On Monday of this week we launched a redesigned Web site for Community Solutions Inc. This project involved not only redesigning the site, but also reorganizing the information, as well as updating the content to accurately reflect the mission and services that Community Solutions provides.
Brief article with some tips for Web site design and content:
http://www.businessknowhow.com/internet/web-design-mistakes.htm
My favorites are:
2. Text-heavy Pages
Actually, lots of text is OK, just don’t use lengthy paragraphs with no visual breaks. Reading online is much different than print. Use the following to break-up blocks of text: shorter, more focused paragraphs; headlines and subheads; bullets and numbers; a few well-placed photos or graphics; and appropriate white space.
4. “Noise” and Clutter
Even if you have a great site, if your visitors are forced to wade through long blocks of copy, promotional offers, animation, sales pitches, and worthless dribble, you’ll quickly confuse them and drive them away.
7. Inappropriate Graphics and Photos
Photos and graphics can visually enhance the appearance of your site as well as support and substantiate your copy. But don’t use load-intensive graphics or photos of your corporate office which are relevant to no one.
Really, what it all boils down to is making sure that you have content on your Web site that people are interested in and then making it easy for them to find it and read it. Don’t just put stuff on your site to fill space. That includes photos, images, and graphics. If a picture doesn’t serve a purpose, don’t put a picture there just to make the site look pretty. It will just be another distraction that gets in a visitor’s way. Simple is good!
In a recent article in The Nonprofit Times I read about Techsoup.org’s Second Life for nonprofits. What a brilliant idea (I always think - “man, why couldn’t I have thought of that?”). For you parents out there, it’s like Webkinz for nonprofits. The concept stems from the original Second Life Web site that is a 3-D virtual world entirely built by the “residents” (i.e. account users). As of today there are more than 9.7 million residents in the Second Life world (or “in-world” as they call it). Even for me, who feels pretty comfortable with technology and the Internet, this is pretty out there for non-techies but it appears that once you are in, you’re sucked in and it becomes a new way of life. Techsoup.org is hoping to use this virtual technology to help nonprofits tell their stories, collaborate with others and make a difference through the world of avatars. Organizations like Global Aid Foundation and the American Cancer Society have already started their journey into the Second Life. American Cancer Society held a grand opening!!!
Check out our STATUS REPORT
A special thank you to the Createathon team:
Krista Robertson
Jeanine Szczesniak
Jennifer Cherock
Jessica Munday
Jessica Kersey
Brian Cendrowski
Nicole Cendrowski
Roxanne Hicks
Brian Dadin
Cultigraphic girls
Trio Solutions was selected as the official CreateAthon® agency for the Lowcountry. Although CreateAthon is in its tenth year nationally, this will be the first year this event has been available to Lowcountry nonprofits. For 24 hours, from 8 a.m. on Thursday, September 13 until 8 a.m. on Friday, September 14, every member of our staff will work on pro-bono projects for several nonprofit organizations in our area. During that time, we will complete 15 projects for five organizations. All of our time will be donated.
Congratulations to this year’s CreateAthon recipients:
LOVE Inc.
My Sister’s House
Teacher’s Supply Closet
Lowcountry Earth Force
Berkeley County Foundation of Volunteers for the SC Guardian Ad Litem Program
Many organizations put a lot of time, effort, and money into optimizing their Web site with search engines. If their search engine optimization (SEO) campaign is well-organized and successful, they can reap the rewards of being at the top of the Google or Yahoo! or whatever their search engine-de-jour is and hundreds, or even millions, of people will find their way to your site.
But what happens next?
People are now on your Web site, but what do you want them to do? Do you want them to buy something, sign up for your e-newsletter, learn more about your cause, write their congressman? Getting people to your site is important, but it is vital that you identify the purpose of your Web site and your call to action is obvious. Otherwise you are just wasting your time and money on SEO.
Here is a good article that has some simple tips for improving your Web site’s conversions, which could be anything from making a purchase to filling out a contact form. Simply put, the goal is to get people to do something:
Following these tips may not necessarily assure that your Web site will be a sure-fire success, but if you stick to these you can at least rest easy, knowing you aren’t confusing, angering, and driving away potential customers.
10. Keep your font sizes, colors, and styles consistent.
You want to make sure that your text is easily readable. By changing styles or colors, you can easily distract and confuse the reader.
Also avoid underlining any text unless it is a hyperlink. Even if the text color is not blue, underlined text is a queue to the reader that the text should be a link, and they will often be confused if it is not.
9. White space is not always a bad thing.
This is somewhat related to number 10. The goal is to make your Web site easily readable. Having some white space keeps content from being cluttered and allows the reader to easily find what they are looking for on a page. If a reader has to do too much scanning they will get frustrated and probably leave the page quickly.
8. Go easy on the flash.
Flash can be a nice enhancement to a site that adds a little “wow” factor to the design. However, if it is not used properly, it can really hinder and annoy visitors after the first 10 seconds. Load time is still extremely important to most visitors, and if a page cannot load in less than 10 seconds, they will often go elsewhere.
Flash can also be very annoying when used on navigation buttons if it is not subtle. If a user simply wants to click on a button but they are constantly hindered by an animation that they have to wait for every time, you will make them angry and they will leave.
7. Avoid using sounds, background patterns, and animated GIF images.
While these things might be “neat” to have on a Web site, they really add very little, can contribute to making the site less readable, more obnoxious, and antiquated-looking.
6. Do not use “Click here” for links.
Make sure that your links are well labeled so that the visitor knows exactly what they are going to see when they click a link. For example, don’t use “Click here to read more about the Galapagos Islands.” Instead, say, “The Galapagos Islands are a fascinating place.” This is a clear queue to the user that when they click on the link they will get more information about the Galapagos Islands.
5. Do not do anything that will annoy your visitors.
This includes resizing their browser window, opening new windows, excessive use of pop-ups, disabling the right-click mouse button, etc. Forcing visitors into your contained box by restricting functionality they are used using or by adjusting their environment for them can be very agitating and does not encourage them to return to your Web site.
4. Use a copywriter for copy.
Content is the most important asset of your Web site. It is crucial that this content is well-written, informative, and easily accessible. It will be worth the investment to have content professionally written. If you simply do not have the budget to hire a copywriter, at least have one or two people proofread content before you publish anything to your Web site.
3. Keep your content as concise and to-the-point as possible.
Studies have found that people generally read about 20 percent slower on a screen than they do on paper. Having to read through paragraph after paragraph on a screen can be very tiring on the eyes. Try to keep your content as concise as possible while still being informative.
If you do have a very content-heavy Web site, try using teaser paragraphs that summarize an article and include a link to the entire article at the end of the summary. This will allow the user to choose if they really want to read the entire article or move on. For content-heavy Web sites, also have a printable version that allows the visitor to print longer pages if they want to read the entire article. This is most effectively done through the use of stylesheets.
2. Be sure that the information contained on your site is easy to find.
Visitors have a very short attention span. If they do not know exactly where to find what they are looking for within about ten seconds, you will likely lose them. The key is to have very descriptive and intuitive navigation buttons, hyperlinks, and section headings. Group similar information in sections and do not leave any ambiguity as to what a page or a hyperlink is about.
1. The Web is not the Field of Dreams.
Just because you build it does not mean they will come. Your Web site should be treaded like any other product or service, it requires a lot of promotion to be successful. When you launch your site, you will not instantly jump to the top of Google searches. It takes a well-thought-out marketing plan and a lot of effort (and possibly money) to drive traffic to your site. And while search engines can be great for driving traffic to your site, consider more traditional marketing techniques, such as targeted mailings, promotions that involve your Web site, or advertising.
This past weekend Trio Solutions Inc. had the privilege of working with MedExpress Clinics on opening their first retail health care clinic. A fairly new concept within the health care industry, retail health care is an approach that is more consumer-focused and here’s the magic word, affordable! MedExpress opened their first clinic in Evans, Georgia, a suburb of Augusta. It is their hope that the concept will take off in Evans and they will be able to expand across the Southeast.
Their facility isn’t an urgent care facility and it’s not meant to replace a relationship with a primary care provider. The purpose is to complement the health care continuum and open up an opportunity for individuals with little or no insurance. Pricing is known before you step foot in the door and you are sure to be seen quickly.
Trio Solutions Inc. specializes in health care and has been excited to be involved with a new approach to a seriously injured industry. Because MedExpress is a new business we were able to help with everything from logo design to advertising to a Web site, allowing every member of our team an opportunity to get involved.
We wish MedExpress much success and have enjoyed working with such a great group of people.
Check out this story that ran in the Augusta Chronicle on July 13, 2007.