Posts Tagged ‘website’

How To Build a Better Landing Page.

July 12th, 2017

What is a landing page?

Landing pages are pages that are designed for specific marketing products or services. They are usually not a main pages on your web site and it are not part of the global navigation. In some cases the only links to the pages are from marketing content—For example: the call-to-action in an email or a pages found from a search engine results.

1. Landing pages are created for ease of use and simplicity. If a customer cannot find what you intended them to find, there really is no purpose for your landing page. Your landing page must be organized so that main emphasis is placed on the right items and visitors find what they are looking for.

2. The navigation on your landing page should be clear and obvious to the visitor. They should be able to look at your page and know where they are headed when they click on a button. Any other options, or “call to action” steps, should be easy to see and follow.

3. When they take the “call to action” steps, customers should receive some sort of immediate feedback. The page should change when they click on a button or when they mouse over specific content. There needs to be immediate responses to every move and click they make.

4. The layout of your landing page is very important. The content should be clear, consistent, and created based upon the purpose of the visitor. It should also be separated into a few “chunks” instead of staying as one long piece. This allows the reader to quickly scan and read what’s being said.

5. Aside from being readable and maneuverable, it is important that the visitor actually likes what they are seeing. The content should be interesting and easy to understand, and should provide value to the customer; they should feel like they are getting something out of your website. The look and feel should be appealing, the tone should be appropriate for the context of the situation, and ultimately, visitors (potential customers) should feel comfortable and relaxed when visiting your landing page, never anxious or confused.

 

Future-Proof Ideas for Websites

March 15th, 2017

When you’re talking about the future it’s hard not to get carried away. The future of almost everything seems exciting. Futuristic cars, houses, television, and of course, websites, will seemingly be able to perform almost any function, thanks to creativity and advances in technology.

But instead of focusing on the technology side of the future, focus on the human side. Human behavior is a more consistent bet than technology. If we prepare our website for the future with human nature in mind, we will put our organization in a good position regardless of how the flood of technology leaves things.

Future-proof ideas for websites

If we bet on technology, we can either be really right, or really, really wrong. But if we bet on human nature, we can count on consistency and know that our website is going to be well-positioned for the future.

The website of the future must be:

  • Simple
  • Mobile
  • Fast
  • Human
  • Useful and/or interesting

1. Make it simple

People value simplicity. Every day, more than 100 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook. More than 90 million Tweets are Tweeted. About 50,000 new blogs are created to get stacked on top of the 150 million+ that are already out there. As you read this, some of the 294 billion emails that are sent each day are being written.

We’re in an era of information overload. Our audience members are busy people who are overcommitted *outside* of their Internet lives. It’s a small miracle each time they make it to our sites so we shouldn’t overwhelm them once they get there.

The first step in preparing your website for the future happens offline. Websites are often a reflection of the organization that created them. If our organization is disorganized, and poor at communicating, our website will be, too. Design by committee often results in a battlefield of compromise where your visitor is the casualty. As an organization, we must go through the difficult task of truly answering some basic but powerful questions:

  • What kind of person is my audience member?
  • What’s the one thing they actually want from me?
  • What one action do I want them to take?

There are no Swiss army-knife sites We need to simplify, specialize and stick to our core mission or risk becoming irrelevant.

If the future of the web is simplicity, here’s how you can prepare:

  • Boil down your organization’s core offering
  • Conduct a website audit: check for competing initiatives on your own site
  • Check your analytics to see where you are losing visitors

2. Make it portable

People value convenience.

The world is going mobile in a hurry. You’ve heard the stats. By 2015, 63% of U.S. citizens will browse the mobile web. Nearly 150 million people will own smartphones and mobile traffic will increase 26-fold.

Mobile isn’t a trend. Mobile is the trend.

But the web isn’t just going to mobile devices, it’s going to any screen that can present the internet. Think kiosks, augmented-reality digital signage, screens we haven’t thought of yet. The web is going to be portable: found wherever a digital screen exists.

When you’re creating a mobile version of your website (which should be your priority over running out to create a mobile app just to create one), the simplicity you gained in step 1 (“Make it simple) will help pave the way for you to create a simpler menu that satisfies your audience members desires on your site.

To prepare your site for mobile:

  • Start thinking now about how you’d simplify your navigation menu and site content
  • Discontinue developing Flash elements into your website, focus on HTML or JavaScript
  • Focus on mobile-friendly first

3. Make it fast

People hate waiting

Nobody likes to stand in line. Waiting is tough for people. That’s why 40% of web users have abandoned a page after 5 seconds of loading.

Taking the steps to making sure our sites load quickly will have benefits to user experience and SEO. People are more likely to click through more on quickly-loading sites. And Google has mentioned that they take load speed into consideration in their algorithm.

Remember, simple sites load faster. And this is even more true (and more important) in mobile.

To get your site sped up for the future:

  • Check site load speed
  • Create a checklist of tweaks to apply to your current site

4. Make it human

People crave human interaction

We’ve heard the statistics on social media. And to be fair, a lot of organizations are at least trying social media. But the humanization of your website shouldn’t be limited to your social media pre-approved channels.

Social media – or the human element – should be a layer across your digital presence, not channel-based. Humanity evokes emotion from people. Showing the human side of your organization can have many benefits.

For instance, during a Fund donation drive, an A/B split test was conducted to see which donation form was more effective and generating donations. One form had a photo, the other did not. The one with the photo – the human – element – converted 10% better and resulted in $1 million more in donations.

The social side of your organization can come out anywhere you have content. Your email subscription thank you, your administrative copy, your error messages can all incorporate the human element.

For instance, a error message was written in a more human-friendly way and decreased the bounce rate by 66%

If the future of the web is social, here’s how to prepare:

  • Take inventory of your social media outposts: are you acting like a logo or a person?
  • Investigate where your audience socializes online
  • Start monitoring social media to keep tabs on influencers and your audience

5. Be useful or interesting

People love a good story

An article this long has to include the cliché “content is king” at least once so here it is: content is king. In a recent survey, 73% of people said they preferred to learn about organizations through articles as opposed to ads. Content is 61% more likely to drive someone to make a purchase than ads, and content can live forever on your website.

  • The power of a good story is strong.
  • And content can pay dividends down the road for your site. A Tweet or Facebook post usually only lasts for hours. A blog post can last for years.
  • The future of the web is storytelling, so start generating content that captivates your audience because it’s useful or interesting (or both!)
  • If you want to prepare for the future of the web, focus on human nature. Make it simple, portable, fast, social, useful and interesting you’ll be ahead of the race.

Put your website to the test!

30 Second Test – Things to look for:

  • Does your website communicate your message clearly?
  • At the end of the day, what do you want your website to do?
  • Does your website effectively explain your product/service?
  • How do your clients react to your website? Do they like it?
  • What does your sales staff say about your website? Does it help or hurt them?
  • Does your website sell for you the way you want it to?
  • Do you know If people are even using your website?
  • What do visitors do while on your website?
  • Bottom line, all websites have a call-to-action, even if it is to click on the next link or read the next page. Is your call-to-action getting you results?

If one or more of these questions cause you concern, call us today at 1-800-418-2358 and let’s get your website ticking again.

The Computer Company, Inc.
15 Commerce Drive, Cromwell, CT
(860) 635-0500

It’s Official: Flash Mobile Player is Dead

November 9th, 2011

Adobe confirmed what reports were saying all morning: It’s done with the Flash Mobile Player and has now thrown its lot in with the HTML5 crowd — for mobile at least.

“We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook,” wrote Danny Winokur, Adobe VP and general manager for interactive development in a blog entry this morning.

See rest of Article on: http://mashable.com/2011/11/09/its-official-flash-mobile-player-is-dead/

Tips for Hiring a Good Web Developer

March 2nd, 2010

Choosing a web developer can be absolutely exhausting, especially finding someone who can meet your needs within your defined budget. But before you can even think about getting a web designer/developer, you need to be sure of what you want, and how to express that to another person. This includes what you want your website to look like, how you want it to function, and even creating site map of the pages you want to include throughout the site. Is this overwhelming? Maybe a little bit. But will it save you money? Absolutely. » Read more: Tips for Hiring a Good Web Developer

How to Build a Better Landing Page: Part 2- Perfect Your Text

December 17th, 2009

The amazing content you are providing them with is nothing if it is not legible. Font size and style are extremely important, and can seriously alter the effect of your landing page. Depending on your intended audience, the font size may need to be increased for better visibility. Also, limit the use of too many different fonts, colors, and sizes. This can be distracting and misleading. Only bold or change the font color of content that is of enough importance that it should stand out from the rest. » Read more: How to Build a Better Landing Page: Part 2- Perfect Your Text