Web Site Makeover or, Increase your site’s conversion

Who we are: Bret Giles, President Rich Spinabella, Senior User Experience Engineer 39 people and a hand puppet

Why consider a makeover?

Why consider a makeover?

Why consider a makeover?

What we will do: Conduct a whirlwind tour of industry sites Step through the user experience of a typical apartment-finding site Examine one site in excruciating detail Summarize what you can do for yourself An ongoing commentary (Bret and me), hopefully interactive (you): User experience best practices sprinkled throughout

Conduct a whirlwind tour of industry sites

Step through the user experience of a typical apartment-finding site

Examine one site in excruciating detail

Summarize what you can do for yourself

How we do it (part 1): We consider real data: Research provides the foundation for our 135 website best practices. Analytics give us specific data about real site conditions. Testing and measurement give us real-world information. We analyze what the data means: Marketing demographics and psychographics help us develop personas about our target audience. Business goals provide context.

BP: Build community BP: Anticipate customer needs BP: Be credible

BP: Prioritize your content

BP: Present clear calls to action

BP: Keep the user ‘on the scent’

BP: Segment your audience BP: Build community

BP: Tell people who you are BP: Motivate your audience

BP: Communicate your content BP: Provide value

BP: Differentiate your offering BP: Anticipate customer needs

BP: Speak to your audience BP: Motivate your audience

BP: Differentiate your offering BP: Anticipate customer needs

BP: It’s about the content BP: Anticipate customer needs

BP: Present clear calls to action BP: Communicate your content BP: Anticipate customer needs

BP: Keep important content ‘above the fold’ (especially on the Home page)

BP: Provide a clear path to completion BP: Make it easy for the customer

BP: Anticipate customer needs BP: Anticipate customer needs BP: It’s about the content

BP: Present clear calls to action BP: It’s about the content BP: Make it easy for the customer

BP: Anticipate customer needs BP: Present clear calls to action ? BP: Make it easy for the customer

BP: Present clear calls to action BP: Don’t distract the customer if they are doing what you want them to do

How we do it (part 2): First, we’ll look at existing site pages and assess them against best practices. Second, I’ll show you some simple redesigns to improve usability and conversion. Tear it down Build it up

Thank you Gina Scheffel Hamilton Zanze & Co.

Designers Gone Wild

Golf Course Too broad… Too narrow…

The landing page

10 Things to Increase Your Conversion 1. Make your Home Page clear and direct. Differentiate. 2. Identify your target audience and write for them. 5. Put an appropriate call to action on every page. 3. Provide value for your audience and answer their questions. Be transparent. 4. Create a clear ‘path to completion’ for the things your audience want to do. Remove obstacles!

10 Things to Increase Your Conversion 7. Build urgency into your message. 6. Provide a ‘scent trail’ throughout your site. 9. Build your site ‘search engine friendly’. 8. Use creative design to enhance, not obscure, your site. 10. Test and use analytics to measure and monitor your performance.

Bret Giles Rich Spinabella Thank you!