There is a lot of wonderful advice here (and I have seen two websites David designed up close and they are excellent), but I would add one more point:
*The website designer and you have very similar interests, but they are not exactly the same. The more they sell you on, the more they make. And while they may know a lot more about the Internet than you do, they don't necessarily know more about your business than *YOU *do, so bear that in mind! I can only wonder how much my annual sales would currently be if I had taken the advice of every website designer I hired or talked to over the years (some of whom have moved on to other professions). On Wed, Jan 1, 2014 at 4:14 PM, David <shadow....@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi everyone, best wishes for 2014 to you all > > As well as building websites I have spent a fair amount of time surfing > them too, the two do go hand in hand and despite what you might think there > is a science to a website design and how to keep the consumer interested, > here's not the place to discuss all that fun stuff, besides it will likely > bore most of you anyway! I wanted to add to some of Ari Kahan's accurate > comments. > > So again, I have jotted down a few notes (ok maybe not a few!), there's a > bit to read so maybe grab a coffee first... ;-) > > So, it's one thing to get them to your site, but then you have to try to > get them to come back. Different things work for different types of sites, > but just like the old movie serials of our youth the basics of any consumer > experience should be to leave them satisfied at the end but leave them > wanting to come back for more. > > Amazing customer service, speedy deliveries, first rate contact is frankly > what the consumer ALREADY expects but they also expect a surfing experience > that is not filled with annoying speed bumps along the way. If there is > one thing you should bear in mind when it comes to website (design) > specially when it comes to a webshop, there is no need for you (or your web > designer) to be cute! Being so different from almost every other standard > webshop out there just makes your site annoying to use. No it's not fun, > awesome or clever to be so different (even if you think it is), purchasing > things for money is not rocket science so please don't make your consumer > need a degree in it when they visit your website. > > Now sure, you've done it on the cheap because a friend did it and it > looked great so you, your wife and your cousin's nephew Cletus have slapped > together a website with letters that blink (because you learnt some html > back in 1998), massive banners all over it (because you've got a free > program on your computer so how hard can it be), and purple on black with > green text is your favourite colour so use it everywhere. "And new website? > Pfffft! Your home-made design has worked all these years so why change it > now, besides this is not face to face to selling like the good old days > (love that phrase), and it's not like the real world (well actually it IS > the real world) and besides you have great stuff that everyone wants so > design shouldn't matter that much..." > > Well maybe you shouldn't read on because to be honest the consumer today > has way different expectations for their surfing experience... > > - TWO CLICK purchasing is very important, however these days there is > no real need to have to force the consumer to 'sign-up' first either. We > both know why you do it (so you can get their email to direct market to > them), but why not let them make the purchase with the least amount of > things to fill in as possible - as soon as they have committed to pay they > will happily hand over ALL their details. > - CONTACT PAGE if it has a form to fill in, try to make it with as > little information required as possible - do you really need to know the > writer's mother's maiden name or their dog's DNA just to allow them to ask > you a question? Develop the relationship during the email exchanges not in > the contact form. Also, if you are going to take money off me then I really > think it's fair that I know your postal address and contact phone number. > - DO NOT HAVE 'Under Construction' on any part of your site, either: > your entire site is down for some brief maintenance or it is a current > website, the fact it needs some work done on it should never be pointed out > (but should be fixed immediately anyway!). > - ABOUT ME/US PAGE - have one, make it interesting and to the point - > it's not a diary of your life we want to read just what qualifies you to > sell me stuff. > - BE CURRENT - it's now 2014, how many of you have updated your > website to say (c) 2014 Joe Bloggs Posters? Actually, and this is the scary > thing....how many of you have updated your website's copyright date, EVER?! > - SITE COUNTERS - I don't care how many people have visited your site > before I got there, none of us do - only you do - keep it to yourself > because site counters are so last century! > - GOOGLE ANALYTICS - the best site counter out there, it's free and a > MUST have, how else do you know your website is going? > - MENU - if I click on an item on your menu and it takes me to a page > that is either not there or 'Under Construction' then why-oh-why is it ON > the menu?! > - FIFTY FONTS - unless you think books and newspaper publishers got it > wrong then you should try to restrict the number of different fonts you use > on a website to maybe 2 or 3, and don't be too cute with the font type just > because it looks pretty... > - DO NOT force my browser to open new tabs every time I click on > something I want to read on YOUR website, but... > - DO force my browser to open new tabs every time I click on a link > to some OTHER website (allowing the client to leave your site by closing > the connection to it is just a NO-NO!) > - DON'T write content or articles but scan it as a picture to load on > your website to be read. > - TEXT SIZE - get it right because I've got money and if I can't read > about what I am buying you can't see my money. > - CROSS BROWSER FRIENDLY - yep, there is more than one out there and > they all don't 'render' (display) websites quite the same. > - FASHION SENSE - most of you leave it up to your wife to choose the > colours when it comes to decorating the house, picking the furniture or > even choosing the right tie for that function tonight, so why is it you > suddenly develop a sense of fashion when it comes to web colours?! Again, > there is a lot of science that goes into what colours best combine with > what... > - NEWSLETTERS - Absolutely! Keep your existing members up to date > with a newsletter (which MUST have an opt-out option - in almost all > countries this is law), but for goodness sake, make them interesting and > keep them BRIEF! Screeds of writing appeals to no-one (except you), throw > in a few images too. Think of your newsletter like that daily online > newspapers you now read, NONE of them will have the full article on the > homepage (unlike most real newspapers), all have a title (some with an > image) and then intro text with a link to further reading. Rule of thumb: > your entire monthly Newsletter (emailed to your member) should be able to > be printed on a standard piece of printer paper (and still be readable), if > it is more than that then I will use a four letter word: EDIT. You have > nothing to say that is so important half the Amazon rain forest needs to be > culled... > - I would recommend using a professional newsletter delivery > company, these are a cheap and very professional options that will allow > you to use one of their (many) excellent templates, deliver your > newsletter > to your mailing list and provide you with feedback, such as how many > were > opened, what articles were clicked on etc etc - you might think you know > what your customers like to read but stats don't lie... > - DISCOUNT CODES - (not to be confused with GIFT vouchers, also very > good, but not as popular as you think). These are great way to bring people > back, they're instant, can be time-restrictive (valid until...) and > dependent on the site design can also be restricted to certain categories > (e.g. 30% off 3 sheet posters this week-end etc), these codes can often be > included in your Newsletters too. They work by allowing your client to type > in the special code at the check-out and it deducts the value automatically > - excellent! > - OUT OF STOCK - Displaying lots of products for sale that is also > mixed in with products that are actually sold is simply poor design and is > extremely annoying for the consumer (despite all your logic, pop along to > Amazon etc and look at all their sold outs they display). > - PAYMENT OPTIONS is a hard one, ideally offer as many as you can but > reality is many can't afford all the costs that go with setting that up - > something like PayPal takes care of that, they take major credit cards and > they don't require your client to sign up - your cost is deducted at > purchase, there is no transaction fees, no minimum monthly costs, no bank > fees there is no annual SSL fees and so on. Sure, if you have a big enough > turnover then it is cheaper the other way, but for most small dealers it is > not - but you need to work that out on a case by case basis. > - FLUFFY DICE AND NEON LIGHTS - if you run a webshop then please don't > let your web designer try to convince you to add all those extra little > bells and whistles because it's the latest most current design trend - the > basics of a retail experience hasn't changed: you have what they want and > they have what you want - so try and exchange those things as quickly and > as easily as possible. Far too many web designer over complicate things > because a basic design website isn't as much fun or expensive as the geeky > one he wants to build you. > - EXTRAS offer more than just product, maybe have articles, info, > industry news etc etc - it brings them back, it can makes your newsletter > interesting (ergo they click to go to your website) and, is very VERY good > for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). I've gotten to chat with people over > the years who have some great information in their head but it would be > even better on their website. > - TRUST YOUR WEB DESIGNER because once you've checked them out and > committed then maybe let them do what they do best. Of course there are > some out there that will remove as much as possible from your wallet as > possible, this can be a rogue industry no doubt about it. But there are > some who care about the client as much as the design, they will take care > of you, it will be a personal experience for you well worth paying the > dollars for. Obviously check them out first because sure, you can get a > website for $399, but honestly it's a commercial website for $399 - but > really, what did you expect, ongoing support, care and attention..? > - STOP being a cheap-ass! I understand your site is a > hobby/semi-commercial website and sure you don't have tens of thousands of > dollars to spend (nor do you have to) but you charge a pretty penny for > your product and won't spend a few dollars on a good modern website/shop? > Personally I love seeing $500 items for sale on a $50 website, always fills > me with confidence to buy... > - EVOLVE! The internet is evolving fast, as is design...you could at > least make an effort to try and keep up a little better than you have been. > Today's consumer/surfer is smarter, expects a whole lot more and is far > less patient than 5, 10 or 15 years ago, home-made and/or bad design just > doesn't cut it any more. Sure you can keep your old design and be happy > with your lot, eventually your client will move on to better and easier > places to shop (in some cases they already have). If you are happy being > that corner hardware store and sit there with old Bill, reminisce and chew > tobaccy every Saturday along with your old wooden drawer where you keep the > week's takings then that's great...but the bell on the door doesn't ring as > often as it used to does it does it, specially since that whipper-snapper > opened his shop with clean shelves, no clutter on the floor and one of > those new new fangled lectric money thingamajigs, and yep, he is smart > enough to know he has to offer great personal service too... > > I hope the above was food for thought, it's just one man's opinion in a > room where everyone including the client, has an expert one. I probably > struck too close to home about some of your sites (none were specifically > in mind when I wrote this) so I apologise if I offended, but you probably > would cry if you knew how many people gave up on your site as the result of > the design or difficulty it was surfing/buying something from it. > > Good luck in 2014 > > David Rew > > > > > > Alan Adler did previously state on 1/01/2014 3:46 AM: > > Dear Mopos WHO BUY FROM websites! > > We've shared a great thread on the pros and cons of building and running a > website. > > Now, would any mopos and mo-pros who spend time surfing - or even better, > actually buying - from existing websites, be willing to share their thoughts > and experiences. > > What makes your favorite sites, your favorites? > What are a site's must-haves or things you dislike about sites you've visited? > What would your dream site be like? > > Thanks in advance for your time. > > Alan Adler > Museum of Mom and Pop Culture > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ How > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: > lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF > MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > -- Bruce Hershenson and the other 29 members of the eMoviePoster.com team P.O. 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