Tag Archives: USP

Show 72: Neverending Beta

Posted in Classic shows on by Paul Boag

On this week’s show: web stats meet usability testing, Apollo and why it is important, working with corporate colour palettes and how to sell your web design services.

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News and events

This week appears to be the week of never-ending betas however I have managed to squeeze in some pointless fun and an article about accessible content management systems:

Click2Map

There seems to be a growing number of tools out there that make the management of Google Maps easier. One that I have just discovered this week is Click2Map. You can easily and quickly add custom markers by entering an address (even if you are outside of the US). It is still in beta and needs a lot of work (for example you cannot integrate the maps directly into your site) but it is still great for a quick and easy way of linking to locations.

Popuri.us

Another “beta” service I spotted this week is Popuri.us. This site provides SEO reports on your site including rankings on Google, Yahoo, Alexa, Delicious and Technorati. Currently it seems to be suffering from some performance issues; nevertheless it gives a good indication of your online visibility. Of course if you are a Firefox user you may find the SEO add-on more convenient.

Finding an accessible CMS

One of the biggest complaints against content management systems is that they are often not very accessible. Gez Lemon has been kind enough to do an analysis of a whole bunch of them for us and provides a great article on the pros and cons of each from an accessibility point of view. If you are considering implementing a CMS and care about accessibility (which you should do) then check this out.

Arial vs Helvetica

So you think you know your typefaces? Maybe you are even a bit of a typography snob? But, can you tell the difference between Arial and Helvetica? Of course you can, at least that was what I thought until I actually tried.

Selling your web design services

So this week’s client corner is seriously lacking advice for clients (sorry about that). Instead Marcus takes a look at the subject of selling your web design services. Surprisingly for Marcus, he has written fairly comprehensive notes on what we covered so here you go…
You may build the best websites in the world but if you do not know how to sell your services then nobody will hire you. Web design, like nearly everything, is a competitive marketplace and simply being a good designer/developer is not enough. You also need a sales and marketing hat.
That said, it does seem that there is more work out there than agencies to do it.

Cold call?

Don’t buy databases of ‘quality’ contacts in a particular sector. I may be cynical but I reckon the vast majority of these ‘leads’ were tricked into supplying their details. You’re trying to sell solutions to your potential clients’ online problems not pallets of dog food. I my experience, cold calling is a waste of time and effort – the only way you’ll win work is if you’re lucky enough to call someone when they’re about to release a tender.
The only exception to this rule are local businesses where picking up the phone and saying ‘hi, we’re just over the road from you and we’re really good at what we do. If you ever need the services that we provide please do include us in any suppler selection process you intend to go through’. If they’re friendly why not meet up for a beer (see Love Your Clients)…

Focus on a specific market sector

If your only case study is a sewage works site then go after other sewage works sites first. This is common sense: you have a proven ability to produce a website with probably very similar features to the one the other sewage site wants. You have a real, live working example to show them and a client who will (hopefully) say nice things about you.

Tender sites

I get asked about these a lot. They are (I think) better than straight cold calling but not much. Golden rule – don’t do any speculative design work as some may be a scam. I think most of these are simply there because a lot of tenders are required to be competitive but the client already has a preferred agency.  I have generated a ‘nose’ for when we are making up numbers so, if you get that feeling, be brave, walk away…
Of course, try to talk (and I mean talk not email) to the client. Be bold, ask questions about how many others are going for the project, what is the budget (we need to know to be able to provide the most appropriate solution), are the deadlines set in stone etc etc etc… If you’re getting negative feelings… guess what… walk away…
If you do decide to go for something off one of these sites, I recommend the following as a response:

  1. boiler plate ‘Why Us’. You should already have this in another proposal. Up to 10 pages of skills, experience, examples of design work and above all USP.
  2. No more than 2 sides of A4 of ‘your solution’ i.e. a summary.
  3. Tasks by task breakdown of price (inc. payment terms with at least a third up front (‘on delivery’ if you’re really worried about the client!)

The trick here is to start at the bottom. Do the task breakdown first (it may put you way over budget if you know it – if so, walk away) which will lead to an obvious solution summary then tack the ‘aren’t we great’ on the front.
The idea is to put as little effort in as possible without making it look that way.
Much better idea to…

Market, market, market!

There are so many ways to market yourself. For example, you can drive round your local neighbourhood shouting through a loud hailer if you like! Headscape’s marketing effort is focussed virtually solely on Boagworld now. The point is, try to find something that you can do that you feel passionate about and will get people either ringing you directly or, just as good, recommending you to others.

Know when to walk away

It is the hardest thing in the world to do, but it is important that you know when to turn down work. There are times when the clients requirements are unrealistic or the job is simply too big. On other occasions, the chance of winning a job does not justify the investment involved in pitching for it. There is a natural tendency to want to run after every piece of work, but sometimes you just have to say no.
I got the impression listening at SXSW that the agencies I most admire (e.g. Happy Cog) simply wait around for projects that they are interested in and the clients should be damn grateful! Or maybe that was the impression that Mr Z wanted to convey.

Ask an expert: Aral on Apollo

Aral Balkan is one of my favourite speakers and this week in the “ask an expert” section he puts his enthusiasm and humour into an insightful introduction of Apollo. Apollo is a new development platform from Adobe that allows web designers to start developing desktop applications.

Working with corporate colours

This week’s agony uncle question is based on something I found in the boagworld forum. Pecko asked whether we should use Photoshop to convert corporate colours for the web or whether we should do it by hand. A lot of the people on the forum argued that you should allow Photoshop to take the strain but in the show I argue that we should do it by hand. My argument was based on something I had read before and yet I couldn’t for the life of me remember where I had read it. I eventually found it was from a brilliant article by Jason Santa Maria on 24 Ways. I hope he will forgive me for not crediting him on the show.

Review: ClickTale

I was recently asked to beta test ClickTale, a new statistics-tracking tool. Not only does it provide you with all of the basic web stats you would expect, it also allows you to watch recordings of how users interact with your site. You can see their cursor move around the screen, watch them scroll and even move between pages. The product is currently in closed beta but it is definitely worth keeping an eye on because it is extremely powerful and acts as a passable alternative when usability testing is just not an option.

Elitism in web design

Posted in News on by Paul Boag

Every time I attend a web design conference the same issue raises it ugly head; elitism. This time around it seems to be targeted at the Brit Pack.

I have just gotten off the phone with Andy Clarke. I was arranging for him to come on next weeks .net podcast. While chatting he asked if he could discuss the issue of elitism because the members of the Brit Pack were coming under criticism for it at SXSW. He has just posted about it on his blog and I thought I would share my thoughts on the subject as I find myself in the strange position of having a foot in both camps.

The Brit Pack Booze Up?

As you probably already know if you listen to my podcast, Boagworld was a joint sponsor of the Great British Booze Up, a party at SXSW. It was a hugely successful evening mainly thanks to the hard work of Andy Budd and the clear:left team who put an enormous amount of effort in making the evening work. However, I did find myself getting irritated a number of times throughout the evening when people referred to it as a Brit Pack event. It wasn’t a Brit Pack event as I was one of the primary sponsors and I am not a member of the Brit Pack. Things came to a head for me when somebody said exactly the same thing yet again while I was standing next to Andy Clarke. I finally cracked and very pointedly explained that it wasn’t a Brit Pack event because I wasn’t a member. Andy, to his credit immediately turned around and said he would make sure I was added.

What was interesting was how this made me feel. On one hand I was really pleased. It made me feel like I had “made the big time” in someway and that my contribution to the community was valued. However, on the other hand it pissed me off because what Andy obviously didn’t remember was that I asked if I could join back in 2005 (when the world had yet to be exposed to the wonder that was my podcast) and he very politely said no.

Is it okay to exclude others?

So was Andy wrong to exclude me back in 2005? Am I only now being offered a place because I am more well known? Is the Brit Pack an elitist group that only allows in the select and “famous” few?

Personally I feel that there maybe an element of elitism but if there is it is certainly not intentional and it is not something we should be criticizing. Sure, back in 2005 I was somewhat annoyed that I wasn’t accepted into the “club” and felt excluded for not being “famous” enough. But I think that was my problem and not Andy’s. To him it was just a few of his mates on a mailing list chatting. I wanted to join simply to be associated with that group of people who I respected and admired. I didn’t really have much to contribute and was more interested in promoting my site through the Brit Pack than I was in adding anything of value. Andy didn’t know me from Adam and was perfectly within his rights to protect his group of friends.

Networking happens

Everybody is trying to impress somebody at SXSW. Everybody wants to speak to those who they admire and this can lead to some hurt feelings along the way. I remember speaking to a hero of mine (who shall remain nameless) and we were having a very nice conversation up until the point he spotted somebody more important. Instantly he ended the conversation and moved on to this new person. I was incredibly hurt by this until I caught myself doing exactly the same thing to somebody who listens to the show! I didn’t do it on purpose, and I suspect neither did the person with whom I was talking. It was just that this was the first time I had seen the person all week and didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

I guess what I am saying is that we need to accept that friendship groups are okay and that networking is an important part of these large conferences. It occurs in every walk of life and is not within itself a bad thing.

Maybe the guys in the Brit Pack have been a little naive about how they are perceived and the influence they have. They probably don’t realize they are in the “cool club” and to be honest I think we need to keep it that way. After all imagine how much worse it would if they knew how much we all wanted to emulate them :)

My advise is that if you feel excluded from a group like the Brit Pack you have one of three choices. Set up your own group (which is after all how the Brit Pack came about), start adding real value to the community until they finally come around and recognise your contribution, or bitch about it. The choice is yours.

The Business of Web Design

Posted in Web strategy on by Paul Boag

I have been thinking a lot about our motivation as web designers (as you do!) and am becoming increasingly concerned that in many cases our motivation in projects is entirely wrong.

I say “our motivation as web designers” but what I really mean is “my motivation”. I guess I have been doing some soul searching and have not been entirely happy with what I have found. However, I suspect that if you look honestly at yourself then you will find that, if you are a web designer, you suffer from a similar problem.

Personal motivation

So what am I talking about? Well, the web is a really exciting place at the moment. There is so much innovation and so many new technologies and techniques emerging. From tagging to AJAX, we are surrounding by cool things we are just itching to try out. We are constantly looking for opportunities to experiment with this stuff and that is no bad thing because it is by experimenting that we learn. If you are anything like me you are a diehard geek and love playing with new technologies and ways of doing things. That is what gets you up in the morning.

Benefiting our users

Of course, our desire to use all these techniques and technologies isn’t entirely selfish. Another motivation for us is the desire to benefit our end users. After all we are “user centric designers” right? Technologies like AJAX create a more pleasant user experience and the “trendy” web 2.0 design style, makes a site easier to navigate and read. The fact that we will look good to our peers and more attractive to prospective clients by using these approaches is a secondary consideration… isn’t it?

Business benefits

There is an added bonus to all these innovations too. In many cases they will benefit the clients business. Benefits such as reduced maintenance costs, increased customer satisfaction, fast development… the list could go on. All of these arguments are incredibly useful when trying to convince a client that they need to let you implement the latest “good practice”.

The underlying problem

So what is my problem? It is not that I have an issue with the three motivating factors outlined above. What I am uncomfortable with is the order. If we are completely honest with ourselves, in many cases the order is the same as that outlined above:

  1. Personal motivation
  2. Benefits to users
  3. Business benefits

We are primarily driven by personal motivations and the desire to “play” with new technologies. The business drivers for implementing a new technique come at the bottom of our list and are really only a useful way of justifying what it is that we want to do anyway.

I would argue that the list should actually be completely inverted. I believe that business benefits and objectives should be our primary concern even above the benefits to users. At the end of the day a website has to meet client objectives. Of course, in the majority of cases these objectives are best met by providing a good user experience, but our motivation should primarily be driven by business demands and not user needs. As for personal motivation, well that should come last of all.

There are too many implementations of AJAX which exist only for personal gratification rather than business need. The same applies for design, standards, accessibility and indeed any other “best practice” you care to mention.

Please don’t misinterpret me. I am not saying any of these things are wrong. They can all be hugely beneficial to most businesses. What I am saying is that each of us as designers or developers has to take a long hard look at why we are recommending various approaches to clients and ensure that our motivation is primarily business focused.

As web designers, many of us somehow perceive ourselves above such torrid pursuits as business objectives. There is a definite climate of moral superiority at the moment as we focus on accessibility and best practice. Although it is good that web design is moving away from the early days when we were the web equivalent of time share salesmen, we need to be careful that our new found enthusiasm for best practice doesn’t divorce us from the realities of business online.

A web design forum for everyone

Posted in News on by Paul Boag

I have been threatening to do it for ages, but finally it has happened: we have launched the boagworld forum. The place where no question is too stupid! ;)

The problem has been that I don’t like a lot of the forums out there. Most of them are unnecessarily complex, have terrible underlying code (being largely table based) and aren’t very easy to customise.

However, relatively recently I came across Vanilla. For fear of being flamed this really is forum 2.0! It has pretty good code, can be customised beyond belief and can be as simple or complex as you want. It also makes nice subtle use of AJAX and yet degrades nicely ensuring it remains accessible. All in all I love it… oh yes and best of all it is open source!

Check out Vanilla for yourself

After saying all of that, I can’t say my implementation of it is that hot. So many of you have been badgering me about this that it has been somewhat rushed. Instead of putting together the CSS from scratch I have bastardised the code that was already there. The result is that it doesn’t scale as well as I would like (in fact it doesn’t scale at all in IE) and it could have really done with some more testing.

Disclaimers aside, I am generally pleased with it. Finally the listeners of the podcast have somewhere to talk about wider issues that don’t directly relate to my posts. My hope is that this can be a place where we encourage one another in good practice both when building and when running websites.

Although I suspect in the early days the forum will be largely dominated by designers and developers, my ultimate hope is that website owners will start to use it to discuss their unique problems too. It seems to me they are sadly lacking a good place to discuss their problems.

Visit the forum now

Oh yes and one more thing… no question is too stupid to ask. This forum is for everybody, beginners and advanced developers alike. Anybody criticising others questions will feel my wrath! ;)

Getting online forms right

Posted in Design on by Paul Boag

At the end of last week, I was integrating an online survey into a client’s site. It started me thinking about how difficult it can be to get online forms right. In this post, I outline just some of the many things you should take into consideration.

With the exception of the home page, online forms are probably the biggest challenge to us as web interface designers. This is largely because online forms require a higher degree of interaction than any other part of a site and so there is more room for error.

Web Forms Checklist

With that in mind, here is my checklist for designing an effective web form:

Make a form look like a form

Too many designers mess with form fields so that it is nearly impossible to identify them as editable. Sure, form fields can look ugly but there visual appearance helps people identify them as a form. Some styling is fine but don’t make them unrecognisable.

Stay focused

Everybody hates getting spam. We are suspicious of giving out personal information online for fear that the information will be used to send us junk. Do not ask users for information that you do not absolutely require. They will tend to see anything extra as an invasion of their privacy and an attempt to spam them.

Keep it short

Marketing departments have a habit of wanting to know everything about their visitors. The result is that forms become overwhelmingly long and users just don’t bother completing them.

Turn long forms into applications

Once an online form goes beyond two screens, it’s often a sign that the underlying functionality is better supported by an application, which offers a more interactive user experience.

Provide timescales

If the user cannot see how long the form is, they will assume it takes a long time to complete. In many cases, they give up before they begin. Reassure the user that the form will take only a few minutes of their time.

Inform of progress

If a form is split over multiple pages, the user can be left wondering how many more screens there are to go. I have seen people give up only one click away from finishing! By telling them how much of the form is left, you encourage them to persevere.

Only show relevant fields

Some fields in your form maybe conditional on other answers given. For example, you may have a question "Do you have children?" and a second question "How many children do you have?" Obviously if they answer no to the first question then the second becomes irrelevant. Make your form appear shorter by either combining these questions or only revealing the second one if they answer yes to the first.

Use the mandatory fields sparingly

Forms failing to submit properly because mandatory fields were not completed can be an annoying experience. It is therefore advisable to use required fields only when entirely necessary and to mark clearly, which fields are required.

Avoid re-entry

There is nothing more annoying than constantly inputting the same information. Store users details so that reoccurring fields are pre populated. Also make sure that information is not lost if the user accidentally navigates away from the page.

Clear validation

It can often be hard to spot which fields you failed to complete correctly. By clearly marking the problem fields, you dramatically improve the user’s experience.

Avoid reset buttons

Personally, I don’t think it is worth having a reset button on a form anyway, but when you do ensure you don’t put it near the submit button. It is very easy for users to click the wrong one and find themselves back at square one.

Highlight the current field

On long complex forms, it can sometimes be hard to spot which field contains your cursor. Use CSS or JavaScript to highlight visually the current field.

Ensure a logical tab order

Many visitors use the tab key to move between fields in a form. Make sure the fields tab through in a logical order and where possible remove tabs from elements such as labels or links where that interrupts the flow of the tab order.

Use fieldsets and labels

Usability for speech and text browsers is dramatically improved by marking up your form with the relevant fieldsets and labels.

Place labels before fields

Because visually impaired users cannot see a form field, they are reliant on the label associated with the field to describe it. However, if the label appears after the field they are not told what the field is for until they have moved past the field itself.

Offer an incentive

Because forms often require users to part with personal details, they are naturally reluctant to complete them. Users need a clear incentive to part with their information. What that incentive is depends on your site. For some it could be as simple as access to site features such as a forum, for others it might be an entry into a price draw or a free reward of some kind.

Explain the need for information

When you are requesting personal information, explain why you require it. For example, if you request an email address for an ecommerce purchase, explain that it is required for informing the user of their orders status and nothing more. If you don’t explain, they will presume the worst.

Clear help

For more complex fields make sure you provide clear instructions. For example if you require the security number from a credit card, explain where this can be found and what part of the number you require.

Saving forms

It is generally good practice to allow users to save forms and return to them later. This is particularly true of longer forms where the user might have to look up some of the information required.

Your opinion

So, that is my checklist for designing forms. Did I miss anything? Do you disagree with anything I have said? Let me know what you think.

Ecommerce 101

Posted in Web strategy on by Paul Boag

I am currently working on an ecommerce site and so as normal I have been doing my homework into what improves sales on a web site. Here is a quick summary of the key ingredients:

Watch some real users

Before changing anything on your ecommerce web site make sure you run some usability testing. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Just get some real shoppers, sit them in front of your web site and watch how they buy from the site. If you have time grab as many people as possible and repeat the process making notes on any trends that develop. But remember always test users one at a time and not in groups. The idea is to simulate how they would shop online while at home.

Organise your site

Be sure to organise the products on your site in ways that users will find intuitive. So often web sites are focused more around the companies structure than the users needs. Also be careful not to offer the user too many choices. This can be overwhelming and leads to users leaving the site before purchasing.

Get the product descriptions right

At one extreme product descriptions can contain far too much technical detail that the user simply doesn’t understand. At the other end of the spectrum product descriptions can be full of marketing speak and little in the way of real content. The best solution is somewhere in between. Describe your product in an accessible, easy to understand way but allow users to delve deeper if they want more information.

Ensure you are credible

Shoppers are inherently suspicious of ecommerce web sites. The idea of handing over your money to somebody that you can’t see or touch is disturbing. It is therefore vital that you are considered trustworthy. Add an about us section to your site that shows photos of your staff and premises. Answer concerns about delivery, returns and security. Most of all make sure your web site is professional in appearance and has recently updated content.

Just take their money!

A shopkeeper would never stop a person handing over money at the counter in order to make them fill in a questionnaire. Why then does that happen online. Make the purchase process as easy as possible and ask for only the minimum information up front. Marketteers want the additional information in order to target users with future promotions and encourage repeat sales. However experience has shown us that it is much easier to make additional sales once the customer has already purchased from you in the past. Make the sale first and then ask if you want more information.

Don’t always follow the crowd

Its easy to look at successful ecommerce web sites like Amazon and think all you have to do is copy them. However remember to focus on your target audience. What might be right for one large ecommerce web site might not necessarily be right for your audience.

Cross sell whenever possible

Take the opportunity to recommend other products to visitors which they might not have considered before. But be careful. Don’t make your recommendations look too much like advertisements. Web users have become very adapt at blocking out banner ads.

The value of personalisation

Posted in Site content on by Paul Boag

I have always been vaguely suspicious of the value of personalising content on a web site however a recent survey has thrown up some interesting figures.

Disclaimer

I feel like I should point out at the outset that this survey was conducted on behalf of ChoiceStream, who are themselves a supplier of personalisation capabilities for web sites. This makes you question the reliability of the information it contains. Nevertheless I found it fascinating reading

Background

The survey was completed by 673 respondents in May 2004. In order to track changes in consumer attitudes over time, the survey is continually repeated at regular intervals.

A major contradiction

Overall, the survey found that more than 80% of consumers were interested in receiving personalised content. I found this figure much higher than I expected. What did not surprise me is that the percentage of people willing to provide information on their preferences and interests in exchange for this personalisation was much lower at 64%. Users continue to be reluctant to hand over personal information of any description however good the reason.

With a significant proportion of users unwilling to provide information to help personalisation the options are extremely limited. The only feasible way forward would be to monitor users behaviour and provide personalisation based on this. However when asked if they would be willing for this type of monitoring to take place only 40% of the sample group agreed. Seemingly people are even less happy to be monitored than they are to answer questions.

Conclusions

All in all this makes frustrating reading for those running web sites. On one hand users are saying they want personalisation especially in the area of ecommerce and yet on the other they are unwilling to provide information or allow monitoring to make this happen. However what a user says they are willing to allow is very different to what they except on a day to day basis. I suspect that if the question had been "are you happy for Amazon to recommend books?" the response would have been very different. The fact that Amazon monitor user behaviour to achieve this would not worry or even occur to users.

This survey has made me think again about personalisation. I am still far from convinced of its value in many situations. Just because technology allows us to do something doesn’t always been it is worth doing. However in certain circumstances it has real benefit. The problem still remains of how to present this functionality in a way that doesn’t require too much user interaction or give the perception of being too invasive of privacy.

Keep them coming back for more

Posted in Marketing, Site content on by Paul Boag

The real way to make a website work for you is to encourage users to visit it again and again. But how exactly can you make this happen?

In my last article we looked at how to encourage users to visit your website for the first time. However achieving this is only half the battle. The real trick is to keep them coming back. Here’s where the real work begins. Having built a Website and attracted some traffic to it, your objective now is to gain repeat visits.

Why are repeat visits important?

A one time visitor just isn’t enough. As I am sure you already know, the chances of a first time visitor making a purchase is extremely low. They need time to review your competition, weigh the pros and cons, decide that they really do want to purchase. Depending on your sector this could take anything from a few days to several months. The question then becomes, how do you keep them coming back to your site so that your brand remains in the forefront of their mind when they do finally decide to make a purchase.

How to keep them coming back

Regular updates

Many sites are just never updated. This is a sure fire way of putting people off. If people are interested in what you have to offer they will return again and again as long as there is something new each time. However if they come back more than a couple of times and find nothing has changed the chances are they will never return again.

Message Boards

Allow users to discuss your products and services via an interactive forum. You will find that a recommendation by another user is a lot more believable than you telling your visitors how great your product is. Of course you always run the risk that somebody will say something bad about your product but you can always remove such postings from the forum. However be careful. A forum that is full of nothing but praise can seem a bit suspicious!

Special Offers

Special offers are always a sure way to keep people coming back. By creating special offers that are exclusive to the website and that change regularly you can be sure users will keep visiting the site to see what your latest deal is.

Support

If you sell a product or service that might need after sales support you may wish to consider a support section. This could provide frequently asked questions, downloadable updates or even a forum that allows users to support each other. This will dramatically reduce your telephone enquiries as well as encouraging users to return to your site. When they do return it gives you a good opportunity to recommend related products.

Newsletters, ezines and mailing lists

You can have as many special offers and fresh content on your site as you want but if nobody knows they are there then they won’t come back. That is where a mailing list comes in. Send out a newsletter to those that choose to subscribe informing them of updates to your site. Mailing lists are very easy to set up and can generate huge rewards to your business if done properly.

Hopefully some of these ideas will inspire you and help to maintain those hits well after the initial burst of activity when the site launches. My final article in this series will look at how your current visitors can be one of the best source of advertising you have.