Tips and strategies to make sure that your website is doing everything it can for you.

1. Making The Most Of
Your Website
April 6, 2011
MSBDC
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2. gravity switch
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3. gravity switch
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbnunley/4164686308

4. gravity switch
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/harleyphoto/3380763369

5. Overview
01. Introductions
02. Defining Website Goals
03. Design And Usability
04. Writing Better Content
05. Tracking Success and Failure
06. Tips And Tricks
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6. Who I Am / What I Do
Derek Allard derek@gravityswitch.com
Website designer / programmer
Work with clients to build smart websites
Maximize value of website
Return On Investment (ROI)
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7. This Workshop Will Help You
Be smarter about your website
Understand best practices
Write better website content
Avoid common website mistakes
Develop a plan for going forward
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8. Who Are You?
What do you want from this workshop?
Do you have a website?
What has your experience been?
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
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9. Workshop Materials
Presentation and handout are posted at
http://www.gravityswitch.com/making-most
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10. Defining Website Goals
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11. What Should Your Website Do?
Sell items online?
Provide information?
Gather mailing list data?
Encourage quote form completion?
(Leave technology out of the puzzle at this point)
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12. Not Sure?
Brainstorm with your staff
Ask your users (online survey)
Learn from your competitors
What are your overall business goals?
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13. Goals should be …
An action a user can take
Limited in number and focused
Measurable
Reassessed as your business evolves
User focused (not you focused)
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14. Goals, Examples Of
Completing a “Request of Quote” form
Reaching thank you page of checkout process
Visiting an important page of your website
Viewing 5 or more pages during a visit
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gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

15. Design And Usability
Design And Usability
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

16. Defining The Look And Feel
Who are your users?
What emotion should they feel?
Mood boards
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17. Mood board
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginamarr/2699306623/

18. Sesame Street
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19. Tron
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20. Make Life Easier For Users
Simplify / rethink navigation
Card sorting exercise
How can you make it easier for users to
reach your goals?
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21. Make Life Easier For Users
Want a slide example here
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22. Each Page Does One Thing Well
Homepage = Table of Contents
Content Page = Informational
Action Page = Buy / Request / Contact
Keep users focused by focusing yourself
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

23. Homepage
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24. Content Page
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25. Action Page
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26. Landing Pages
Consider for paid advertising
Limit navigation
Meet user objections to encourage action
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people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

27. Landing Page
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28. Details Matter
Particularly with forms
You are defining “user experience”
Getting it to work vs. elegance
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people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

29. gravity switch
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30. Simplicity
Less is more
Avoid constantly adding to a design
Add pages instead
The two second test
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31. Threadless
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32. What Do They Do?
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33. Writing Better Content
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34. Website Content Is NOT Easy
Does not grow on trees
Need to understand your audience
Requires great thought and great writing
Often most difficult area for clients
Keep goals in mind to guide you
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

35. What Questions Will Users Have?
Write content to answer those questions
Think conversational
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36. People Skim Website Content
Average time on a website ~ 2 minutes
Looking for quick answers
Write content that is easy to skim
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

37. Less Is Often More
Over time, tendency is to add
For each add, be sure to subtract
Avoid content clutter
Stay within confines of design
gravity switch
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

38. Incorporate Keywords In Content
For Search Engine Optimization work
Target 1 - 2 keywords per page
Repeat keyword on page
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

39. Website Content Best Practices
Avoid big blocks of text (largely ignored)
Cut content in half and in half again
Use headlines to break up text
Use bulleted / numbered lists
Conversation tone (avoid marketese)
Use a consistent voice throughout website
gravity switch
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

40. GS content capture
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

41. Tracking Success
And Failure
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Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

42. Using Data To Improve Website
Google Analytics, WebTrends, etc.
Tie website goals to analytical data
A wealth of information about your users
Will answer questions you have
gravity switch
gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

43. Regularly Monitor Data
Monthly basis works for most
Automate reports (send via email)
Focus on key metrics
Or else …
gravity switch
gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

44. Blackout
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45. Poor Reasons To Change Website
The boss wanted to
Boss’ spouse likes red not green
We feel like we should change things up
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gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

46. Good Reasons To Change Website
Users have complained unable to find…
Data shows users fall off during checkout
Popular pages don’t lead to goal pages
High bounce rate
gravity switch
gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

47. Google Analytics
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48. What Reports To Focus On
Will depend on your website goals
Traffic
Demographics
Traffic sources
Actions taken
gravity switch
gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

49. Let Analytical Data Drive Changes
Understand users
Find weaknesses
Track goals
Improve your website
gravity switch
gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

50. Tips And Tricks
Don’t get caught up in design details
Ask your users how well you’re doing
Avoid outdated technology
Every website can be improved
Learn from your quality competitors
Always test before making changes live
If overwhelmed, get help
Have an ongoing plan for your website
gravity switch
gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

51. Takeaways
Focus on your website users
Set clear, actionable goals
Less is often more with design and content
Regularly monitor success and failure
gravity switch
gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

52. Additional Resources
Website Grader http://websitegrader.com
Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
Letting Go of the Words by Janice Redish
Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics by
Brian Clifton
Web Design for ROI by Lance Loveday & Sandra
Niehaus
gravity switch
gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

53. Thank You!
Derek Allard
Gravity Switch
derek@gravityswitch.com | 586.9596
twitter.com/derekallard
facebook.com/gravityswitch
linkedin.com/in/derekallard
gravity switch
gravity switch
Nice Nice people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.
people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.

54. Ask me Questions
Ask Me Questions
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people. Award-winning process. Websites done right.