Erich Stauffer

Tag: Success

  • Erich Stauffer Reviews “6 Website Fixes to Make Now”

    This is a review of an article originally published on Entrepreneur.com on April 28, 2009 entitled, “6 Website Fixes to Make Now,” by Mike Werling. This article is for small business owners and entrepreneurs who may or may not have a webmaster or web designer and it assumes that everyone is on the same page that every business needs a website.  Werling’s thesis is that, “Relatively minor issues can drag down your site’s effectiveness,” and that these issues could be costing your business money.  We couldn’t agree more, but lets go down the list.

    Website fix #1 is, “Increase the speed.” It’s not about streamlining your site for dial-up users anymore.  Even broadband users can enjoy a fast-loading site while other are increasingly browsing the Internet using their cell phones or PDAs, which also can have slower connections.  Werling writes that technology for tech’s sake is no longer in fashion, which is also Website Fix #3.  Even Flash, which is on 99% of all computers is not as sought after as it once was even, “just a few years ago.”  Werling quotes Ben Rushlo,  director of Keynote Consulting for Phoenix-based Keynote Systems, a service provider that improves online business performance, “People now view [Flash] as annoying. They’d rather read information.” Rushlo recommends using the smallest file sizes for images as well as putting any, “non-essential” pictures towards the bottom of the page to, “help the important information pop up quickly.”

    Website fix #2 is, “Write better product descriptions. ” This has mostly to do with e-commerce solutions and shopping cart design, but we can apply some of these suggestions to anything message you are trying to get across online, whether it be selling a product, service, or an idea.  Werling says all descriptions should be, “Succinct and filler-free.”  One of our web designers tells the story of a supervisor at a previous job declaring a, “No Fluff Zone,” for all client-facing material.  Werling agrees, but says it, “Can be difficult because, as Amy Schade says, you need to, ‘Convince [users] the product meets their needs,” but the verbiage. ‘Has to be short and descriptive.’”  Werling goes on to say that, “There’s no salesperson available on a website, so [users],  “Should be able to see a product and know what it does,’ says Schade.” A director at the Nielsen Norman Group in New York City, Schade is also co-author of the second edition of the “E-Commerce User Experience” report.

    Website Fix #3 is, “Delete tech used for the sake of tech.” This fix is sort of a combination of fixes 1 and 2.  In order to speed up a website, you get rid of slow-loading flash (Fix #1) and any fluff (Fix #2) that doesn’t really propel your website’s goal forward.  Rushlo says, “[Site owners] need to evaluate if things like music, video and 360-degree views are necessary.”  Werling writes that Schade subscribes to Rushlo’s view, “[Schade] says to beware the trendy and new. Anything business owners jump on because it is the latest and greatest has the potential to backfire, especially if entrepreneurs don’t have the resources to keep up with all of the moving parts of their sites. Things like Facebook pages and video are fun; and social networking is quickly becoming an integral part of many businesses’ marketing platforms, but business owners need to weigh a technology’s popularity against their ability to utilize it fully.”

    Website Fix #4 is, “Improve shopping cart and payment options,” but we are going to call this, “Improving the functional design of your website.” Users can be irrational.  The smallest hangup or hint of mistrust can make them change their mind on whether or not they are going to use your product or service.  Yes, shopping carts should have the same look and feel of the rest of the site, but they shouldn’t require setting up an account, for example and of course the site should be trusted and secure.  If you cannot afford a secure certificate for your website or do not want or need to setup that type of environment, Paypal is a perfectly acceptable solution that users trust.  The checkout process or any other primary aim of your website should instill confidence, not regret.  Be as transparent as you can.  Let users know how the information will be used and kept.  This is sometimes called a privacy statement.  Transparency is also a top business trend for 2009.

    Website Fix #5 is, “Use unique page titles on every page.” This is more of a SEO tip than anything, but nevertheless true.  SEO stands for search engine optimization.  It’s what you do on your site to make it more appealing to search engines like Google or Yahoo.  Page titles, what is displayed at the top of your browser window, are important and they should be different for every page.  Each page should have a different description, keywords, and H1 tag, just as a baseline.  There are many other things you can do to improve SEO, but changing the titles on your page is one of the most important.  If you use H1 tags, make sure they are only used once per page.  Use H2 or font tags for other titles on your page.  Use a Strong tag around items that are especially important.  Some CMS programs like WordPress default to using Strong instead of Bold tags.

    Website Fix #6 is, “Shorten forms.” This dovetails into Website Fix #2 and 4.  Basically,  Werling recommends removing what isn’t necessary. If you don’t need the user’s physical address, for example, don’t ask for it.  Werling writes, “Only ask for the information you really need. ” In summary, business websites should be fast-loading and fluff-free.  Give the user just enough to make a desicion. Remove anything that isn’t necessary in order to not annoy the user and improve speed.  We think this is great advice.  If you would like help making any of the above changes to your company’s website, please contact us.  Erich Stauffer is  an Indianapolis web design firm serving the entire Midwest region and beyond.  We offer web design and development services for all types and sizes of businesses.

  • Does Your Local Business Need a Website?

    If you want to attract new customers, the answer is easy.

    Websites may be the most overlooked vehicle of advertising for local, small office, home office businesses. We believe every business, no matter how big or small needs a website. Every dentist, lawyer, accountant, and church needs one. Every café, restaurant, coffee shop and nightclub needs one. Every wholesale supply or landscaping company needs one.

    We’re not suggesting that all businesses need to transact business online, we’re only saying that everyone listed in yesterday’s yellow pages needs to also be available on the Internet today. Why? Because your customers expect it. That’s where they are looking first and foremost.

    If you’re thinking you might not be able to afford putting up a website, think again. Roy H. Williams of Entrepreneur Magazine said that, “For a simple website, a budget of $2,000 to $5,000 for construction and $100 to $400 for monthly maintenance and updates should cover it. Robust sites with streaming video, opt-in subscriber functions and other, more complicated features can run between $12,000 and $20,000 for construction and $500 to $2,000 for monthly maintenance and updates.”

    A properly constructed website allows your prospects to gather the information they need from the privacy of their Internet connection. Ask yourself what questions your sales team gets every day? Then ask yourself how would your best sales team member phrase their responses on his or her best day? This is the type of information that needs to be available 24/7 on your website.

    Think of your website as a relationship strengthener, a kind of halfway point between your regular advertising and your front office. Do you think it’s easier to convince customers to visit your website or to convince them to get in their vehicle, drive to your establishment, park, get out, and walk in your door?

    The Internet has allowed the introverted half of our population to explore in ways they never would have otherwise. Introverts strongly prefer to gather information anonymously and are unlikely to dial your phone number, except as a last resort. Even more unlikely is that they’ll choose to walk into your store and engage a salesperson. Introverts aren’t necessarily shy–they simply like to gather all the facts before they put themselves in a position where they’ll likely be asked to answer questions. Half of all your customers strongly prefer to know what they’re coming in to buy before they walk in your door. And even the other half of your target market, the extroverts, will appreciate an informative website that functions as an expert salesperson during all those hours you’re not open for business.

    Don’t think for a moment that your customers aren’t already on the Internet looking around at your competition. When several hundred people were recently asked, “How many of you have used a search engine within the past seven days to research a product or service that you were considering purchasing?”, 85 to 90 percent of the crowd raised their hand, according to Williams. He goes on to tell the story that occured during a trade show in Las Vegas, he was the keynote speaker for a trade
    organization whose 1,600 delegates had been gathered from around the world. He was there to deliver a speech on the keys to more effective advertising. The trade organization published a full-color magazine for their members, and prior to this conference, the executive council had been complaining to him privately about the high cost of publishing and shipping that magazine. He was waiting offstage and while the emcee was introducing him, the chairman leaned over and whispered to him, “Almost all our membership is over 55 years of age, so you probably don’t want to mention the Internet.” Once again, Roy asked this roomful of oldsters, “How many of you have used a search engine within the past seven days to research a product or service that you were considering purchasing?”. The answer? Roughly 95 percent.

    Does your local business need a website?

  • A Smattering of Twitter Directories

    Twitter, a micro-blogging service which allows users to post up to 140 characters at a time, is still in its research phase, but in Web 2.0 terms, its fast becoming a juggernaut. You may have noticed its use in mass media like CNN and NPR. Although Twitter usage has grown 1689% in the last year (2008), it is still dwarfed by Facebook which has more than 175 million users compared to Twitter’s 1.78 million. It may be unfair to compare the two however, as they are two completely different types of services. Facebook is more full featured while Twitter does one thing, but does it very well. One thing they don’t offer is a directory services, so a few companies have been filling that need and piggybacking on Twitter’s success by creating Twitter directories.

    Currently the five major Twitter directories are Just Tweet It, We Follow, Twit Town, Twit Dir, and Twibs. Just Tweet It is currently the most popular, but Twibs and We Follow have a strong chance of overtaking Just Tweet It. Twibs is a business directory and is currently paying for online advertising until their SEO base can allow their site to rise to the top. We Follow is ran by Digg founder, Kevin Rose so it is sure to be a player, but in this Economy 2.0, nothing is for certain. One thing you can count on is content and right now the only ones creating it are the Twitter users themselves. If that dries up, Twitter, and all its directories, go with it. That does not seem to be happening though. Even MySpace, which has stopped growing as fast, has not started to decline even in the face of its biggest competitor, Facebook. There is probably even room for Twitter competition like Plurk in this vast, virtual place we call the Internet.

  • Is a “Green” Website Possible?

    What makes a website “green”? Green can be defined as using less energy because the less energy used, the less needs produced. Fossil fuels are a large part of energy production, but they also create gasses that harm our environment. There are things we can do in the real world to be more green. A home, for example, is much easier to make green by adding insulation or turning down the thermostat. Buying a vehicle that uses less energy is also considered green, but how can a website be green? Lets take a look at how a website works from a physical standpoint and then from a virtual one to determine if a website can indeed become green.

    A website is hosted on a computer running somewhere on this planet Earth. That computer is most likely a server running in a data center, which may or may not be eco-friendly. It is probably greener than it was a couple of years ago due to computer chip manufacturing companies like Intel and AMD who have been producing chips that use less and less energy. This helps cut electricity to run the servers and in air conditioning to cool them down.

    When a website is requested from anywhere in the world, the requesting computer is also using electricity as well as the all the networking equipment along the path to get from the data center to the computer. Initially you might think that adding up the servers at the data center, the hubs, switches, and routers along the way, and your computer might add up to a lot of energy and that websites might not have a chance to be green. And you would be right, but consider that these things are already on anyway and it doesn’t take any more power to run them whether you access a website or not and you might be feeling a little bit better about surfing.

    From a web designer’s standpoint, there are some things we can do. We can make black backgrounds which reduce the amount of energy cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors need to display the website, but everyday more people are switching to using liquid crystal displays (LCD) instead, which use the same amount of energy regardless of the color. Not every design can be done in black and so there are other things we can do, as web designers. We can encourage users not to print forms and create PDF versions or custom web forms to cut down on paper. Sometimes being green is more than just saving energy and reducing greenhouse gases. Sometimes its about saving trees which also help reduce greenhouse gases.

    So can a website be green? Absolutely. If all things remain the same and the only change we make as web designers is to keep the environment in our design process, then the website can be green. It is up to us, up to all of us, to do our due diligence to preserve our environment and continue to innovate in ways that help us all. If you need help innovating your website, consider the Indianapolis web design company, Erich Stauffer.

  • Who Limits Your Success?

    This is a guest post by Zac Parsons. Enjoy. – Erich

    Seriously.  Think about that question.  Maybe first you need to look at how you define success, but that’s easy because the only person that this question matters to….is YOU!  Maybe you define success by how much money you make.  Maybe its how many people respect you.  Perhaps its how close you feel to God.  We all know of a place in our lives or a state of being that we wish we were at.  Something that we are working towards.  The closer we get to there, the more successful we feel.

    So, maybe your parents didn’t teach you the right things, or did teach you the WRONG things.  Maybe you didn’t have the best teachers growing up, or you couldn’t afford the right kind of schooling/training after high school.  Maybe your friends just don’t have the tools or attitudes that you need to move closer to “success”.  Is your town the right place you need to be in to achieve that success?

    Ok, now think about how many of those things are in your control.  How many of those problems are based on choices that you have made or continue to make?  Ok, so the parents doesn’t really seem like a choice.  But, if you can identify that some of the things taught to you were right and others were wrong, then you are close to identifying what you need to add or subtract in order to reach you closer to your goal.  Then, once you have identified those things, you have to ask yourself the question:  “How do I assimilate those things into my life?”  So, once you answer that question, it is a matter of choosing to follow it or not.

    Laziness

    It is nearly impossible to find a successful person that is lazy.  Now, there are some people that work HARD, and are not successful in the way that they say they want to be.  As we all probably know, the key is working SMARTER.  Creative thinking, and understanding WHAT you want are key to being successful on your terms.  But, once you have developed some ideas, you have to DO them!  This is where I have tripped myself up in the past.  Sometimes I call it fear, but a lot of the times, I know that it is just laziness.

    I have to understand and believe that I have the power to change the situations around me.  I live in freaking America in 2009!  I have the opportunity to change my location, my vocation, my education, my social compilation, my sexual orientation, and ANYTHING ELSE!  Who’s stopping me?  Who’s stopping you?  Quit being a victim.  Go change the world.  Start with yourself.