To turn more of those shoppers into loyal customers in the New Year, marketers and Web developers need an ambitious online plan. Here are seven New Year\u2019s resolutions for Web development relating to:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Focus
\n\u2022 Design
\n\u2022 Mturk & crowd sourcing
\n\u2022 WordPress
\n\u2022 User testing
\n\u2022 Social media<\/p>\n
1. I will\u2026 start small<\/strong> Not only is this important from a budget perspective, but it\u2019s also important in terms of the scope of a project. If you start small, you can shuffle priorities easier and your Web team will produce results faster. Don\u2019t get me wrong, plan for success. But, don\u2019t get so absorbed in the dream that you aren\u2019t making good decisions for the present. With proper planning, you should be able to add features and scale in due time.<\/p>\n 2. I will\u2026 send a clear message<\/strong> There are a couple of design trends entrepreneurs can employ, which essentially amount to doing a better job of introducing the company. First, display a clear, written message in a larger font in the header. This technique is known as an \u2018intro box\u2019. It draws attention and reinforces to the customer that they have come to the right place.<\/p>\n Secondly, display a large graphical banner prominently on landing pages, such as the home page, for featured product(s) or service(s). Screen resolutions have gone up over the years, so be sure to take advantage of the extra space and capture the customer\u2019s attention. Both the intro box and graphical banner should be punctuated with appropriate calls to action.<\/p>\n I would recommend sending customers to a contact form or some other sales page rather than pushing them to content pages. If you can, get them into the funnel in that single click.<\/p>\n 3. I will\u2026 put money into market testing<\/strong> As a new business owner, you don\u2019t need to guess or assume. You can inexpensively conduct your own market research by crowd sourcing on websites such as Mturk<\/a>. One of my current clients is building a new e-commerce website, and we used surveys on Mturk to get: Surveys like this can be done for less than $20 each. You can also use Mturk for content like product reviews.<\/p>\n Speaking of branding and crowd sourcing, if you\u2019re on a tight budget, you can even use a site like 99Designs<\/a> for logo design.<\/p>\n 4. I will\u2026 create content<\/strong> You can also create your own blog, which SEO experts will tell you is very helpful in attracting traffic to your website.<\/p>\n On a related note, if you want to add products to your site, take a look at xCart<\/a> shopping cart software. This is a search engine friendly cart that will allow you to quickly get up and going with eCommerce. Also, aside from credit cards, accept PayPal. About one in four online transactions are through PayPal now, so it has crossed the threshold of importance.<\/p>\n 5. I will\u2026 put money into usability testing.<\/strong> You can also inexpensively do browser compatibility testing through Browsershots.org. You can draw your own conclusions from statistics on the W3Schools.com<\/a> site about which browsers your site must be accessible in. At minimum, I would recommend Firefox (47%), IE 8 (13.3%), IE 7 (13.3%) and Chrome (8.5%). Don\u2019t get me started on IE 6.<\/p>\n 6. I will\u2026 promote my site.<\/strong> I\u2019m not going to go off on a tangent about how to maximize your social media presence, just reinforce that it can be done right and yield results. Take this effort on your own shoulders and be a spokesperson.<\/p>\n 7. I will\u2026 quit smoking\/lose weight\/get fit<\/strong> I hope you had a great 2009 and wish you a prosperous 2010.<\/p>\n – Mike<\/em><\/p>\n
\nMany entrepreneurs and Web designers suffer from an overwhelming amount of ideas. Their heads and subsequently their screens overflow with information \u2013 which is counterproductive. You must focus. You must start small. Find a niche, figure out how to be the best, and then grow in phases.<\/p>\n
\nFocus is also important from a Web usability standpoint. When a customer comes to your site, it\u2019s critical that your design and messaging are clear. Your focus will give customers a reason to stay on your site and a purpose to fulfill while there.<\/p>\n
\nMany owners inevitably make the same mistake early on in a project and it puts them on the path to failure; they assume the role of target audience. Nine times out of 10, they aren\u2019t the most accurate audience.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Slogan ideas
\n\u2022 Logo design feedback
\n\u2022 Votes on slogan and logo finalists<\/p>\n
\nOne very effective way to create and manage your own content yourself is through a website powered by WordPress<\/a>. Many entrepreneurs have heard of this software and\/or seen it in use. I\u2019m merely reiterating how effective it makes managing a website yourself, without knowing much about HTML or coding in general.<\/p>\n
\nAfter you have created a beta website, you need to perform usability testing. This used to be an expensive endeavor, but you can get affordable usability testing from Usertesting.com<\/a>. Be sure to watch the sample video because you\u2019re getting a good deliverable for $29.<\/p>\n
\nBe social. Twitter and Facebook may be fads, but human interaction has always been part of life. Social media is just the latest way to feed that need, so extend your influence and reach prospective customers. Create a multiple accounts on each destination so you can have your own personal account and a company-named account.<\/p>\n
\nOk, so that one isn\u2019t about Web development. Still, it\u2019s a good idea if you plan to have the energy that keeps your company growing and enjoy your wealth.<\/p>\n
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