• If you’re working with a website designer, hopefully you’ve both done your homework to make sure you’re a good fit. As a site owner, you want someone whose aesthetic range works well with your own. Just like if you’re into a traditional-looking house, you wouldn’t hire an architect who focuses on uber modern design to build your dream house, you want to make sure the designer you choose is really good at the kind of design you and your existing/potential customers prefer. Most designers have a range of styles in which they work, and they’re usually available for your perusal via their website. If you’ve received a design proposal that seems out of left field make sure the designer fully understands your goals and your target audience. As a web designer, make sure you understand the goals of the project – and if you get the sense at the outset that you won’t be a good fit for the client for whatever reason, don’t be afraid to let the client know & move on to your next project.
• Before the design phase begins, make sure any specific wants/needs are communicated. This could be things like coordinating with an existing brand, or making an intentional departure from a previous design. I hesitate to include things like a specific layout, because the goal of your site should be driving the layout, and if you hired a talented designer they’ll be able to create a layout that will work best for your project. Also, while it’s important for your website to stand out and be unique, you don’t want to create something alien to your customers. There are certain web-based standards that users look for — locations for things like search and login, or navigation, or copyright and privacy info. There’s little incentive to reinventing the wheel here. In most cases you want creativity around how to best display your messaging in a clear way, both aesthetically and through text… not creativity around how to totally reinvent the way a user expects a website to work. If you’re finding that your feedback is focused on coming up with never-before-seen ways to present information – be wary.
• When giving feedback on a proposed design, work hard to communicate what’s not delivering on the needs of the project rather than suggesting specific alternative design solutions. Remember that you (hopefully) hired a designer to come up with solutions to help you meet your goals, not to work Photoshop on your behalf. Think back to the audience for your site (who is often not you) and what will resonate with them. For example, if your site caters to a mature audience and your designer gives you something with tiny type, communicate that a mature audience will need better legibility rather than a specific font size.   Often, competing demands mean compromise – so if you’ve specifically requested a tremendous amount of info on a single page but you don’t want anything displayed below the fold, and tiny type is a method of meeting your requirements – consider identifying the *source* of the problem, or give your designer an opportunity to identify a solution for you. Perhaps it’s not tiny type that needs fixing – perhaps it’s reducing the amount of text, or breaking something out into different pages or tabs to allow for the legibility and white space that will make your site appealing and usable for your audience.  If your feedback only offers suggestions rather than identifying problems, your designer can’t do the job you hired them for.
• Remember that the client drives the project, but it’s good when a designer pushes back on something that steers away from meeting the client’s goals. As a client you are an expert in what you do, and hopefully you know your customer/audience really well. So, it’s up to you to clearly communicate your business, customer profile and business goals to your designer. If you are muddy on your goals, or you’re asking for competing notions (like a really dark, moody design for a website about a cheery kid’s book), you’re going to end up with a muddy website. Sure, it might be beautiful, but if it doesn’t resonate with your audience, it doesn’t matter how beautiful it is. Remember that your web designer is an expert too — an expert in translating what you want your website to do/be into a design that works to meet your goals. Rely on them for this. If you want someone to tell you all your ideas are great, and to create something that was really designed by a committee of you, your Mom, and the person you met recently at the grocery store, don’t be surprised if what you end up with isn’t a great design. Just like you (hopefully) wouldn’t stand over your plumber while they’re working on your new bathroom and tell them that your spouse thought maybe they should put the drain pipe slightly to the left because they heard it’ll work better that way.
• Do your homework. The more prepared you are with your goals, information about your target audience, information about your competition, and likes/dislikes, the easier it’ll be to work with your designer. Think of it this way, if you went into a restaurant not knowing what you want & expected the chef to read your mind, who knows whether you’ll get something you want? If you like Italian food & you’re in an Italian restaurant, you’re on the right track, but no one will be happy if you receive something then send it back again and again because it’s not right.  Don’t be surprised if in such a scenario if everyone gets downright upset or despondent, or things get really expensive. Being prepared means that you’re more likely to find a designer who is a good fit from the outset, and more likely to end up with a site that really works for you quickly and painlessly.
• Be realistic about your budget.  To keep the food analogies going — if you buy a sandwich from a food cart, it’ll be inexpensive and potentially quiet delicious, but it’s not the same experience as a sit-down dinner at a 4-star restaurant — if your feedback is asking for one from the other, you’re likely to be disappointed.  If you’re on a limited budget, work with your designer to get the best bang for your buck, but don’t expect 4-star when you can only afford 2 — that goes for output and service.  Also, it’s unrealistic to expect a designer to continually revise, especially when stabbing in the dark, without charging you to do so.  It’s in your best interest (and that of the bottom line) to be prepared, clear, but also realistic when it comes to your project.
• Don’t make it personal. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and sometimes it’s a struggle. Often that’s because someone wasn’t prepared. But sometimes it’s just the way it goes. It doesn’t do anyone any favors to make it about anything other than what’s best for the project. If both parties are open and responsive, you’ll work through any snags quickly and without any hurt feelings. Mind reading gets you into trouble, and assumptions are rarely helpful so keep your feedback focused and clear and ask questions when you have them. If you ramble on-and-on as a way to work through your ideas, you don’t need to send your ramblings to your designer. Write them up for yourself, then pull out some clear points to send on. Doing so shows respect for your designer and their time, and allows them to respond quickly with a solution.

Related posts:

1. Getting your domain name(s) and web hosting organized

There are lots of reasons that I’ll enumerate below for this redesign, but the most important is the evolution of my business based on the needs and wants I hear about from my existing and potential clients.   The last time I redesigned my website, I was moving from doing both user experience design for software and web design & development, to doing mostly web design & development — so the website reflected that.  I kept the Portfolio section as updated as possible with recent projects, but otherwise it remained the same for about 2 years.  That’s a long time in the life of an online portfolio!

Since then, along with the evolution of social media platforms and people’s understanding of them, blogging platforms have also made huge advances, and as many people are looking for partially-custom budget-friendly websites as are looking for bespoke, unique websites.  Additionally, more and more people better understand how important web marketing is, and how social media can help spread the world about their businesses.

Based on all of the above, here are the things that will change about my website and why:

1. There will be much less text on the Home page: The text on the Home page will be streamlined to efficiently explaining what I do and how to get in touch with me. I had already streamlined text on the last iteration of the design, but I wanted to do it even further in this case to get down to only what is essential. There will be further details in other places on my website, and the job of the Home page is to engage people enough so that they click through to read it. In most cases, people visiting my website want to see examples of my work, know a little bit about me & what it’s like to work with me, and decide whether they want to contact me to work with them. This is different than visitors to my blog, who are looking for information about how to do something, or resources for their project(s). I know this because I’ve regularly checked in on what people are checking out on my site via Google Analytics.
2. The services I offer will be much easier to identify: There’s lots of overlap when it comes to the skill set necessary to design and develop web collateral. And not every designer and developer does the same thing. Often, it can be very confusing for people looking for someone to hire — they don’t know exactly the skill set they need, they just know what they want the end result to be. So, it’s important to be as clear as possible about what I do, and talk about it in terms of what people want the end result to be, eg: blog, website, logo, etc…
3. There will be a better & more efficient way to know how much something will cost: Since there are so many variables to consider, it’s very hard to give someone an estimate without having a conversation about what they need and want. But the form they fill out to get in touch with me can gather more specific information to help me get them a quote more quickly. Also, I can offer semi-custom packages with very specific elements that can be added a-la-carte so that people with a limited budget can choose only what they need/want.
4. The blog will be a part of the site, rather than a separate entity: Beyond the technology change of having the whole site built in Wordpress, I want the blog to be an integrated part of the site rather than a stand-alone entity. Since the blog content I create is closely tied to my the work that I do, and because I want it to be easier for people to jump from the blog content to my portfolio and back again, I’m presenting a consistent navigation across the whole site.

Next time, I’ll talk about the decisions that went into the aesthetics of the redesign & any changes that happen while moving from design to development and why. Stay tuned!

Related posts:

1. Your Own Worst Critic: Designing for Yourself
2. Finding your online identity.

In the magical triad of social media marketing (your blog, Twitter and Facebook profiles), you want to make sure your brand appears in each place – not just in your tone and message, but also in the way it looks. With so much competition for people’s attention, brand synchronicity certainly helps you stick in people’s minds.

You can customize your Facebook page to include any number of tabs, with whatever content you like, but when you stick to one or two beyond the standard “Wall” and “Info” tabs – you’re keeping your message clear and concise.

Here are some guidelines for creating a custom Facebook page that works:

• Craft a message and a design that is appropriate for the Facebook context. This means that you’re not duplicating your website on Facebook, or putting up screenshots of portions of your website, but instead you’re creating content that’s valuable to the Facebook audience & looks great within their website. Let visitors know, briefly, why they should be interested in you and engage with you. Offer up your expertise, and encourage participation & discussion. Facebook, after all, is a social media venue – it’s built on the premise of participation. We all know that a one-sided conversation isn’t much fun. Coca-cola’s Facebook presence was actually first created by some devoted fans, who still actively participate in the official Coca-cola page, and are featured heavily throughout as founders of their Facebook community… what a great way to encourage community.
• Unless you have lots of traction on your Wall page, and you’re monitoring it regularly for content, make the default tab your custom page. And give your tab an interesting name!
• Create an interesting and engaging Profile image that extends your brand.
• Use events and competitions to encourage people to join your community, and tell their friends about it. If you offer something valuable to your constituency, like a free consulting session, or some merchandise, in exchange for numbers of fans reached, or user-generated content being featured on your page, they’re much more likely to participate. Offer special content to those who become fans, and invite discussion so they’ll stick around!
• Link to your other places where people can learn more about you and what you offer to them – your Twitter acct to learn news, and your blog for longer-form content and resources, and, of course, your website – especially if something can be purchased there. Link directly to the pages you want people to go – don’t just dump them on your Home page and expect them to find their own way.
• Use multimedia content to keep it interesting – fresh video content is interesting, and engages your audience on another level – and, if you have the resources, a custom Facebook app is another great value-add that not only makes *your* page more interesting, but gives people the opportunity to install and use your app, keeping their attention on what you’re doing more often. A webinar is one of the things you could offer to your friends, and after it’s over, you can show it as an example of content available to fans first.

For some GREAT inspiration, check out this site that displays killer Facebook pages: http://www.customfacebookpage.com

And if you’re looking for someone to create one for you, get in touch!

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1. Tweet Your Blog
2. Advertising: Putting yourself out there and accepting ads on your own site
3. Client Spotlight: Ann Levine, Law School Expert

1. Present information to your users in a clear and concise way.
2. Remove any ambiguity regarding the consequences of an action e.g. clicking on delete/remove/purchase.
3. Organize your content so that it’s obvious how to use the site.

…there are also specific usability & user experience guidelines for each web niche, including author and book websites.  Having designed many author and book websites, and tracked analytics to determine design success, here are some guidelines I’ve come up with that help create a great user experience for author and book website: 

• Be sure the site visitor knows who you are.  Even if your website is designed to mimic the universe created by your story, people still want to know about the person behind it.  It’s a way of building trust with your audience, and a way for them to further invest in what you’re doing.  For example, Chelsea Cain’s website does a GREAT job reinforcing her genre through the design of her site, while also celebrating her as the author:
  
• Write the text for the site in a similar tone to your book.   Did you write a self-help book that offers advice in the first person?   Or, a romance novel filled with beautiful, lengthy descriptions?   Website text should follow some specific guidelines itself, but you want a continuity of experience between your presence on the web, and your presence within your book(s).  Jacqueline Mallorca, The Gluten Free Cook, does a great job writing her website content in the same friendly, approachable manner as her cookbooks:
  
• Design the site as an extension of the brand you have built through your cover art.  You don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your site navigation or layout, but make sure the design of your website enhances your book cover(s) without overtaking it, and has the same attention to detail.  Whether your cover design is clean and modern, or moody and painterly – you want the experience with your site to envelop the user with that same feeling.  It’ll help the experience on the web *and* brand recognition.  Here’s a great example:
  
• Say what you mean & make your links explicit.  This is not a time to be vague and mysterious – if you’re offering a top-ten tips list based on advice in your book, say something like “Discover my Top Ten Tips for ________” and make the entire thing a link.  If users know what to expect, they’re more likely to click the link – as opposed to a link that says, “What are you doing to help _______?”  This idea can be used in lists, on buttons, within the text, etc…    Don’t hide high-value things away on other pages of the site without clearly telling your user about them on the Home page.  Here’s an example that highlights the excerpt, an interactive timeline, and the author’s social media links in an unambiguous way:
  
• Give people an easy way to get in touch and/or participate, including (and especially) the press.  Everyone hates a website where you have to hunt around for a way to get in contact (hello cell phone companies!), but when you’re marketing something it’s even more important that people find it easy to ask questions and get more information.  You don’t have to give our your personal email address – maybe you have a publicist, or you create a web form, or an 800 number people can use to leave a voicemail…  there are many options, but you don’t want to cut yourself off when opportunity comes knocking.  In addition, you want to provide the press with the majority of what they need right on the site – this includes a press release for the book launch, whether you’re available for interviews, some see interview questions, and an author bio.  Make it as easy as possible for people to promote you!  Malcolm Gladwell’s site doesn’t do the best job of titling the page, but once you’re there it provides all the info people might need:
  
• Offer more than just the basics.  Whether you wrote a novel, a how-to guide, or a cookbook, there will be something else you can add to bring your book to life.  How about a free recipe?  Or a worksheet for getting something accomplished?  Or a snippet of extra content?   Just like everyone loves the Special Features on a DVD, your website is an opportunity to enrich the experience for your audience, and keep them wanting more.  Your value add doesn’t have to be a huge investment, but you can be quite creative with it.  Dr. John Telford’s site about his memoir offers images of the events covered in the book, an interactive timeline of major events in his life, and a video of him talking about his experiences:

Related posts:

1. Client Spotlight: Diana Raab, author of Regina’s Closet
2. Getting your book reviewed
3. Client Spotlight: Bill Trimble, author of Screw It! I’ll Be My Own Contractor