Archive for the ‘Web Design’ Category

Jun

Static HTML Sites are Soooo Turn of the Century…

Posted by: Judith in Blogs & Blogging, Marketing, Musings | Blog, Online Business, Web Design

I’ve been Blogging for years. Have 3; with several others on my idea plate. I loved WordPress so much that I turned this very site entirely over to WordPress last fall. Wish I had done that sooner! At this moment in time, I would actually be hard pressed to recommend a static HTML site to any new client.

Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of the easy of use, ability to manage your own content and exposure being on a CMS like WordPress offers over a static, brochureware type site? Brochureware… that term use to apply to small 1-5 page type sites that had just the basic introductory blah-blah-blah but no substance.

Now, I find I can’t help but include any static HTML site into that category that doesn’t allow interaction, discussion, updates and the client’s ability to be involved above and beyond e-mailing their “Webmaster” for inconsequential updates and tweaks to content that has not evolved since their site originally launched.

The online business environment has been heating up. Über competitive is an understatement!
This has always been an interactive medium; but one that site owners could decide as to how much they wanted to interact and still do relatively well. That no longer holds true.

You have to be involved, interact, network and be social or those sites (a.k.a. competitors) that do will get the traffic and new customers. See being social means engaging your site visitors and sharing your expertise and knowledge in real-time. Human beings are by their very nature social beings — as evidenced by all the online communities that now have everyone’s attention.

Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Stumbleupon, Twitter, Technorati, Sphinn, Digg and others, are changing how businesses are communicating with their market. If you still have a static HTML site — time to step it up!

If you missed my post on the 25 Social and Media sites you should consider participating at, check it out and get involved! This is a movement, a shift, an evolution that any serious business owner with a Web site needs to embrace moving forward. Be there or be square!

At your service,
Judith

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May

Is Your Site a Potemkin Village?

Posted by: Judith in Musings | Blog, Online Business, Web Design

What the heck is a Potemkin Village you say?

Potemkin village \puh-TEM(P)-kin\, noun:

An impressive facade or display that hides an undesirable fact or state; a false front.

With all the neato templates and themes available it is relatively easy and inexpensive, compared to a custom design, to have a polished and professional presentation online. However, beyond that presentation, do you have what it takes to run a successful online business?

Do you…

…have a quality product or service that does not rely on a smoke and mirrors approach to encourage sales?
…have your address and contact informaiton easily found on your site?
…make it easy for folks to use your contact form without having to fill out numerous fields just to ask a simple question?
… have your eCommerce enable site secured?
… have your policies, TOS or important customer service information clearly stated and available?
Do you respond to e-mails and customer inquiries with the epitome of efficiency and professionalism?

These are just a few of the things that I notice when I land on a Potemkin Village site. Where does you site reside?

At your service,
Judith

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May

Failed Expectations = No Orders

Posted by: Judith in Musings | Blog, Online Business, Web Design

I talk about perceptions all the time. From how new customers will view your site to your e-mails and everything in between. We’re virtual so customers will look at every visual and functional detail to determine if they want to do business with you. Fail their expectations and that’s called lost opportunity. Lost opportunity that can so easily be avoided….

“Failing to meet customers’ expectations at any point along the buying continuum - from login to receipt of item - can have an adverse impact on the customer’s perception of not only the store, but the brand as well”. ~ Linda Shea, SVP and Global Managing Director of Customer Strategies at Opinion Research Corporation US

Some of the main points that you can easily avoid:

19% dislike learning an item was backordered or out of stock after said item was placed in a shopping cart;
14% are frustrated by Web sites that malfunction as payment is being processed;
8% are confounded by unclear return policies;
6% don’t like unclear shipping information; and
Another 6% dislike not getting an acknowledgment after an order has been placed.

The above points are all common sense and issues that if you haven’t addressed throughly, you should make a point of doing so right now. Having a eCom application that makes these issues easy for you to setup and maintain makes a world of difference to. If you have a system that doesn’t track inventory, send order and shipping acknowledgments, or a seamless payment process, time to move to a platform that does!

To see the full article:
Consumers Sound Off On Online Shopping Frustrations: Survey

At your service,
Judith

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