The article, \u201cHelping Your Client\/Business Evolve Web Presence,\u201d<\/a> gave people a key to promote their web sites and offered marketing advice by using social media but some people thought that social media was the end-all solution to their problems.<\/p>\n The past week brought up some clear examples of the basic problem with some sites. In the first of several articles that will be published over the next few weeks, we\u2019ll take a look at how to recognize when your site isn\u2019t performing for you and methods to improve design and usability.<\/p>\n One person who contacted me wanted all of his copy content rewritten to help his site. He was afraid that the copy didn\u2019t sell his product and was willing to just hand over a large sum of cash for rewrite. While I like an easy lump of cash just handed to me, there\u2019s some odd moral roadblock I have to cheating a client.<\/p>\n I looked over this person\u2019s site and had to level with him. Yes, new copy content would help sell his product but he also needed a drastic web redesign. I explained why his site wasn\u2019t performing well. He had a targeted, high-class product but a site that was badly designed and made the product look cheap. The sell copy was confused, had the wrong placement on the home page and didn\u2019t speak to his target audience.<\/p>\n Another problem is he included some \u201cfun facts\u201d pages on his site that had nothing to do with his product. He thought id added some interest to those visiting his site but it ended up diluting the focus on his product and muddled the site strength.<\/p>\n Another contact was from a designer who wondered why his site wasn\u2019t drawing in any comments, \u201clikes\u201d or business inquiries. He wondered if my writing blog posts for him would bring people in and help promote his work. Again, it wasn\u2019t the need for a distraction of a blog that was the answer.<\/p>\n It was the quality of the images that was the first stopping block. His introduction page, which was a grouping of four images was a negative for first impressions as he had taken such low resolution images, increased the size and the visual was blurry. I suspected that those who found his site were immediately turned off by the first impression of his work as a creative\u2026unless they were looking for blurry images for their own sites. First impressions can also be the last impression you make on prospective clients.<\/p>\n Bad Design<\/strong> is the number one killer. If you don\u2019t believe quality is important in your site, logo, branding and\/or visuals that represent your business to the public, in a visual setting such as a web site, then you are fooling yourself. Yes, copy content will tell the prospective client the facts that visuals don\u2019t cover or expand on the visuals but the first impression is the images and placement of all elements on the home page and proceeding pages.<\/p>\n The old saying is you can\u2019t put ten pounds of information into a five-pound bag but people will try to cram in as much as they can to sell the product\/service as fast as possible. Sites don\u2019t work this way. The home page is your welcome mat at your front door with a courteous greeting and proper introduction. When people come in and are comfortably seated, then you hit them up with all the pertinent information. That is what the \u201cabout me\u201d page and other secondary pages are for.<\/p>\n Generally, people want to search out further material and be engaged by your site and explore your product\/services. It\u2019s a friendly stay that builds comfort and trust.<\/p>\n Making people work too hard or think too much<\/strong> when visiting your site is a negative experience. The web moves fast and if a viewer has to click more than twice to get to where they want to go, they will leave your site. By the same token, if your pages load slowly, people will get tired of waiting and go elsewhere. The web is not a place where patience and understanding go far.<\/p>\n Omitting important information or making it hard to find will exasperate the most ardent viewers, so keep everything simple. When planning your site, use the tried and true K.I.S.S. method (Keep It Simple, Stupid!). If you feel that you want people to call for further information, you may just be outsmarting yourself. Not all sites can list pricing information but the more information you can give a prospect on the web, the more likely they are to give you that call when they feel they won\u2019t have to listen to a long, drawn out sales pitch.<\/p>\nUnderstanding the Problem<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nSome Basics to Remember With Site Planning and Design<\/h2>\n
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