Websites come in all shapes, sizes, colors and levels of user-friendliness. We’ve blogged before about the importance of your website being easy to navigate and, thus, being user friendly. One aspect of user-friendliness that is often overlooked is the ol’ bells and whistles and how they can be a deterrent to visitors.
Specifically, let’s look at those cool looking flash-player video presentations, slide shows and such that are built into the home page of your website so as to make a great first impression on your visitors. While some of these effects can look incredible, they can also cause your website to load slowly or, depending on the computer and the connection, even freeze the computer it’s loading on.
All kinds of people with all kinds of computers and all kinds of connections will be looking at your website, and a good web development and web design team will work with you on what your best options are. Most often, the “keep it simple” rule applies. Be aware that those fun interactive and flashy bits take up some space on your site in the way of scripts and programming. If they aren’t included properly or written poorly, your site will suffer! Not to mention the fact that now most search engines, like Google, take loading time as a key factor for page ranking and SEO.
Heck, look at our website. We have a definite design image and a simple “slideshow” of our services. Nothing too over-the-top that would cause our site to load too slowly, as connections and computers vary greatly from one user environment to another.
If your website loads too slowly, it’s extremely easy for the visitor to click and go somewhere else…Without ever really seeing your site.
Every day businesses are making this very future more and more possible for themselves, and the pictures are mostly the same: They start a Facebook page, half-ass it, then complain when they don’t get results as good as their competition. They open an Urban Spoon page for their restaurant and don’t even include their web address or other vital information. The list goes on and on with Google Places, Yelp and countless other online resources. And it’s truly amazing how many people and businesses still won’t get on board with social media. They’re not only missing out on business but eroding their own business base and hurting their business.
If you’re reading this post and need some convincing, consider the Yellow Pages. Have you noticed how their pricing has continuously gone up…while participation has gone down? They didn’t get on the INTERNET bandwagon in time, and you know the result has been? The Yellow Pages have lost 80% market share in past 3 years.
Yep. Even though they’re trying to incorporate web listings and links into the mix for their sales, they’re really too late. By the time they got with the program and started taking the Internet seriously, there were already too many resources online (white pages, business directories, social media pages, etc) that they were immediately in competition with. They had name recognition going for them, but that wound up working against them because they were the last to get a presence online. And of course because the phone book is hardly even used anymore! When was the last time you were looking forward to paging through that big yellow brick on your doorstep? The best web development and web design is more effective if you have a good foundation online. All of these elements work hand-in-hand, and it’s important to take your online presence seriously…starting with making sure that your profile is complete on any forum where you’re listed.
The Internet really is the future of marketing (just ask the Yellow Pages), so make sure your input and efforts are complete and you will find your own success online.
We’ve talked and blogged before about how it’s not always necessary to have the “latest and greatest” with technology moving so fast as it is. With every new device or piece of software comes a new learning curve, which of course requires yet more time out of your busy schedule.
For your website, keep in MIND that added features and plug-ins are certainly cool and in some cases called for. Problem is, it’s easy to get into “overkill” mode and clutter up your first impression on your website. A good web development and web design team will keep things pretty and easy to read and navigate.
Before you jump on the bandwagon of a new bell or whistle that appears cool and/or indispensable for your website, make sure you’re getting utilizing all the capability and tools of your current website configuration.
Consider these pictures…
They were all done by Don Marco, an Army Air Corps retiree…with Crayola crayons.
Yep.
Remember…time and creativity are your best tools, no matter what you’re working on:)
How excited are you about your business? No, REALLY?
How enthusiastic are you about what you DO, as opposed to the money you make from doing it? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm on a day-to-day basis? Why do you think your enthusiasm would inspire anyone to do business with you? How do you show/represent your enthusiasm to clients and prospects?
All of this will show on your website. All of this will show in how your website looks a year from now as opposed to how it does now. Your website is basically a reflection of your own enthusiasm.
In your web development and web design efforts, it’s important to remember your own role in the process. Too many times, business owners just want to hire a team and basically say “Here, make me a great website.”
It’s not quite that simple. As well as mapping out the mechanics of how the navigation of your site will work, the layout and images are the very pieces of the puzzle that will cause visitors to stay on your website and want to look around. How your website copy communicates your message and your purpose should work hand-in-hand with your layout to form a visual and verbal one-two punch.
The only way these elements can truly come together and make your website work for you is with your involvement. When you hire a web development and web design team, make sure you communicate clearly with them. Take time to sit down with them and share insight on how you got into the business you’re in, the work you have done in that business, why (other than money) you’re motivated to do the work you do and share your vision for your company over the next 5 years.
The more your web development and web design team knows about your business and understands your heart for your business, the more effectively they will be able to represent you and your business on your website. Don’t hide your excitement…share it:)
At the risk of tooting our own horn here (it’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it), we thought we’d take a moment to talk about what we do so whether you choose MIND for your web development and web design or already have someone you’re working with, you will have a better idea of just what it is that you pay for.
There are two main factors that are separate but have a direct impact on each other. We will call them The Two Q’s.
Quantification and Quality.
Web development and web design work is different for every client because there are so many variables involved. Does the client need a logo? Does the client have copy? Does the client have a clear vision of the image they want to project? Does the client have a clear understanding of who their target audience is? How many separate pages does the client want for their website?
And the big one…(drum roll, please)
Does the client really CARE?
That question has the most profound impact on The Two Q’s. The more a client cares, the more attention they will give to Quality…which makes Quantification a more amicable process as the client will inherently be able to better understand the work involved in bringing their vision to life.
Conversely the less a client cares, the more attention they will give to Quantification first…which leads to a more difficult process because there is usually no definite vision to start with and no understanding of the work involved…just a fear of being ripped off. This usually leads to the client making do with a cheap solution that can hurt them in the long run (i.e. hiring a college student cheap instead of a writing pro for their blog).
Now, occasionally you might get lucky with a cheap solution and get something valid and good, but more often than not you’re creating problems for yourself down the line (i.e. that cheap college student gets bored with writing for you and moves on).
You get what you pay for. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to go with the most expensive solution every time, but it does mean you have to decide what’s most important to you out of these three things:
The Best
The Fastest
The Cheapest
You can have 2 of the three, but you can never have all three. If price is your bottom line, don’t limit yourself. Find an excellent web development and web design team, share your vision, share your financial limitations and in most cases you will find yourself in a discussion about what you CAN do.
A good web development and web design team will more than likely have not only an affordable solution for you to start, but a plan to grow your website and add to it as your finances allow.
