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TRANSCRIPT
Pauline Randall
Florizel Media Ltd
Get Real
Results from
your Website
Housekeeping
• Session times
• Fire alarm and fire exit
• Break for coffee/tea/phones
Introductions!
Course content
In this course we will:
• Explain what makes a good website
• Help you to critique your own website and others, taking into
account accessibility legislation which applies to websites
• Help you define measurable and achievable goals for your
website
• Enable you to define a brief for a new or redesigned website
WHAT MAKES A WEBSITE
GOOD OR BAD?
First Impressions
• Weird / spammy domain names - too many hyphens, too many
salesy words, unusual TLDs, that kind of thing.
• Too busy
• Poor look and feel
• Too much blinking
• Animation
• Gaudy colours
• Auto sound/auto video play
• Awful mobile user experience
• ALL-CAPS PARAGRAPHS – don’t shout
• Dull fonts or unreadable fonts
Content
• Out of date
• Bad copy
• Too many exclamation marks!!!!!
• No more than one exclamation in a sentence - and no more than three
through the page
• Poor grammar
• Get-rich-quick copy - "Talk to me and I'll tell you more!"
• Too much hype – not everything is “too good to be true”
• Vague stats
• Random quotes from fake people
• Walls of text
Finding things (or hiding them)
• Bad navigation
• No 'About Us' page
• No team / people details
• Hidden phone number / address details
• Hidden pricing
• Obscure payment options
• Obfuscated shipping information
• Social media buttons that block your screen, too many social buttons
• Log in via Facebook
• Legal requirements about displaying company information
Getting the job done
• Hidden value proposition / message –what do you actually do?
• No call to action - what do you want visitors to do?
• No social proof / testimonials
• No user / customer reviews or ratings
• No secure (SSL) certificates (particularly for ecommerce sites)
• 'Are you sure you want to leave?' pop-ups
From 44 Reasons Why People Don’t Trust your Website by Econsultancy
Read the full article (and check out the comments at the end for
some additional points.
Also: 25 reasons why I’ll leave your website in seconds
And: 22 more reasons why I’ll leave your website in 10 seconds
Lets look at some really bad
websites…
http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/dailysucker/
http://www.exmouth-view.co.uk/
http://www.libertyvan.com/
http://dh.ncl.ac.uk/Identefact/Greek%20Pots/album/slide.html
WHAT SHOULD MY WEBSITE
CONTAIN?
We’ve seen what’s missing so
A Website Content Checklist
Enough product/service information
to be able to make a buying decision
Range, price, colours, size, weight, availability,
terms etc.
Video and images Particularly important to have good images/video of
your products
Reviews and testimonials Especially important for ecommerce sites
Added value Downloads, articles, resources, handbooks,
frequently asked questions (FAQs), blog
Clear calls to action Tell visitors what you want them to do next
Contact information Give people a choice of contact methods
Company notices Terms and conditions, privacy policy, cookie policy,
business’s legal status, VAT number
Personal information Who is behind the business? Name, photo and a bit
of background
THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD
WEBSITE DESIGN
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like.
Design is how it works.Steve Jobs
Purpose
• What are your visitors coming for?
• Each page should have a clear purpose for the visitor
• Do you want your visitors to:
• Buy something
• Be entertained
• Sign up for something
• Book something
• Be informed
Communication
Users want to get their information quickly:
• Use headings and sub headings to break up text
• Use bullets and numbered lists to organise content
• Keep the key content at the start of the page – not
everyone will read to the bottom of the page
Typefaces
• Font styles: sans serif is easier to read on screen than serif fonts
• Typefaces: limit to maximum of three different ones within your site
• Type size: large enough so that the body copy is easy to read 16 px
(or 12 point) is generally a good size
Sans Serif (e.g. Arial)
Serif (e.g. Times New Roman)
Colour
• Colour can add interest and make the site easier to use. Or it can
make it almost unusable
• Vibrant colour can be used to highlight – don’t overuse it
• Be careful of contrast between the background and the foreground
(accessibility)
• Don’t forget that white (negative) space adds to your site – don’t feel
compelled to fill everything
Imagery
• Straight text on your website can be hard going – add imagery to
increase communication
• Photos
• Video
• Infographics
• Drawings
Navigation
It should be easy for people to move around your website
• Logical hierarchies
• Breadcrumbs
• Clickable buttons
Grid based layouts
• Placing content randomly can seem like a clever, edgy idea
but in practice it makes it harder to follow the content of your
site
• Grids provide structure
• Find out how grids can work with design
F-pattern Design
We read from left to right
An
d to
p to
bo
ttom
The most important part of
the page
Mobile Friendly
Everyone needs a mobile version
of their website today
Usability testing
Get some people who don’t know their way around your site to
do some testing
• Ask them to find something
• Get them to go through the buying/enquiry process
• Find out what they thought of your navigation/design etc
ACCESSIBILITY
Accessibility
Consider the type of disability your site visitor may have that could
make it harder to access your website:
• Visual – poor eyesight, colour blindness or total blindness
• Motor – difficulty in using a keyboard, mouse or making precise
movements
• Cognitive – difficulty in understanding the language or the
context of the information given.
Accessibility
Technical issues which may also affect the viewing of your site
include:
• Small screens
• Slow connection
• Old software
• Old web browsers
Refer to BS8878 for current guidelines http://www.access8878.co.uk/
Website accessibility checker: http://wave.webaim.org/
Colour contrast
Avoid this
Aim for this
Or this
Or this
If you’re not sure - http://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/
DOMAIN NAMES
Consider the following …
www.thisismywebsiteindunfermlineandimakecakes.co.ukwww.maryscakes.co.uk
Think of what happens when you remove the spaces…
A database of talent representatives called Who Represents?www.whorepresents.com
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-your-domain-name-will-impact-seo-social-media-marketing/
http://www.classiccakes.co.uk/ http://www.classiccakes.org/ http://www.classic-cakes.com/
MARKETING
You need to be found!
• Online
• Content
• Keywords
• Titles and descriptions
• Blogs
• Pay Per Click (PPC)
• Social media
• Email signature
• Offline
• Any printed materials
• Business cards
• Brochures
• Pop-up banners
• Print advertising
CREATING YOUR WEBSITE
Make a sketch
Think about the site technology – a lot depends on what you want your site to do
Static or Dynamic
A static web page (sometimes called a flat page/stationary page) is a
web page that is delivered to the user exactly as stored, in contrast to
dynamic web pages which are generated by a web application.
Advantages of static website:
• Quick to develop
• Cheap to develop
• Cheap to host
Disadvantages of static website:
• Requires web development expertise to
update site
• Site not as useful for the user
• Content can get stagnant
Dynamic sites include:
• Online shops
• News sites
• Wordpress and other CMS sites
Flash
• Rich media experience
• Can cause compatibility/accessibility issues
• Search engines find them hard to index properly
• Suited to media orientated sites – music, film, high profile
brands
• Won’t run on a Apple mobile software so excludes iPhones,
iPads etc
• 5 Reasons why you shouldn’t use Flash for your website
Who will create your site?
Do it all yourself?
• You can produce the site you want
• Update as often as you like
• Do you have the skills?
• Do you have the time?
Template
• Online services
• Quick easy set up
• On-going cost
• One solution fits all
• Can be hard to differentiate
However…
• Often a good choice for online stores
Web Designer
• Most expensive approach
• Most professional results
• Maintenance and updates may be costly
METRICS
Measuring Performance
• Statistics – analytics packages (eg Google Analytics)
• Code/coupons used
• Ask customers how they found you (on forms or over the phone)
• Sales/enquiries
Performance measures should lead back to your website purpose
BEFORE YOU START…
Check…
Timescale
Budgets
Responsibilities
Technology
Special requirements?
Web hosting requirements (and location of your web host)
REAL RESULTS IN THE FUTURE
Your website is never
completed!
• Keep content updated
• Check for broken links – other pages/sites may move or close
• Always check your position in search
• Regularly check out your competitor’s websites
• Keep an eye on current trends but don’t forget that your site
should be accessible for your customers
Summary
• Balance of technical and soft skills required
• Be clear about site goals
• Choose development to suit skills and budget
• Refer to accessibility legislation
• Always review your position
What next?
• Meet with a Business Adviser
• Attend other Business Gateway events – event programmes are
available
• Use the Business Gateway Information Service – call 0845 609 6611
• Check out the Business Gateway Fife website at
www.businessgatewayfife.co.uk or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Keep in touch – call us on 01592 858333