not better, be judicious, but make sure you use them.

5) Include descriptive keywords in the ALT attribute of image tags

Taking this step will help your site be more useful to visitors with sight-impairments, and also helps your images find their way into the Google image library, which can bring you more traffic.

6) Use keywords in hyperlinks

Help the search engines understand what is important by using your keywords in all links.  Go a bit further by using your keywords in the actual page names.

7) Make your navigation system search engine friendly

You want search engine robots to find all the pages in your site. JavaScript and Flash navigation menus that appear when you hover are great for humans, but search engines don’t read JavaScript and Flash very well. Therefore, supplement JavaScript and Flash menus with regular HTML links at the bottom of the page, ensuring that a chain of hyperlinks exists that take a search engine spider from your home page to every page in your site.

8 ) Create a site map

A site map page with links to all your pages can help search engines (and visitors) find all your pages, particularly if you have a larger site. You can use a free tools to create XML sitemaps that are used by the major search engines to index your webpages accurately. Upload your sitemap to your website.

9) Develop web pages focused on each of your keywords

Google ‘sees’ each page in your site as separate from the rest, so tune up each page to focus on a few specific keywords.

There is much more to SEO than this, but this should give you a good start.

Good luck in your quest for ever-higher rankings!

Chris Grant has been building Internet web sites and commerce applications since 1994, pioneering early database-driven Web application and e-commerce projects. He has been instrumental in the construction of hundreds of Internet projects, large and small.

How to design a sharp and effective website

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Dynamic and interactive pages have the most impact on your website

Paragraph upon paragraph of dense text, large picture files, heavy-handed Flash animations, generic stock-photo images and static content. These are some of the common mistakes businesses make when establishing an online presence or website.

The web is known for rapid change, so it is crucial that your business website meets a customer’s expectations.

Most small businesses want to be found on Google. However, a home page full of text doesn’t help it rank higher in a Google search and may turn potential customers away.

If users have to read a lot to do anything on the site, they may simply choose to click away to your competitors site.

We suggest you keep your home page simple and have short, sharp text that will engage the visitor. Avoid too much color because it can be difficult to read.  Make sure your text is a good font size and keep your paragraphs short.

Another area where websites commonly get it wrong is in the use of images. Large picture files or flashy content takes time to load. People will move on to some other site if your website doesn’t load quickly.

Pictures should also be unique and reflect your brand. Avoid using stock photos. Being online is about being found and when you’re found, you should have something different and inviting about your site.

You can use interactive elements on the site to really focus on your brand and how you want it to be perceived.  These can include Google Maps, video, commenting and other user interactions.

Once the website is built, it should also be updated regularly.

The biggest mistake a lot of business owners make is that once they’ve got their website up, they don’t pay any attention to it. If people can see something happening on the site every day, they know it’s a functioning website and business.

Businesses also need to analyze how visitors spend their time on the website. Business owners should use Google Analytics to help gather this data to see what is needed to improve their site, where customers go on the site and how long they spend there.

And if your business uses social media such as Twitter and Facebook to promote customer interest, be sure to link to these accounts from your website to make it easy for customers to join.

Before you put any design or copy on a page, you need to understand your users.  So, research your customer base and find out what information they are interested in, and what they need to do or learn to make their purchasing decision.

As the nature of the web keeps changing, so has the nature of website design. Websites are moving from a magazine-style format of pictures and text to being more interactive and dynamic.

Your website is the cornerstone of your marketing and communication activities. Today’s generation doesn’t look at the Yellow Pages, they look online and you need to be found online.

The do’s and don’ts of designing a business website.

Do

Keep text to a minimum on your home page and write it to engage your audience to explore your site.

Ensure images are unique and load quickly.

Analyze your website regularly to see where visitors are spending time and what you can improve.

Research your customers thoroughly before building a new website or redesign.

Promote social media accounts on your home page.

Don’t

Fill the home page full of text in the hope of improving your search optimisation.

Use large pictures or flashy content that is slow loading.

Neglect to update your content frequently.

Use colors on colors for text, making it difficult to read.

Use generic stock images.

Chris Grant has been building Internet web sites and commerce applications since 1994, pioneering early database-driven Web application and e-commerce projects. He has been instrumental in the construction of hundreds of Internet projects, large and small.

Does your website need a landing page?

Monday, July 13th, 2009

What is a landing page?

Wikipedia defines a landing page as:

the page that appears when a potential customer clicks on an advertisement or a search-engine result link. The page will usually display content that is a logical extension of the advertisement or link, and that is optimized to feature specific keywords or phrases for indexing by search engines.

Wikipedia’s definition is a good one. Here’s 10 things that you should be looking at when optimizing a landing page:

  • Relevant Content
    A landing page’s content should be related to organic search results, ad campaign, anchor text in inbound links and any other advertising, online or offline. If people don’t get what they expect, they will not stick around long.
  • Multiple Landing Pages
    A landing page shouldn’t necessarily be your homepage. In many instances a homepage is a good landing page. However, for more targeted traffic and better results, you want a landing page to be focused on specific offer and specific call for action. To accomplish this, a given website could have multiple landing pages. Create some deep link landing pages (links that go to pages deep in your website) that will focus on specific offer and your conversion rate will be higher.
  • Focus on Functionality
    More and more visitors seem to judge the professionalism and credibility of a site by its design. To satisfy this, many website owners concentrate on the design aspect instead of focusing on its functionality. A well-designed landing page is essentially worthless if the prospect can’t accomplish anything. While I wouldn’t suggest skimping on the design, it shouldn’t be your priority. Focus on the exact steps you want your visitor to take and design a page with that in mind.
  • Call To Action
    You got visitors to your landing page, now direct them to take action. Make it clear a highly noticeable without overwhelming your audience. Whether it’s a sign-up form or a “buy now” button, make it the focus of your page.
  • Send a Clear Message
    Keep your landing page clean and clutter free so your visitors stay focused on your message. Emphasize the biggest reasons that they should carry out the applicable call to action with larger text, contrasting colors, images. Make it easier for them to scan the content by using lists and getting right to the point.
  • Offer Incentive
    Bribing your visitors with freebies and samples is a proven method of enticing them to sign up. Offer more then your competition but don’t sell yourself short either. Provide a list of reasons why your offer is better and what exactly the visitor can expect. Provide references and testimonials.
  • Make Visitors Stay
    Avoid sending your visitors to another page unless it is absolutely necessary. That includes any internal navigation as well as external banners. If you remove all distractions and limit navigation options, you stand a better chance of keeping your visitors around.
  • Simple is Better
    Make it easy for your visitors to complete the action you want them to. Less confusion and decision making for your visitor means better conversions rate for your landing page. Don’t offer multiple choices and throw in optional extras. Focus on the offer the page was created for.
  • Power of Freebies
    Everyone likes free offers. They are hard to resist and can be a powerful conversion tool. Whether a call to action is free or something free is received as a result of carrying out a call to action, it certainly doesn’t hurt. If your competition charges for something and you offer it for free, you’ll win the customer. Remember, just because you make a free offer doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be quality.
  • Testing
    Testing various text, call to action forms, layouts will give you true idea what produces the best results as far as conversion. Using a tool like Google’s Website Optimizer you can easily monitor the conversion rate, bounce rate, and tons of other useful metrics found in most modern day web analytics tools. Using these metrics you can easily figure out which version will be your optimal page, one that maximizes the results.

Creating a successful and effective landing page takes a lot of work but should be the focus for anyone involved with a website. Whether you are a website owner, web designer, web developer or a web marketing specialist you must be aware of the components that comprise a solid landing page. After all this can mean website’s success or failure.

Chris Grant has been building Internet web sites and commerce applications since 1994, pioneering early database-driven Web application and e-commerce projects. He has been instrumental in the construction of hundreds of Internet projects, large and small.