| |
| |
|
Web Design Information |
|
|
|
Web Design: Use it to Showcase the Message
If you are designing a web site for which the achievement of high conversion rates is a priority, focus your design efforts on showcasing and highlighting the content and copy. For sites where conversion rates are a priority, the primary purpose of design should be to present the message in such a way that it delivers the maximum impact. >> So "good" design doesn't matter? That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that design serves a function. For an entertainment or arts site that primary function may be to present images in an attractive way. That's fine. But for a site that is created to generate sales, the text must come first. Everything...from the architecture of the site to its design must work towards supporting your message and delivering people to the final checkout page. >> Sounds obvious. Why make the point? I make the point because the presentation of the message is often the last thing on the minds of web groups. Web designers are higher on the food chain in these groups. All too often the writing of the message becomes a secondary consideration. "The site will look like this. We'll arrange the pages like this. And by the way, we need someone to write the words." This attitude of "text comes last" is nonsense and it has been from the day the internet first went commercial. Hundreds of millions of visitors have always known that their primary need on arriving at a site is to find the key messages. "Am I in the right place? Will I find what I want on this site?" Our visitors know that the words are the most important element on a web site. Google knows that the words are the most important element on a web site. (Unlikely aside from the Googlebot: "Cool design. Better rank this page higher.) The only people who haven't understood this so far are web group managers and web designers. Even marketing people insist on just dropping in for-print-approved text on their sites, without any thought as to the special needs of the medium. (Would they create a radio ad simply by using the sound track from their TV commercial? I don't think so. Every medium has its own demands when it comes to the words, the web included.) >> How to design to showcase the message The first step is to bring the writer in at the beginning. The designer will find that the writer has a number of priorities and needs in mind. He or she might say: "This is the page's primary message. We need people to really get this on the first screen." "We have three separate audience needs to address here. I need these three headings to have equal emphasis, preferably on the first screen." "This message is just the first step in converting a visitor to a buyer. We need a strong pathway of three levels before he or she is ready to buy." "This sales message is complex, it will take some space and longer copy. We need to format the text so that people will keep reading. We need strong subheads, some indented passages and emphasis at the following points." Once the writer has outlined the needs of the copy, the designer can then focus on showcasing the key points in the message, giving the correct emphasis to the various headings, subheads, body text and links. The designer's job here isn't to make the page "pretty", it is to deliver the message with the right emphasis, and with each point in the correct sequence. >> How does a designer know what to do? In some senses, this is new ground for designers online. Until now, too much emphasis has been places on design for its own sake, instead of using it to support the copy on a site's pages. If a designer wants to know how this works, he or she should go sit next to a direct marketing designer/copywriter team while they work. See how the team communicates. See how the designer listens to the writer and places a great deal of emphasis on the type. Watch how the designer spends a lot of time selecting the right font, the right type size and color. See how a conversion-focused designer pays massive attention to the placement and appearance of every element of text. Why? Because in direct marketing the response rates are intimately connected with the presentation of the copy. It matters where on the page each text element is placed. The font and its size and emphasis matters. The final formatting of the text matters. Online? When you are building pages with a view to maximizing conversion rates, you become a direct marketer. That means thinking like a direct marketer, writing like a direct marketer and designing like a direct marketer. >> Concluding points... As it stands on the web right now, we have a couple of groups of designers. There are the general web designers who create beautiful sites, without regard to how the copy should and can work harder. And there are the online direct marketing designers who design single page sales sites that are created to maximize sales. At some time in the future it would be good to see these two groups learn more from each other. It would be good to see the general web designers learn more about increasing conversion rates by learning some of the skills of the online direct marketing designers. It would be good to see the online direct marketing designers expand their skills beyond the scope of single, scrolling sales page. And it is essential that every online designer pays a great deal more attention to the writers and the showcasing of every page's message. Nick Usborne is a freelance copywriter, author and speaker. For more articles and resources on writing for the web, visit his site, http://www.excessvoice.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Custom Web Site Design Strategies Web site design has certainly, in the past decade, evolved tremendously. More clients now are demanding custom design, as opposed to the 'cookie cutter' sites of yesteryear. Pop-Ups Still Work. At Least For The Time Being Do you remember playing with the jack-in-the-box toy as a child? You knew that if you kept winding it up, eventually jack was going to burst out of the top and startle you!Many of you found old jack-in-the-box an annoying toy and confined it to the toy box.. The Golden Rule Of Website Building Copyright 2005 Robert EvansSetting yourself up to earn a steady monthly income has to be a pre-requisite to your success online. There is no doubt that large sums of money can be made (and indeed are being made) from selling products or services online. Web Coach Tip: The Single Most Important and CRUCIAL Element of Your Web Site Here's the single most important part of your website: YOUR WEB COPY!And remember: Your website isn't about YOU, it's about THEM!Again, it's NOT about you, it's about THEM!*Note: May I add, this is an area where most of my clients get stuck?If you find yourself at a total loss when it comes to writing, please let me know. ______________________________________________Write/gather/compile; prepare copy for your main pages:? Answer questions. Website Design - Choosing Your Colors Wisely Colors convey emotions and emotions heavily influence the decision-making process. Your choice of colors for your website should mirror the message and feeling you to hope to communicate to the viewer. Choose & Use the Best Colors The Psychology of ColorAre you using the best colors for your web site? Many web designers often overlook the issues of color in web design. When choosing colors for your web site there are three main areas that should be addressed. Creating A Quality Web Site Design! In this article, I will attempt to cover the basics of creating a great quality web design template for your site. Now it's a known fact that the layout or "eye candy" as I put it will determine whether your visitors will stay more than 15 seconds or they will just become another statistic. Top 10 Web Design Mistakes As a webmaster, you want to keep your visitors content so they'll come back again. Below you will find ten common mistakes made by webmasters that may deter people from returning. The Most Important Question To Ask About Your Web Site! When you design a website how do you start ?Do you start with the banner graphics at the top, or the order page or maybe the sales letter ?All of those are areas that have to be created but they're really not the place to start.The place to start is by answering one simple question about your site. Attention Grabbing Web Design Will Kill Your Sale! In the of-line marketing world it is all about trying to get the attention of the potential consumer to a commercial message.The primary goal is to get noticed by the public. What to Avoid to Make Your Website Design Effective The effective design is this one, which is maximum simplified, conformable to your users because they are your main purpose. This one, simply and clearly announcing what is your website about. Web Publishing Guide for the Beginning Entrepreneur (Part 1) The best things don't come easy. - QuotedThe finished web pages in your hands could be likened to a painting by Michelangelo without the Sistine Chapel. Speed Up Or Lose Out! How To Improve Your Websites Download Speed So your web site's online and you've got high rankings in the search engines attracting lots of visitors. But the statistics tell you most of them are leaving after viewing just one page, what's gone wrong?One possible cause could be a slow download speed of your web site's homepage or the web site as a whole. Why Stock Photography is a Great Resource for Web Business A picture is worth a thousand words.And it still is today. Testament To Testimonials We have all seen websites showcasing their testimonials either spread strategically throughout the site or all together on their own glorious page. They're there with the intent of leading us toward that high dollar purchase or convincing us of something's legitimacy. Custom Website Design - 7 Steps to a More Professional Website If you are trying to sell a product or service on your website, then it is important to make your site as professional as possible. You might think designing that your own website to look like a professional did so is a rather difficult proposition, however there are many tools online that will help you achieve professional looking design. Questions to Ask When Designing a Website for Clients Questions to ask when designing a Web Site for your client (s)."Excerpt from the book: Graphic Artists Guild, Handbook Pricing & Ethical guidelines Written by: Brent ParkerThese questions are a great tool to use when trying to develop your clients website. Save Time and Boost Profits with Free Content Public domain gives you a head start creating ebooks, ecourses, newsletters, teleconferences, website content and email registration incentives you need to keep in constant touch with clients and prospects.Public domain refers to information free from copyright protection. Concentrate On Web Content Instead Of Search Engine Optimization For many webmasters the title of my article may seem like bad advice and contradict what most search engine experts say and advocate. However the proof is in the pudding. How Do We Know When Its Time To Redesign Our Web Site? A question we frequently get asked is, "how do we know when it is time to redesign our Web site?" The answer undoubtedly varies.The first thing to analyze is your existing Web presence.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
