- 2.1.12 - Webolutions Participates in 2nd Annual Grocery Cart Race for Charity
- 1.27.12 - Denver Social Media for Business Group Talks Sharing Across Social Networks
- 1.24.12 - Top 12 Free Mobile Apps for Business
- 1.19.12 - SOPA, PIPA and Your Website
- 1.9.12 - Three Search Engine Marketing Resolutions For 2012
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Effective Design & Usability
06/28/2011
The Impact of Quality Websites on SEO
Categories: Effective Design & Usability Online Marketing
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has always been a balancing act between writing for search engines and writing for users. In the early days, stuffing keywords into your content and across your site was rewarded with top rankings in the search engines. As Google and other search engines strive to bring people the best results in the top positions, the push has been towards high quality Websites and content. Have you ever clicked on a search result and seen something like this (forgive my shameless keyword stuffing; it’s in the name of science!): “Webolutions is a Denver search eng …
Read The Rest of This Post06/13/2011
Effective Web Design and Content - Utilize A/B Testing
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
How are you measuring the results of your website? If you aren’t measuring the effectiveness of your design and copy choices, you could be missing out on conversions. A/B testing is a cost-effective way to make sure you are making the right copy and design decisions. Take a look at some simple A/B tests that garnered improved results for these companies. Can you guess which version performed better? You might be surprised in some cases. Copy testing example - http://whichtestwon.com/archives/11405 In this A/B test the only difference between the two landing pages was the text used …
Read The Rest of This Post05/09/2011
Effective Web Design: 5 Key Elements
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
Keep It Simple - One of the main keys to great web design is keeping the design simple. If the site is too complicated or too much of a hassle for the user, they won't hesitate to simply leave and find a more usable site. A simple, easy to use site keeps users engaged in your site. Simplicity comes in many forms - one of which is getting the user to the information they desire in as few clicks as possible. Another form of simplicity to focus on is the background of the site. Loud or extremely busy backgrounds tend to detract users from the main purpose of the site. Too much going on with …
Read The Rest of This Post04/04/2011
Engaging Website Users to Experience your Offering
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
What increases engagement? This is kind of a million dollar question these days. So many companies still just want a "Web Presence" with simple brochure information, and proceed to tap their IT department to slap their info onto a page. They then wonder why they are not seeing any web leads. What if you intimately know your audience and reach out and engage them, give them what they want right away, and make it a great experience? What would happen then? Whether you want a user to sign up for your service, buy your product, or simply listen to what you are saying, if your Website …
Read The Rest of This Post01/10/2011
Designing for Different Browser Experiences
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
The old school thought was that all websites should look exactly the same in every browser but times they are a changin’. Different browsers have different capabilities. Now there are four major browsers available, plus a number of not so major ones AND each of those has different versions. Some of those browsers came out nearly a DECADE ago (IE6 cough, cough). A decade is a huge amount of time in the internet world. The difference in capabilities between modern day browsers and those born a decade ago is massive. For instance, newer browsers have better security features, run much fa …
Read The Rest of This Post11/16/2010
Internet Marketing Trends: Will new Google popups change Web design?
Categories: Effective Design & Usability Online Marketing
(Or: Google changes aren't permanent; but change is.) Must be a day with a "y" in it. Google changed something. And once again, they didn't call first to ask if it was okay. Harumph. A few weeks ago, most users started noticing the merge of local and organic. Notice how, on the picture, the map thumbtacks accompany the organic listing. That's pretty cool. All that much more important now to have a Google Places page for your business. Where's the big map, you ask? It's on the right column, hidden behind the popup window showcasing the Website. See what I did there? So, now, …
Read The Rest of This Post08/18/2010
It’s Time to Move Mobile to the Front Burner
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
A lot of companies come to us with the desire to redesign and rebrand their online presence. There are already so many things to consider: • How will we manage content? • Should we start a blog? • Should we consider expanding into social media? • How can we make sure people find us on the search engines? All of these are important. But there’s one giant item to consider that often gets overlooked or moved to the back burner…what about mobile? …
Read The Rest of This Post07/02/2010
Marketing Trends 2011: HTML5, the future of the dub-dub-dub
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
The web is rapidly evolving at a pace that most can't keep up with, or even know about. New and exciting innovations are being created every day, pushing the boundaries of what we know in every possible way. HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is the core language of the web and HTML5 is the fifth revision since it was developed in the early 90s. HTML5 will attempt to solve known issues in previous versions of HTML and will try to address new web applications, something that has not been appropriately covered in the past. HTML4 has been in use for over 10 years now. Since then, developers hav …
Read The Rest of This Post04/06/2010
Marketing Trends: Is It Time for a Redesign to Your Website?
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
The marketplace is continuously evolving. In recent years, the number of purchases made online has sky-rocketed. Considering this change, it is essential for companies to have a well-functioning Website for their audience. According to a study done by Nielsen, “the average person in the United States visits 2,614 Websites per month.”* The convenience of providing your company product, information and brand online can help draw in users that are spending those lengthy hours online. To not have a properly working or up-to-date Website can be detrimental to your profitability. This …
Read The Rest of This Post12/07/2009
Website Easter Eggs - A Little Can Go a Long Way
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
Not everyone has the budget or the cause for an uber creative Flash site like EinsteinBros.com or the visually stunning JonathanYuen.com but that doesn’t mean your site needs to be dull. Don’t be afraid to spice it up and add little surprises for your users. Take your Website one step further by offering users just a little bit more. Perhaps you can add a little personality like the flying “W” that lives in the Webolutions.com header? Yahoo.com has a hidden gem. Click on the exclamation point in the logo and you’ll hear the Yahoo yodel. …
Read The Rest of This Post11/02/2009
Usability Testing: Do it Early and Often for a Great Website
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
Usability testing is imperative if you want to take a good site and make it a great site. It will often reveal usability issues that designers, developers and clients will never discover because they are too close to the project and too familiar with the content. Typically, a usability test involves one user who is shown a site or a wireframe and asked to do something or explain what they are looking at. It’s not too complicated. However, usability testing is often cut from Web design budgets for largely two reasons: It’s too expensive It takes …
Read The Rest of This Post09/16/2009
Don't Make Me Think! (Book Review)
Categories: Effective Design & UsabilitySteve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think was popping up in so many “must read” lists, I couldn’t pass it up. This book outlines Krug’s “common sense approach to Web usability,” and is indeed a “must read.” Don’t Make Me Think does not cater only to Web usability professionals. Anyone who manages a Website will find the material to be easily digestible. You do not need the vocabulary of a seasoned Web professional to get value out of this book. The book’s title is also what Krug refers to as, “Krug’s First L …
Read The Rest of This Post08/19/2009
Is Your Website Usable?
Categories: Effective Design & UsabilityNowadays everybody has a Website. You have to do more than just throw up a site with good content to stand out. You’ve got to start by making your site usable. There is more to Website usability than just ensuring you do not have any broken links. Usability is all about getting your site visitors to the content they are looking for in an easy and intuitive way. You can have the best content in the world but if users have to think too much to move around and find what they want, they will be dissatisfied and go elsewhere. Evaluating Your Site’s Usability Your site is usable if i …
Read The Rest of This Post07/29/2009
Online Design, Evoking Emotions and Influencing Decisions
Categories: Effective Design & UsabilityEvoking Emotions through Effective Design When it comes to our interpretation, "pretty" or "ugly" is determined by many factors. We are not usually aware of them as they influence our sub-conscious reactions. Certain triggers or "aesthetics" in everyday life evoke emotions in us that influence our choices, decisions and reactions. These triggers are not limited to just our vision, but appeal to all of our senses and they happen every minute of every day. To go even further, they can then tap into a personal experience and can influence our emotional responses. I …
Read The Rest of This Post07/15/2009
Foundations are to Houses what Information Architecture is to Websites
Categories: Effective Design & UsabilityInformation architecture (IA) is where it all begins. It is critical to the success of your new Website. Everything done to build your site is heavily influenced by what is discovered and determined in the IA process. Without these fundamentals, your site will be built on shaky ground. Step 1: Define goals and success metrics All Web projects have to start by defining goals. What do you want your new site to do? Sell more products? Generate interest in your services? Establish your company as a leader? How will you measure the success of your site? …
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