The Smart Web Site
| Category: Website Design and Development | Date: 2003-10-25 |
"Navigating the Field of Seven Red Flags"
Figuring out what makes a smart, profitable Web site is a process of elimination. Look around at whats out there on the Web. Take a very close look at your competitors by searching for your keywords and keyphrases on a search engine. You will be amazed by what you find.
There are certainly sites that are great, and full of good ideas that you can (and should) take and make your own. But the majority could use a major housecleaning.
Lets define a smart Web site by first identifying the various Red Flags. Get rid of these problem areas, and the smart Web site is revealed.
There are seven main reasons why Web sites fail in their basic structure, even before they begin to market their presence to customers. People visit Web sites for four primary reasons:
To find information
To network
To be entertained, or
To make a purchase
Listed here are the roadblocks that get in their way.
Red Flag #1 - Contact Information is Difficult to Find
(Somewhere, deep beneath some hidden link, lurks the contact information. You know its there, because nobody would be so stupid as to leave this crucial part out. Would they..?)
Knock this Red Flag down by putting your contact information on the home page...and adding links between pages within your site. Include name, phone, fax, email, and surface mail address prominently. Show visitors clearly on your home page how to place an order with you. Make it easy for them.
Red Flag #2 - NOT User-Oriented
("Hey, I know! Lets bury the content weve advertised - the material our potential visitors are hungry to find - beneath layers of our exceptional corporate branding! After all, this is our Web site. Isnt it all about US?")
No.
The truth of the matter is that visitors to your site are totally self-centered. They are looking for what they can gain for themselves, and they want it NOW. Give it to them first, beginning with the home page, or they will be gone in a click and they wont be back, ever.
Right away you must give them an up-front reason to stick around, and hopefully get lost in your site. Tell them to bookmark your site. Demonstrate through crisp, clear writing and graphics that they have arrived at their dream site, filled with benefits for them, ABOUT THEM, answering their specific and important needs.
PS: tell them about "THE COMPANY" later.
Red Flag #3 - Too Difficult to Navigate
("This site best viewed through Netscape Communicator version 58.c - download a copy now - only 28,000k, so smoke em if you got em because itll be awhile - bye for now, but then get right back here so you can proceed! By the way, weve modelled this site after a rat maze, because we know the more intellectually challenged you are, the greater appreciation youll have for our fabulous content! IF you can find it, because there are a ton of links taking you away to other sites all the heck over cyberspace...")
This Red Flag flaps very loudly indeed. Here are four simple rules to observe:
Everything you offer visitors should be no more than two clicks away.
Your sales information is never more than one click away.
Prominent links at the top of pages get higher click-through rates than those buried deep within.
Organize your site like your favorite magazine cover. Your cover equals the home page; the articles headlined are all your other pages. Remember: just like when you read a magazine, not every article/Web page will have the same appeal for your visitors. Provoke their response with exciting headlines, forcing them to click through and take a look inside.
Red Flag #4 - Too Many Bells and Whistles
("Less is more? Says who? Were on the cutting edge so we go for titanic graphics; really dark screen colors to separate us from all those other sites; 3D, textured backgrounds for the sake of interest (just dont try to read our pages); frames, just because we can; lots of jiggling java, Flash and other "cool stuff", at least a dozen a screen.. And sound - just download the extension! So you connect at 28.8 kbps - so what? Were worth the wait!")
Definitely not. Until the online world has across-the-board access to high speed modems and everyone uses the very same browser you do, its best to follow these seven basics:
Keep it simple.
Try to keep each page size under 30k, and never over 40k.
Use a solid background on text-heavy pages (white is best).
Test. Connect through a 28.8 kbps modem to learn how long it really takes to load.
Dont put graphics at the top of your page, because they take longer to load. Place them beneath a benefit-laden headline and the opening salvo of your text.
Dont put banners at the top of your page. If you do use them, place them 2/3s of the way down, and then only on the RIGHT HAND side of your page. Studies show this right justification increases their click-through rate significantly.
Choose to use frames, java, Flash, Shockwave, Active X and all the other bells and whistles with the knowledge that a significant percentage of your customers cant use them (yet). In fact, these technical fireworks can cause their systems to crash. Not a very good advertisement for your offerings, wouldnt you agree?
Red Flag #5 - The "Un" Site: Never Finished, Never Updated
("Under construction- see our clever little picture saying so? But were telling you, one of these days its going to be great. Really! You wont believe what youll be able to get here, but youll have to come back when were done next quarter, so bookmark now -")
Forget it. The online world functions through instant gratification. Nobody will bookmark your unfinished site. By the same token, if you dont revitalize your site often through updating and enhancing information, you will be out of the race.
Your Web site is "organic", an asset that grows, and even a simple change can make a difference. Web Presence Group, an excellent starting point for Web businesses, prominently places the current time at the top of their business resource page.
Good idea, because it states that this business portal is up-to-the-minute and offer you the latest information available.
Never announce your site to the search engines or directories before it is finished. Yahoo! and other key directories will ignore it, and youll let down a lot of potential customers who will likely never return - a total waste of your time and money.
Red Flag #6 - Lack of Interactivity; No Way to Communicate with Customers
("Were the phone company. We dont care. We dont have to." - Lily Tomlin)
But everyone else does. Customer response can make your success on the Internet, and you will find as you deal with people online that the personal touch and going the extra mile for someone can make a huge difference.
Encourage interactivity. Give people every reason to visit your site, and capture their information when they arrive. At a minimum, you must get their email address. Best of all, get their complete contact information - those who supply their address and phone number are your very best prospects for a business relationship.
Here are a few ideas for building an interactive Web site:
Develop an email newsletter or ezine
Offer to discount a purchase made online
Offer frequent purchase bonuses
Give away FREE information, products, software downloads
Make product announcements
Offer prize giveaways and contests
Supply cool things and links to cool places
Offer games
Generate a discussion group
Develop and offer a searchable database
Use forms
In exchange for each of these processes, you receive contact information. But you should do even more. Find out what you can about your growing customer base, and the effectiveness of your Web site.
Create a Guest Sign-In Book, and give something for signing it in return.
Provide an Information Request form, in which you ask respondents: "What are the top 3 things our business can do to meet your needs?"
Provide a Feedback Form, asking customers these basic questions: "How am I doing?", or "If I could offer you one more service/item, it would be.."
The list goes on. Electronic Order Forms, Customer Satisfaction Forms and more, all of which give visitors to your site the tools they need to interact with you. The more back and forth access you provide between potential customers and you, the more successful your Web site will be.
Red Flag #7 - No Sales Message
("Well, folks, thats what we offer here. Not much, but thanks for stopping in. Bye-bye"-)
Wait! The average person is confronted by 1000s of advertisements daily. Surely people have already grown "comfortably numb". So shake them out of their stupor.
If you dont ask for the order, you will not get it.
Ask politely for their order now / tell them to place their order right away / DEMAND that they send you their money immediately VERY LOUDLY, and MORE THAN ONCE. Make sure they hear you, and you can count on this: a certain percentage WILL respond.
Take away these seven Red Flags, and you are on your way to standing head and shoulders above the majority of the Web business crowd. You will have revealed the three basic ingredients of all outstanding Web sites:
1. Your Web Site is now Customer-Based
2. Your Web Site now Lives Up to the Promise of its PR
3. Your Web Site is now Easy to Access for Visitors, and for You
If youve successfully navigated the Field of Seven Red Flags and come through with flying colors, youre getting closer to success. Now add high-powered Web writing to your pages, and youll burn past the finish line to win the race.
About the Author
Article by Scott T. Smith of Copywriting.Net Generate MORE sales with your Web site copy - For a free estimate visit copywriting.net or call 1.800.798.4471 (toll-free in the US).
scott@infowriter.com
http://www.copywriting.net
Figuring out what makes a smart, profitable Web site is a process of elimination. Look around at whats out there on the Web. Take a very close look at your competitors by searching for your keywords and keyphrases on a search engine. You will be amazed by what you find.
There are certainly sites that are great, and full of good ideas that you can (and should) take and make your own. But the majority could use a major housecleaning.
Lets define a smart Web site by first identifying the various Red Flags. Get rid of these problem areas, and the smart Web site is revealed.
There are seven main reasons why Web sites fail in their basic structure, even before they begin to market their presence to customers. People visit Web sites for four primary reasons:
To find information
To network
To be entertained, or
To make a purchase
Listed here are the roadblocks that get in their way.
Red Flag #1 - Contact Information is Difficult to Find
(Somewhere, deep beneath some hidden link, lurks the contact information. You know its there, because nobody would be so stupid as to leave this crucial part out. Would they..?)
Knock this Red Flag down by putting your contact information on the home page...and adding links between pages within your site. Include name, phone, fax, email, and surface mail address prominently. Show visitors clearly on your home page how to place an order with you. Make it easy for them.
Red Flag #2 - NOT User-Oriented
("Hey, I know! Lets bury the content weve advertised - the material our potential visitors are hungry to find - beneath layers of our exceptional corporate branding! After all, this is our Web site. Isnt it all about US?")
No.
The truth of the matter is that visitors to your site are totally self-centered. They are looking for what they can gain for themselves, and they want it NOW. Give it to them first, beginning with the home page, or they will be gone in a click and they wont be back, ever.
Right away you must give them an up-front reason to stick around, and hopefully get lost in your site. Tell them to bookmark your site. Demonstrate through crisp, clear writing and graphics that they have arrived at their dream site, filled with benefits for them, ABOUT THEM, answering their specific and important needs.
PS: tell them about "THE COMPANY" later.
Red Flag #3 - Too Difficult to Navigate
("This site best viewed through Netscape Communicator version 58.c - download a copy now - only 28,000k, so smoke em if you got em because itll be awhile - bye for now, but then get right back here so you can proceed! By the way, weve modelled this site after a rat maze, because we know the more intellectually challenged you are, the greater appreciation youll have for our fabulous content! IF you can find it, because there are a ton of links taking you away to other sites all the heck over cyberspace...")
This Red Flag flaps very loudly indeed. Here are four simple rules to observe:
Everything you offer visitors should be no more than two clicks away.
Your sales information is never more than one click away.
Prominent links at the top of pages get higher click-through rates than those buried deep within.
Organize your site like your favorite magazine cover. Your cover equals the home page; the articles headlined are all your other pages. Remember: just like when you read a magazine, not every article/Web page will have the same appeal for your visitors. Provoke their response with exciting headlines, forcing them to click through and take a look inside.
Red Flag #4 - Too Many Bells and Whistles
("Less is more? Says who? Were on the cutting edge so we go for titanic graphics; really dark screen colors to separate us from all those other sites; 3D, textured backgrounds for the sake of interest (just dont try to read our pages); frames, just because we can; lots of jiggling java, Flash and other "cool stuff", at least a dozen a screen.. And sound - just download the extension! So you connect at 28.8 kbps - so what? Were worth the wait!")
Definitely not. Until the online world has across-the-board access to high speed modems and everyone uses the very same browser you do, its best to follow these seven basics:
Keep it simple.
Try to keep each page size under 30k, and never over 40k.
Use a solid background on text-heavy pages (white is best).
Test. Connect through a 28.8 kbps modem to learn how long it really takes to load.
Dont put graphics at the top of your page, because they take longer to load. Place them beneath a benefit-laden headline and the opening salvo of your text.
Dont put banners at the top of your page. If you do use them, place them 2/3s of the way down, and then only on the RIGHT HAND side of your page. Studies show this right justification increases their click-through rate significantly.
Choose to use frames, java, Flash, Shockwave, Active X and all the other bells and whistles with the knowledge that a significant percentage of your customers cant use them (yet). In fact, these technical fireworks can cause their systems to crash. Not a very good advertisement for your offerings, wouldnt you agree?
Red Flag #5 - The "Un" Site: Never Finished, Never Updated
("Under construction- see our clever little picture saying so? But were telling you, one of these days its going to be great. Really! You wont believe what youll be able to get here, but youll have to come back when were done next quarter, so bookmark now -")
Forget it. The online world functions through instant gratification. Nobody will bookmark your unfinished site. By the same token, if you dont revitalize your site often through updating and enhancing information, you will be out of the race.
Your Web site is "organic", an asset that grows, and even a simple change can make a difference. Web Presence Group, an excellent starting point for Web businesses, prominently places the current time at the top of their business resource page.
Good idea, because it states that this business portal is up-to-the-minute and offer you the latest information available.
Never announce your site to the search engines or directories before it is finished. Yahoo! and other key directories will ignore it, and youll let down a lot of potential customers who will likely never return - a total waste of your time and money.
Red Flag #6 - Lack of Interactivity; No Way to Communicate with Customers
("Were the phone company. We dont care. We dont have to." - Lily Tomlin)
But everyone else does. Customer response can make your success on the Internet, and you will find as you deal with people online that the personal touch and going the extra mile for someone can make a huge difference.
Encourage interactivity. Give people every reason to visit your site, and capture their information when they arrive. At a minimum, you must get their email address. Best of all, get their complete contact information - those who supply their address and phone number are your very best prospects for a business relationship.
Here are a few ideas for building an interactive Web site:
Develop an email newsletter or ezine
Offer to discount a purchase made online
Offer frequent purchase bonuses
Give away FREE information, products, software downloads
Make product announcements
Offer prize giveaways and contests
Supply cool things and links to cool places
Offer games
Generate a discussion group
Develop and offer a searchable database
Use forms
In exchange for each of these processes, you receive contact information. But you should do even more. Find out what you can about your growing customer base, and the effectiveness of your Web site.
Create a Guest Sign-In Book, and give something for signing it in return.
Provide an Information Request form, in which you ask respondents: "What are the top 3 things our business can do to meet your needs?"
Provide a Feedback Form, asking customers these basic questions: "How am I doing?", or "If I could offer you one more service/item, it would be.."
The list goes on. Electronic Order Forms, Customer Satisfaction Forms and more, all of which give visitors to your site the tools they need to interact with you. The more back and forth access you provide between potential customers and you, the more successful your Web site will be.
Red Flag #7 - No Sales Message
("Well, folks, thats what we offer here. Not much, but thanks for stopping in. Bye-bye"-)
Wait! The average person is confronted by 1000s of advertisements daily. Surely people have already grown "comfortably numb". So shake them out of their stupor.
If you dont ask for the order, you will not get it.
Ask politely for their order now / tell them to place their order right away / DEMAND that they send you their money immediately VERY LOUDLY, and MORE THAN ONCE. Make sure they hear you, and you can count on this: a certain percentage WILL respond.
Take away these seven Red Flags, and you are on your way to standing head and shoulders above the majority of the Web business crowd. You will have revealed the three basic ingredients of all outstanding Web sites:
1. Your Web Site is now Customer-Based
2. Your Web Site now Lives Up to the Promise of its PR
3. Your Web Site is now Easy to Access for Visitors, and for You
If youve successfully navigated the Field of Seven Red Flags and come through with flying colors, youre getting closer to success. Now add high-powered Web writing to your pages, and youll burn past the finish line to win the race.
About the Author
Article by Scott T. Smith of Copywriting.Net Generate MORE sales with your Web site copy - For a free estimate visit copywriting.net or call 1.800.798.4471 (toll-free in the US).
scott@infowriter.com
http://www.copywriting.net
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