Slideshow: Web Design Techniques To Enhance Online Marketing
For those who haven’t seen it, I presented a webcast for the American Marketing Association last June. Here is the free slideshow of the presentation. Aquent/AMA Webcast: How User Centered Web Design Techniques Enhance Online Marketing View more presentations from Aquent Webmaster When a search engine giant such as Google has a large usability department, you can be assured that user experience is vital to online and offline marketing. This webcast session will debunk the myth that...
Read MoreCre8pc Web Site Reviews on Sale
In this, the season of giving, and because web site reviews are so popular, I’m offering the chance to get your site review for just $82.50, on a first come, first serve basis. What Do You Get? A full written report emailed to you in PDF format. Screenshots with notes, suggestions, etc. Fast turnaround. Input on usability, understandability, conversions, calls to action, persuasive design Feedback on information architecture and navigation Organic on page search engine optimization...
Read MoreBlended Usability and SEO Practices a Hit
Just when I was seriously considering not writing articles for other publications for awhile, something happened. I wrote an article that poured out in one take for Search Engine Land’s newly renamed “Search and Usability” column and delivered it way past my deadline. Turns out, it was a hit. I’d been pondering lately how hard it can be to describe what online marketers and web site designers and developers do for a living. Ask 10 of us what we do and you’ll get...
Read MoreOn a WordPress Kick
I’ve been teaching myself new things lately and one of them is getting away from the Thesis theme I traditionally use, and trying out other blog themes. That’s why this site looks different. So does Cre8asiteforums. The new forums home page is in limbo and not finished yet, but it looks far better than the previous home page did. Not only are themes interesting to get to know, but so are new CSS3 tricks. I’m not much a designer. Other people have artistic talent. For me,...
Read MoreFree Webcast on Usability and Search Engine Marketing
I’m about to try something new and I’m very excited! Having attended several webinars and webcasts presented by my industry peers, I was invited to do one myself for the American Marketing Association. You Are Invited! How User Centered Web Design Techniques Enhance Online Marketing How User Centered Web Design Techniques Enhance Online Marketing is completely free. I’ll do a 40 minute training with slides that contain how-to, tools and book recommendations, followed by...
Read MoreWeb Site Design Goals Starter Checklist
Before you began a new web site design, did you pause for a moment and think about your goals? When you first sat down to consider your plans, did you think about your business requirements? Why do you want a web site? What do you hope to accomplish? How will you do this? Web Site Requirements Some example business requirements may be: 1. Increase the amount of qualified Search Engine traffic. 2. Increase the number of new visitors (and perhaps pre-qualify new customers). 3....
Read MoreLow Income Disabled Persons Prevented From Internet Use
As a user advocate, one of my personal concerns with web design and programming is making web sites and applications accessible to everybody. That includes disabled persons and those who rely on mobile or smaller devices to use the Internet. It’s a very hard sell. While I always plant seeds with my clients, it’s a rare one that wants to purposely go over their code to be sure it meets disability standards (aka “Section 508″ and “PAS 78″). Or, someone will...
Read MoreDo You Know The Way to Good IA
Have you ever sat around a large table with a group of people working on a giant jig saw puzzle? Some people are really good at it. They understand the puzzle. Others are content to find border pieces. It takes patience. It brings the group together while they put it all together. What if you have the chance to build your own house? You’ll hire an architect who listens to your goals, likes, dislikes and dreams. From that a plan is established. From the first shovel of dirt to the...
Read MoreUsability 14-Point Checklist for Success is SEMMY Finalist
The article I wrote last year for Website Magazine made the SEMMY Finals in the Design and Usability category. It’s time now for readers to vote on the 4 articles chosen by judges. The article is Everyday Usability – 14-Point Checklist for Success User behaviors change and evolve and it’s up to website owners to adapt. Constant attention must be given to how users and search engines interact with your site to ensure that you not only attract visitors, but give them reasons to come...
Read MoreUser Experience Supports Findabilty and Usability
I’m always asked how to explain web site usability and why a site owner should bother investing in user experience design. What would make an impact on users? Understanding, in-depth, who web site visitors are is a good place to start. When we use the Web, we agree to an Internet, computer based experience. We may spend so much time with the journey itself that we never reach our destination. User experience design aids and supports findabilty and usability. Consider what happened when...
Read MoreWeb Site Beauty is only Skin
I used to have a quote taped to my bathroom that read, “Beauty is only skin.” I knew that no matter what I did or said, I would first be judged by my skin. So are web sites. Position, color, font, style, and length of important elements on pages within a site benefit from standardization because each page then “looks familiar” and adds to the effects of mere exposure. The site visitor’s comfort that “I’ve been here before” has empirical value...
Read MoreIntuit Web Site Setup Service Misleading
I would like to thank Intuit for their hard work in bringing me new clients. It came as quite a surprise that you support my web site usability and SEO services. Imagine my surprise when I flipped on the boob tube for several minutes while making tea from the comfort of my (very busy!) home office and there you were, all professional sounding like, with your (dare I say it?) sly and devious commercial to small biz web site owner hopefuls. For the mere fee of $4.99 (or some such pittance), new...
Read MoreSEMMY Nominee, Miriam Ellis, Contacted for Interview
It’s the kind of action any contest nominee might wish for – being noticed and then interviewed. SEO Igloo’s Miriam Ellis wrote Seeing With Web Designer Eyes – 9 Evident Errors that was nominated for a 2009 SEMMY. The article caught the attention of Laura Leopard of Leopard Solutions from New York. Subsequently, 2 interviews followed. Miriam tells the story in Watch An Interview With Web Designer, Miriam Ellis. Miriam, a professional Internet Marketer and Moderator...
Read MoreWeb Application Usability Help
I love testing web applications. As you might imagine, I’ve seen many in my work. I admire web designers who create beautifully understandable, user centric procedures. One application that never fails to drive everyone crazy are travel sites that try to do it all. Their applications attempt to book a flight, hotel room and rent a car. Alone, these tasks can be confusing to do online. Add them all together and something is bound to be a source of confusion or abandonment. For...
Read MoreInternet Shopping Usability Means Let Them Buy It Online
For my next installment for Just Behave, at Search Engine Land, I described an online shopping experience that ended in no sale, even after checking out 10 web sites for the same product. Internet Shopping Usability: No Guidance, No Interaction, No Sale is how my search for a product I already owned and wanted to buy again for my son, ended in no sale. If you are a re-seller, this is a must read if your web site isn’t ranking well or selling. If you are an ecommerce web site owner,...
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