thewebmuse.com » Web Design Ideas

The Experience

admin — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 22:13:05 +0000

When dining at a nice restaurant, it’s more than the food and presentation that makes for an experience. It’s the ambience, the wait staff, the manager and those little extras that will motivate us to tell others. There’s a charming restaurant in an old house in Littleton, CO that has amazing food and ambience. The main reason I like to go there is because of Lou – he is a poet/actor/waiter. He has so many poems in his head that he can recite one for just about any occasion. Yes, the food is great, yes the ambience is great – but it’s Lou that keeps me coming back. He adds immensely to the dining experience. It’s the same with a website. You want more than just a pretty picture sitting there. You want people to keep coming back and buying your products or using your services because of the experience.

How can you enhance the “experience” the visitor will have at your website?

1. Appealing colors and images.

2. Verbiage that lets them know they are in the “right” place.

3. Audio, music, video, testimonials or quotes.

What is it that will make them call or email you today?

1. Your phone number and email in a larger font and very visible on every page.

2. Good copy – what you say and how you say it is imperative to visitors taking action. Note: Reverse type text (light text on a dark background) is the most difficult to read online.

3. Easy navigation and simple calls to action. Too many places to click or too many graphics is a real turn-off to visitors. Less is more!

I invite you to “experience” a few sites we’ve designed using the WordPress platform:

Tilde Furniture – www.tildefurniture.com

Check out this brand new site we designed for Stephen Kohlbeck. It’s crisp, clean, easy to navigate and the site design reflects the simple elegance of the furniture. For green, eco-friendly, luxurious furniture – this is the plac

Better Health & Wellness - www.bettterhealthwellness.com

The colors and images in this site are inviting and relaxing. You can already imagine how you are going to feel once you walk thru the doors. There’s a call to action to sign up for the newsletter. The phone number and email are very visible. Make an appointment today for massage, reflexology, acupuncture or an ion footbath. Aaaaaahhh!

Fun Productions - www.funproductions.com

The bright colors and images just scream FUN in this site redesign! The phone numbers are large and visible up top. Calls to action are: Request a quote, sign up for newsletter and over on the left nav – Tell Us What We’re Doing Right. (I love that last one). Notice this site has 3 forms of navigation since it’s pretty large. The images are clickable to the different areas and the navigation on the left also gets you right where you want to go. Additionally, we’ve added bottom navigation to get you back from some of the longer inside pages. Their social media and YouTube icons are in the upper right. The experience here is fun, fun, fun! Call them for your next team-building event or corporate party. Let the FUN begin!

Sizzlin’ SEO Deals and Slicer-Dicers

admin — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:06:41 +0000

Several times a day I’ll get an email or phone call from a client asking if I have heard of “SEO Company #3,000”. They are guaranteeing top placement in the search engines for only $29 or $229 or some other enticing amount. Isn’t that a smokin’ deal? What do you think I should do? Hmmm, hang with me while I muse about this.

When I was little my grandma and grandpa loved to take us kids to the Nebraska State Fair. Every year my grandma would say, “Now kids, don’t let grandpa buy any more slicer-dicers. We’ve got a basement full of ‘em!” We would watch the entertaining demonstrations of the latest gizmos and amazingly they all had guarantees. Sure enough my grandpa would buy the knife that never needs sharpening, the apple peeler, the chopper/slicer or the magic stain remover. One time at the end of a pots and pans demonstration the spokesman said, “Light the candles ladies – supper’s ready!” It was as if supper magically made itself with these miracle pans – guaranteed!

After we got home grandma would scold grandpa for buying yet another gadget and we’d all laugh. I don’t think my grandpa cared if the gizmo worked or not. He just did it for the fun of it. It became a running joke every year wondering what grandpa would buy next.

So back to the sizzlin’ deals with those SEO companies. It’s kinda like the slicer-dicers. If you want to do it for the fun of it – go for it! If you really truly believe in those SEO company promises well…would you also like a ginzu knife?

Choosing Website Colors

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:00:18 +0000

Do you know how powerful the colors are on a website? Colors make a first impression and also evoke emotions. Sometimes a simple change of colors on a website can create a whole new look and feel while keeping the same basic design.

It’s a good idea to have the colors of your logo be represented on the website. This creates a branding image in the mind of your customers. Whenever we see yellow & red & the golden arches we know what famous fast food chain that represents.

As with everything, there are positives and negatives to each color. Knowing your target audience will determine which colors you’ll choose to convey. When you’re appealing to a global audience, knowing the color meanings of different cultures will be beneficial. See a Cultural Color Chart.

Cash Colors – This 30-page ebook shows how to use color to create web pages that sell. For every color the author lists the feelings the visitor will experience. He also mentions industries that benefit by using certain colors and color combinations.

Meaning of colors according to the Small Business Association:

White – pure, clean, youthful, coolness, cleanliness, safety.

Black – power, elegant, secretive, classical, serious, stability.

Red – passion, excitement, danger, strength, bravery, energy.

Orange – vibrant, warm, healthy, exciting, fun.

Yellow – happiness, excitement, cheerful, alert, warm.

Green – natural, health, plentiful, wealth, freshness.

Purple – royalty, wise, celebration, romance, femininity.

Blue - intelligence, peaceful, trustworthy, authority, security.

A few websites to help you choose colors:

Degraeve Color Palette

Colour Lovers

Visibone Color Chart

I’ve seen speakers wear the colors of their logos and websites to leave a lasting impression on their audience. Are the colors on your website appealing to your target audience? Leave a comment and share some sites that have a good use of colors.

Five Web Faux Pas to Avoid

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:40:53 +0000

Flash, Frames & Blinking Banners – Avoid building an entire site in Flash. Search engines cannot find or read a site built totally in Flash. A good alternative is to create an html site and implement Flash elements inside this type of site. Frames are difficult for users and search engines can’t read sites built in frames. Avoid frames completely! Too many blinking banners, moving text or images can be distracting to the visitor and give the wrong impression. Too much bling is not a good thing for a website.
Poor Content, Too Much or Not Enough – What you say on your site is extremely important. Be brief and get to the point with effective, powerful words. If a visitor has to scroll multiple times to read all the text they and move on. People are typically in a hurry and want the info fast. Have you been to a site with no text and wondered what they were all about? Text on the home page is important for the visitor and for the search engines. Don’t make them guess what’s behind door #1, tell them what you are about so they will want to explore further.
Confusing Navigation – It’s critical to create a path or site architecture for your site. Where do you want the visitor to go first, second, third, etc.? You can control the path visitors take through your site by the order and placement of the navigation. Remember to always have a Home button so the visitor can get back home after they’ve been to other pages in the site. Although it’s common practice to have the logo click back to home; it’s surprising how many visitors still do not know this.
Cheapest Price – Hiring the cheapest web company is a big mistake. View their portfolio and check references. Design is one thing; it’s the follow up afterward that is also critical. Does the company return phone calls and respond promptly to email inquiries? How quickly will requested changes be made to your site? Did they ask you about your target audience? A cheap or amateur site may not project a professional image to potential clients.
Titles, Meta Descriptions & Meta Tags – Have you ever attempted to drive a car with no gas in it? Having a website without titles, meta descriptions and meta tags is like trying to drive a car without gas. You won’t get far and neither will your website. These elements are essential for visitors and search engines.

What web faux pas have you made? Share your story by clicking on the icon below to “Leave a Comment”.

3-Step Website Action Plan

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:00:06 +0000

Are you confused about what to do and when with your website? Does your website need a facelift? Has the focus of your business changed? Take immediate action today with these 3 easy steps.

Step 1. Remove or change old dates pertaining to:

Workshops, events, seminars, specials, sales, coupons.

Holiday hours or schedules.

Nothing screams neglect more than old dates on a website.

Step 2. New Look

Just as cars and fashions change so do the look and feel of websites. Technology continues to advance quite rapidly. What is available to web developers now for design and functionality may not have been available 2 or 3 years ago. Visitors spend less than 6 seconds on a home page. That’s how fast they make a decision to explore your site further or surf on. This instant impression is based on color, look/feel of the layout, navigation and clickable links to other pages in the site.

Cash Colors is a terrific Ebook by Brian McGregor. It helps you understand how color can create a variety of emotions. He also identifies which colors work best for different industries. It’s 30 pages of valuable information!

Step 3. Update Content

Keep the text brief. Scrolling to read long pages turns off most visitors. Visitors like to scan and click! If you absolutely must provide lots of wording then allow visitors to click on an underlined link to read or learn more. Make sure the pages are printable for those who like to print and read offline later.

Include some new 2-5-word keyword phrases in your text to attract more of your ideal clients. Surfers are more sophisticated about doing searches so instead of residential interior designers (3-word phrase) they might search for Seattle residential interior decorators (4-word phrase) or even find a Seattle interior designer (5 word phrase). It’s important to determine the words your potential clients are using. For example, designer or decorator? In the web business people are starting to type in developer instead of designer. Also, the words “expert” and “best” are being used more frequently in searches. Read the article Choosing Keywords, Tattoos & Website Design to learn more about choosing some great keyword phrases.

Have some fun with this and let me hear how these action steps worked for you. Click below to share your own resources and useful tips for websites.