Marketing by Design

Most clients think their current website design is fine. My questions for them are as follows:

• "What are you asking your visitors to do?"
• "If this is an existing customer, are they able to find the info they are looking for?"
• "Is there a measurable goal for the site?"

These questions may seem silly but many companies don't know how to answer. The question "What are you asking your visitors to do?" is really asking if there is a clear call to action. Most visitors who are truly interested in your topic need to be guided through your site. They don't want to work to find anything. They will become frustrated and simply leave. It is the same as walking into a store and never being asked "May I Help You?". The call to action on this site is simple "Need help with your site?" --------->

Simple, familiar navigation and practices fall into the category of "Usability". Most older sites are horrible at this. You can make a site look as beautiful as you want but if I can't find what I am looking for I am gone. This is especially true for existing cusomters. At this point you have probably built some trust with your current customers. When you fail to provide them with what you promised (information) then they feel let down. For example I get very frustrated when searching for company contact information or directions. This should be no-brainer. I want to spend money with you but since I can't find my way around this maze of a site you've built I guess I'll go somewhere else.

When designing a website I focus on the things that matter:

• Initial Message
• Search Engines
• Usability
• Making Conversions ($$$)

(Plus my designs are pretty!)