Today’s crowded online environment includes mobile experiences, social traffic and changing search technologies that call for more care and feeding than “throw it on the web and forget about it.” This quick hitting session equipped association communicators with the tools and techniques to practically and methodically turn their website into the most effective communications tool in their toolbox. Presented at ASAE's 2014 Membership, Marketing and Communications Conference

1. 5 Website Improvements to
Make in 5 Minutes (or less)
Date: June 17
Time: 3:15 PM
Hashtag: #MMCCon ET1

2. Checking In
• How many of you are in charge of your
organization’s website content?
• How many have other jobs?
• How many of you have technical skills (HTML,
CSS, etc.)

3. Just like Tron… we fight for the users.
Oops, we mean your members.
Hat tip/Credit to John Mills for the original use of this statement at an ASAE conference

4. Why This Matters
• More members (and prospective members)
will interact with your website than any other
association program
• Improvements can increase usability by 47%
to 58%
• Your website can be what makes a potential
new member join…or decide not to
Source: http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/

5. Improve each page every
time you touch it.
Photo Credit: Flickr, Ed Schipul

6. Create standards:
• Provide checklists
for content
creators
• Educate on best
practices
• Review annually
Photo Credit: Flickr, Daniel Kulinski

7. UPDATE 1: ENSURE VISUAL
HIERARCHY

8. The biggest
monster is
usually the
one you
need to
fight first.

9. Keys to Visual Hierarchy
• The more important
something is, the more
prominent it is
• Things that are related
logically are also related
visually
• Things are nested visually to
show what’s part of what
Source: Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think

10. F-Shaped Web Reading Patterns
• Users first read in a horizontal
movement, usually across the upper
part of the content area.
• Next, users move down the page a
bit and then read across in a second
horizontal movement that typically
covers a shorter area than the
previous movement. This additional
element forms the F's lower bar.
• Finally, users scan the content's left
side in a vertical movement.

12. Layout Considerations
• Create a visual hierarchy within the viewing
pattern
• Communicate user value quickly
– Base navigation and layout on key user actions
– Keep the user and let them explore based on their
need
• Engage and Convert

13. “Having an effective call to action is
an essential part of any website. A
call to action is not just limited to
ecommerce sites. Every website
should have an objective it wants
users to complete whether it is filling
in a contact form, signup for a
newsletter or volunteering their
time.”
- Paul Boag

14. Define User Action
• What do you want the user to do?
– Fill out a form
– Register for an event
– Connect on social media
• Make sure every page has a Call to Action
(CTA)
– Drive them to the next step

15. For more information about applying to medical
school, download the Ultimate Guide to the
Becoming an INSERT PROFESSION HERE.
If you found this helpful, share it on Facebook or
Twitter
Connect with fellow members on LinkedIn
Stay informed of this and other important policy
issues by signing up for our Action Alerts.

16. UPDATE 2: MAKE YOUR CONTENT
“WEB FRIENDLY”

17. On the average Web
page, users have
time to read at
most 28% of the
words during an
average visit; 20% is
more likely.
- Jakob Nielsen
Photo Credit: Flickr, The Real Estreya

18. “Get rid of half the words on each page, then get
rid of half of what’s left.”
- Krug’s 3rd Law of Usability
Photo Credit: Flickr, edibleoffice

19. Increase in
usability by
cutting half
the words
on the
page.
Nielsen Norman Group - How Users Read on the Web
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-users-read-on-the-web/

20. Keeping it Short
• Excess words must die
– Happy talk
– Instructions
– Unnecessary adjectives (e.g. that)
• Shorter paragraphs

21. The following questionnaire is designed to provide us with
information that will help us improve the site and make it
more relevant to your needs. Please select your answers
from the drop-down menus and radio buttons below.
The questionnaire should only take you 2 to 3 minutes to
complete. At the bottom of the form you can choose to
leave your name, address, and telephone number. If you
leave your name and number, you may be contacted in the
future to participate in a survey to help us improve the site.
If you have comments or concerns that require a response
please contact Customer Service

22. Please help us improve the site by answering
these questions. It should only take you 2-3
minutes to complete the survey.
NOTE: If you have comments or concerns that
require a response, don’t use the form. Instead,
please contact Customer Service.

23. Inverted Pyramid
Lead – Most Important
information
Helpful non
critical info
Nice but not
necessary

24. Write (and Layout) for Scanning
• Embrace heads and sub-heads
– Use properly in Word for easy importing
• Break up content with bullets and lists
– Like this one
• Use formatting to call out copy
– Bold sparingly (but effectively)
– Italics
• Leave white space between content
• Use strategic images

25. "Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth;
whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul;
whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before
coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every
funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get
such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong
moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping
into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats
off -- then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as
I can."

26. I must go to sea when:
• I'm depressed or melancholy
• I stop in front of coffin warehouses
• I follow funerals
• I have a powerful urge to knock people's
hats off
Credit: Writing for Readers Who Scan by Kathy Henning
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1716452/writing-readers-who-scan

27. Dispense with jargon & superfluous
vocabulary
• Speaks only to insiders
– Excludes new (or potential) members of your
community
– Hurts search discovery
• Harder to read and understand
– Did you understand this headline?
• “No buzzwords or fancy language”

28. Bad Good
riverine avifauna river birds
involuntarily undomiciled homeless
The patient is being given
positive-pressure ventilatory
support.
The patient is on a respirator.
Most refractory coatings to date
exhibit a lack of reliability when
subject to the impingement of
entrained particulate matter in
the propellant stream under
extended firing durations.
The exhaust gas eventually
damages the coating of most
existing ceramics.
plainlanguage.gov – Avoid Legal, Foreign and Technical Jargon
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/howto/guidelines/FederalPLGuidelines/writeNoJargon.cfm

29. Passive vs Active Voice?
• “Active voice is best for most web content, but
using passive voice can let you front-load
important keywords in headings, blurbs and
lead sentences. This enhances scannability
and thus SEO effectiveness.”
- Jakob Nielsen

30. Passive vs Active Voice
• Passive Voice: Best for Headlines and
Subheads
– Front load keywords with passive voice
– Put the most important words first
– Think ROI
• Active Voice: Best for body copy
– Increases readability and understanding
– Writing best practices

31. Get Your Free White Paper: 5 Tips to
Better Writing
Our new whitepaper will make you a better writer for the web. This
whitepaper covers important topics that will increase the readability of
your website.

32. 5 Tips to Better Writing: Get Your Free
White Paper Now
Become a better writer for the web with this new whitepaper. Increase the
readability of your website with the important content in this paper.

33. TIP 3: ADD RELEVANT LINKS TO
OTHER SITE PAGES

34. • A mix of satisfying and
sufficing
• We don’t choose the best
option
• We choose the first
reasonable option
• Why?
• In a hurry
• Low penalty for guessing
wrong
We “Satisfice”
Photo Credit: Flickr, Ben McLeod

35. Curb Satisficing with an “Off Ramp”
• In line links based on the subject
• Recommended content
• “Trending” content
• Frequently updated content
• Images matter now, especially for social
sharing

39. TIP 4: GOOD SEO HELPS CONTENT
BE FOUND (AND SHARED)

40. • Users search for website
and content via Google
FIRST
• Good SEO will pull in
targeted prospects (and
new members)
• Bad SEO diminishes site
visibility in search
engines, rendering it
invisible to most users
• “Black Hat” SEO not
worth it—know what
works NOW, not what
used to work
Photo Credit: Flickr, Eric Spiegel

41. SEO Tips
• Make it visible
– Relevant content can’t be hidden behind a login
• Know your relevant keywords… and use them!
– Headlines
– Body Copy
– Internal Links
• Build links back to your site
– Press Releases
– Partner Sites
– Social Media and Communities
– Embrace Google+

42. SEO Basics
• SEO Friendly URL
• Title Tag
• Descriptions
• Keywords

44. TIP 5: GRAPHICS & PHOTOS
ENGAGE USERS

45. Users pay close
attention to
photos and
other images
that contain
relevant
information
Photo Credit: Flickr, Another Seb

46. Pictures Improve Engagement
• Eyetracking studies document a gap in how
users view website images:
– Some are completely ignored
• Big feel-good, decorative images
– Other pictures are treated as important content
and scrutinized
• Products
• Real people

49. NO!!!

50. YES!

51. Photo & Image Ideas
• What to show
– Leadership photos
– Member photos
– Real events
– Real industries
– Staff
– Products
• Where to get it
– Members
– Custom
– Creative Commons
– Stock
• As long as it’s good

52. BONUS TIP: GET READY FOR
MOBILE
Image credit: Irita Kirsbluma on Flickr

53. Why this matters
• In the US, 25% of users only access the
internet via mobile device
• This number will only continue to increase—
get ready now
• Over 25% of Google searches are performed
on a mobile device
• 25% of emails are opened on mobile devices

54. Tips
• Simplify
• Remove Tables
• Change PDFs to Images
• Optimize Your Images
• Design for touchscreens
• Simplify navigation
• Think mobile when being social

55. Wrapping Up
• Less is more
• Images can convey 1,000 words
• Enhance your chances of being found
• Give users a reason to come back again
• If you’re not mobile-ready, get there. Now.

56. Contact Us
Ray van Hilst
Director of Client Strategy and Marketing
Vanguard Technology
rvanhilst@vtcus.com
703.439.1990
Maggie McGary
Senior Associate
Strategic Communications Group
maggielmcg@gmail.com