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In this Issue
Web Design Detective WorkEpisode Two: Rounding up the Usual SuspectsLast issue, we discussed how Web content writing involves considerable detective work. This month, we identify the likely suspects who posess the information that a good Web writer needs. The Web writer must put into words the essense of the company’s purpose. Our initial interviews give us an idea of what the client wants to achieve with the Web site. But that’s only the first step. So how do we identify the likely suspects? Well, this is where the Web writer needs to be a detective: Who in the organization understands their customers the most? Who is the products and services expert? Who is the person in charge of the company’s public image? Who owns the values, the mission, and the vision of the company? Sales and Customer Support The people who best understand the customer are usually the heads of Sales and Customer Support. These people—first and foremost—know what their customers want to learn about the company’s products and services, and what kind of information the visitor wants to see on the Web site. If the company does not have a marketing or corporate communications person (and many do not), then the sales staff can likely also provide existing marketing material such as brochures and presentations that help us pick up additional information. Products & Services The next likely suspects are the ones who know the products and services inside out: The developers and service providers. These people can tell us the strengths of the products, and what differentiates them from their competitors. They can tell us if they are working on new products. And more importantly, they often know what excites the customer the most. The Company The last suspect on our list to interview is the president. Only once we know more about the business, the clients, and the products and services, do we then meet with the head of an organization. The president is the one that establishes the company's values, and (hopefully) has a defined mission and vision of the company. The president gives us an overall view of what the company wants to achieve with the web site, and what they want the visitors to gain from it. Next issue: What does the web-writing detective do when the ususal suspects disagree? Elegant Web DesignWeb Design is Information DesignDancing to the Information Design TuneA poorly-designed web site is a bit like a clumsy dance partner; you have to keep making allowances. And your partner never leads. The dance between a customer and a corporate web site is all about an exchange of information. The customer is trying to decide whether the company's services are worth paying for. And sometimes, all a web site needs to become a better dance partner is a few pointers. Take this site, for example. This is a clumsy web site. From the perspective of information design, there are three things that this company could do immediately to make the customer's experience much better. The first thing is to trash the opening Flash animation. It communicates no useful information to the customer at all. Imagine, if you will, walking into a store and being forced to watch a promotional video before being allowed to browse the shelves. You'd walk out. And while the animated intro does have a (tiny) button that allows you to skip to the actual content, this only highlights the uselessness of the animation. After all, if you can skip it, it's hardly important, is it? The second thing this company should do is the rewrite their main page. This page features large text in a bold red colour that looks very much like a list of clickable headlines. Except that they are not headlines, nor are they clickable -- they are just a list of services. A customer looking for information about the company's services would likely try to click this text, and would be momentarily frustrated. The last thing would be to reorganize the menus. Both the top and left menus are a mishmash of different types of information, presented in a fairly random order. There are two "Service" options. Corporate information, product information, and utilities such as "Pick Up Request" are jumbled together. Clearly, there's no customer-oriented priority to the ordering of the menus. (And just as a bonus: Why on Earth does a transportation logistics company have a link to winning lottery numbers on their "Links" page? And why does a corporation even have a "Links" page at all?) Certainly, these problems will slow down a determined customer for only a few moments. But as with a dance partner, you don't want your customer to be making allowances for you. Contact and Subscription InformationDigital Wind's newsletter is a periodic mailing about the business of branding in the digital age sent to subscribers only. If you find this information valuable, please pass it on to a friend. SubscriptionsTo subscribe to the Digital Wind newsletter, visit http://digitalwind.com/subscribe/ If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe in one of three ways:
Past IssuesArchives of the Digital Wind newsletter can be found at http://digitalwind.com/subscribe/ FeedbackHave a complaint? Want to tell us we're doing a great job? Contact Jim Royal at Digital Wind with your comments and suggestions. We'd love to hear from you. About Digital WindMontreal-based Digital Wind can manage your company's entire public image, from logo design to web design to corporate email newsletters. |
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