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Web Sites: Keep Users in Mind

Web marketing expert Ed Schipul says that most Web users are focused on themselves and what they want to accomplish, so Web sites must be designed with the user in mind. Schipul says Web sites need to be created differently from other media because Web users are incredibly impatient and increasingly smart. "It's not that information seekers are self-focused all the time, but rather that while on the Web, users are on a mission," Schipul says. To attract such impatient and intelligent customers, Schipul says Web sites should have a strong marketing headline that focuses on the site's visitors, even larger than the company name, logo, or tag line. Make the product or service the focus of the home page, using pictures and video to illustrate what customers can expect, and link directly from those images to other pages that provide additional information. Use the same color scheme and company logo on every page so the customer knows where they are. Adding creative content, such as write-in contest, before and after photos, or personalized accounts will keep customers interested and excited to work with your company. Web sites do no good if no one visits them, so market your site by putting the Web address on business cards, in the phone book, and basically everywhere you put your companies phone number, such as brochures, invoices, direct mail, coupons, letterhead, and email signatures, and create voice mail greetings that offer callers the opportunity to learn more information by visiting your Web site.

"Web Sites: Keep Users in Mind"
San Antonio Express-News (TX) (05/13/07) Beck, Dave