I received some comments from my IMedia readers and, as is my want, I'll share them here along with my responses (when appropriate). First up, from NetFlix regarding Websites: The Secret to Landing Pages and Shopping Carts, "Really enjoyed the article.
Who doesn't like an accurate microsite? It's like the difference between great service at your table and a crowded casino buffet."
My thanks. I do my best to provide worthwhile information to my readers.
Another reader wrote
I have subscribed to the a few of Imedia's Newsletters for quite a few months now. I've just been reading your articles about web design, specifically the 6 colors and the one about whitespace, simplicity and 3D. I have a website which I've been working on more then a year now, [the reader included a link. The site provides a place for visitors to post personal creative content]. I've done every bit of work on the site myself. I imagine you have no desire to see yet another amateur and his garish website. However, I honestly believe that I have managed to put together a fairly agreeable site even with all the ads.
My question to you is; do you think I need to pay a web designer to fix things up or despite my complete lack of artistic talent, is my site, at the very least not garish?
I eagerly await your judgment.
Wishing you a most pleasant day,
My response follows... Hello,
First, thanks for reading my writing. My hope is that I'm providing actionable information to folks out there.
Second, I was just on your site. You ask if it's "garish" which my dictionary defines as "tastelessly showy" with synonyms of "gaudy, loud, tawdry, trashy, tacky, brassy, cheap, ..."
I rarely offer opinions without knowing a lot more detail about marketing material's intentions. I don't think I've ever used the above terms, even in private, to describe someone's work. Nor do I judge. Not my style and not what I'm qualified to do. I will post some quick thoughts on my blog.
That brings us here, to my thoughts.
- The ultimate goal is that a site communicate as best as possible with its intended audience.
- There is a catch in the above; who is the intended audience? Is the intended audience the actual audience?
- Discovering a site's actual audience is a simple affair; what demographic is generating the most traffic on the site? This is where the first gap can and often does occur; the intended and actual audiences differ, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.
Please contact NextStage for information regarding presentations and trainings on this and other topics.
Links for this post:
- NextStage Case Study: Site-Penetration Up 225%, Time-On-Site Up 300%, Conversions Up 20% in Four Months
- NextStage Trainings:
- Shared Traits of Great Web Design
- Usability Studies 101: Follow the Eye
- IMedia Brand Summit on 9-12 Sept 07
- XChange on 20-21 Sept 07
- DC Emetrics Summit on 14-17 Oct '07
- Society for New Communications Research Annual Research Symposium & Awards Gala on 5-6 Dec 07 in Boston.
Comment Preview