How to Give Feedback to Web Designers

You have a vision of the website you are looking for but you can’t seem to explain what you want in a way that makes any sense to humans. Trust us. We get it.

Here’s a list of ways to not only help you translate your vision into something a caveman could understand but also to help make the process of asking for changes and updates as seamless as possible.

  1. Come on in: If you’re a business in Bakersfield, stop by our office to have a chat. We are located in a pretty sick basement (no, that’s not a joke) under a sushi restaurant (still not joking). So come on down and maybe even grab a bite to eat after.
  2. Start with the Reasoning: Give the reasoning behind why you want things a certain way. Even if it’s something as simple as wanting a section at the bottom of your homepage to be moved to the top, tell us why; we might have some ideas on how to further achieve what you’re looking for.
  3. Itemized lists are Amazing! We love them!: Make a list of what you would like to see on your website. List tabs and content you would like on each page, etc. Don’t worry about your writing, our in-house writer will pretty everything up for you later. This is also helpful when asking for changes. Just tell us the page the change is on and where on the page it is. Sending a link to the page is also useful and helps us get through your changes faster.
  4. Sample Sites: We are a very visual group, so providing examples of exactly what you are looking for is a huge help for us to better understand your vision.
  5. Responsive: We understand that you’re busy, you know, running your business, but the longer it takes for us to get feedback, the longer it takes for us to get your website ready to launch. We always have a bunch of projects going on at once so quick responses are a great way to ensure that your website gets the attention it needs. Especially since we will probably be stuck waiting for another client to respond and jump on your project in the mean-time (insider scoop). We are also computer geeks who rarely leave our desks, so feel free to call our office if you don’t have time to type out an email. (661)327-3825.

Content is King

Why regularly updating your website matters now more than ever in a digital era.

In one of our earlier blog posts, we explained what Bounce Rate is on a website, and how having a high volume of people visiting your website means nothing when if they aren’t sticking around. That’s the difference between having a usable website, and a useful one. Anyone can make a usable website that looks great and functions properly, but without a useful destination that addresses reader needs, you’ll be left with a high rate of disengaged traffic looking elsewhere to fulfill their needs.

Gone are the days…

when you could simply put up a website, add a few pages plus an FAQ section, and call it good. Many factors contribute to a successful web presence, but one of the most overlooked is regularly published content. Your business is constantly evolving in response to changing markets, new trends, and fresh products, so why isn’t your website? Product descriptions, emerging trends in your industry, even documenting company culture all help to position your website as an opinion leader, or at the very least keep it relevant in a market that’s constantly evolving.

Never fear!

Of course, creating good content takes time that you never have enough of. We’re here to help. Content creation is one of our many services at Ugly Duck Marketing, and we have experience writing for a wide variety of clients and markets. The rapidly changing business environment of today demands entertaining information. Give us a call today and tell us about your company. We’ll find a marketing solution that works for you and your audience.

“Can you make the logo bigger?”

Blog Source: Stryve Marketing 

“Can you make the logo bigger?” is the most requested design edit that we receive and we understand that you take pride in your logo — and you should. After all, you have likely invested a lot into the creation and credibility it holds. No wonder you fear the thought of it being overlooked! However, your logo shouldn’t be the first thing people see. Let us explain why.

Your logo isn’t important, your message is

Your target audience is more interested in learning about your product and/or service and how they could benefit from it. This messaging takes priority over your logo and is what needs to catch and hold their attention. Your logo shouldn’t be more overpowering than the headline or call to action. Instead, its purpose is to identify the company and the reputation it holds.

Your brand is not your logo

The recognition of your brand does not rest solely on your logo. There are other design elements that can be leveraged to ensure that your brand is recognizable. Take Apple for example; they are instantly recognized by their imagery, use of white space, typography and messaging. The logo is noticed last as a confirmation that you’re in the right place. This is the ultimate goal of good branding.

Bigger isn’t better

Take note of the clean and simplistic designs from some of the most successful and professional brands out there today such as Nike or IBM. Their logos are modest in size. People are naturally drawn to what’s attractive and easy to understand. Oversized logos, on the other hand, are aggressive and tacky; think of it as visually shouting at your consumers. While your logo is a valuable asset to your brand and overall marketing strategy, it is only a small component. Focus more on the overall visual communication of your design and the impact your product or service will have on your customer. Done correctly, this is what will make people returning customers, not your logo. We promise.

 

Full Article: here

The Benefits of Scroll Focused Web Designs

The debate on scrolling has been discussed thoroughly among web designers everywhere and though each company may have their preference and opinion, what it really comes down to is what is the best option for the client.

In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of both the scroll-oriented approach and the click-oriented approach. We will also address some questions that you should ask yourself or your client when trying to decide which approach to take.

What is A Scrolling Website

The best explanation of scrolling that we have come across is John Herman’s quote about Twitter and their scroll-heavy design approach.

“If there’s one lesson to take from every major change in how people browse the internet over the last five years…it’s that users hate to click and don’t mind scrolling…Clicking is a choice, like jumping; scrolling is inevitable, like falling.”

Clicking requires a conscious effort and commitment while scrolling is inevitable and a lot of times done automatically; without thinking. This mindset has largely been influenced by the broad use of smart phones and touch screens. This is not to say that clicking has completely lost its use and functionality but if you are creating a site whose followers will most often be accessing its contents through mobile devices, scrolling is probably the smartest way for you to go.

Are your viewers familiar with your products or do they need to be guided?

If your customers already know exactly what they are looking for when they visit your site, then a click-heavy design will be beneficial to them because they are already committed to the idea of clicking on whatever will lead them to their desired destination. However, like most growing businesses, if you are hoping to drive potential customers who know nothing about your product, to your site, it is most often more beneficial to have a scroll heavy design approach.

Think of it this way; if you were going to visit a site that you are not very familiar with, the idea of picking a destination to explore first might be overwhelming and a lot of times people have mere minutes that they are willing to devote to curiosity before moving on. Don’t let them waste those precious minutes on deciding where to click. Instead, allow them to scroll seamlessly through your site, making sure they see everything you would want a new visitor to encounter.

Original Web Design, Goes Back To Newspaper Print.

To understand why the jump to scrolling may be difficult for some people to take, we need to go back to the roots of printing. When the internet was first created it was largely modeled off of newspaper print and its, “above the fold” concept; meaning, it was imperative to get reader’s attention from just the information above the halfway fold on the front page. And this made complete sense for the internet as well because, in theory, whatever is on the home screen will be what influences the user’s impression of the entire site.

However, as advances in web design software developed, new design possibilities arrived and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter ran with the advances. Launching fully scrolling, single-page sites, it was discovered that, as a whole, people really do prefer to scroll. And in fact, studies have shown that 66% of visitors to a site spend most of their time exploring the content that appears “below the fold.”

Control Your Story.

One of the largest selling points for a lot of web designers and business owners alike, is that scrolling allows you to not only create but control “the story.” In other words, you have the power to control what the viewer sees first, second, third, and so forth. The look and feel of the site can be relayed exactly the way you want it to and a lot of times you can succeed in influencing a viewer to click on a link that has nothing to do with their original reason for coming to the site.

Everyone’s needs are different and no client is the same. But as experts, we agree with the studies. If you want your website to function properly and produce ultimate reach results, a scroll heavy design is the way to go!

Scrolling vs Clicking: Pros & Cons

Pros for Scrolling:

  • Speed: Scrolling is faster than clicking, and enables the user to view a lot of information without the page load slowing down, or breaking his/her concentration.
  • Non-committal: Scrolling doesn’t require the user to make a decision; it’s a noncommittal action. Clicking requires a conscious decision which means that your audience needs to know what they want and be motivated to get there. For many sites, you won’t want to bank on this.
  • Storytelling: Single page design is a wonderful vehicle for powerful and creative storytelling.
  • Mobile & Touch Friendly: Scrolling is an easy and natural interaction for touch screen devices
  • Scrolling is Inevitable: The verdict is in, with the advent of social media feeds like Facebook and Twitter, and the use of touch screen mobile devices, scrolling is the most natural and intuitive action for a user on the web; it’s what we’ve been trained to do.
  • Getting to the Point: Single page sites force businesses to distil their vision into one page, making their brand clearer and more powerful than if it were divvied out page by page.

Cons for Scrolling:

  • Never-ending: If the page is too long there is a danger of information overload for the user who continues to scroll with no end in sight.
  •  Analytics: It is harder to track the bounce rate and other web analytics (although this is becoming less and less of an issue as web single page analytics tools are popping up to solve this problem)
  • Performance: Single pages can have performance issues. Heavy page weights and media intensive sites can be slow to load.
  •  Search: Single page sites can be less efficient for finding a very specific piece of information
  • Expensive and less flexible: Scroll heavey websites require much more attention to design.
  • Producing the design is more time-intensive and takes continuous collaboration between client and designer as the page evolves.

Pros for Clicking:

  • Users have control: User “chooses their own adventure” by controlling where they go and what information they are interested in. This is only a good thing if this is in line with the business strategy.
  • Organization: Dividing content into separate pages helps create organized and clear delineations between information.
  • Analytics: Tracking clicks on the site is much easier.
  • Search Engine Optimization: Multiple pages will be indexed and keywords will be scanned within the context of their specific page.
  • Scalability: Able to handle enormous amounts of content and information

Cons for Clicking:

  • Decision making: User has to make a conscious decision on where they want to go next on the website
  • Commitment: Clicking is a committal action and if a user is not ready to make that jump, they may leave the site
  • Concentration: Waiting for a new page to load breaks a user’s flow of concentration
  • Speed: Clicking is slower and is at the mercy of page load
    Out-dated: It can feel dated when compared to the modern single scroll websites out there
Resources:
Why long scrolling sites have become awesome
Web design trends 2015-16: the long scroll
Infinite Scrolling: Let’s Get To The Bottom Of This

6 Ways Your Website Communicates With Your Readers

What A Bounce Rate Can Tell You About Your Users

One of the many stats that Google Analytics tells you is the percentage of people who leave your site after only visiting one page – this is known as your ‘bounce rate‘. If the bounce rate is a percentage is high, like 80 or 90%, then visitors aren’t actively exploring your site. Website owners want a low bounce rate because you want visitors to explore aspects of your website, and then contact you or complete the desired action on your site (i.e., make a purchase). So what is a good first step to take…. we believe it’s to make a really good first impression!

6 Simple Tips To Make Your Website More User-Friendly

Google did a research study in 2012 about the visual complexity of websites, and no surprise found that simpler is better. Our brains like and expect familiarity, and make a go/no-go decision about complexity in a split second. Here are six ways that your Website communicates simplicity and invites visitors to want to learn more:

  1. Design for multiple devices – Responsive design means that your site adjusts to the reader’s device – tablet, PC, or phone. If you only do one thing for your site, making sure that you have a responsive design is the most important.
  2. Simplify navigation – Use menu tabs to direct the visitor to specific interests. Sub-pages (pages within the tab) can also simplify the information visitors want. Take a look at your navigation, or better yet, ask someone who hasn’t seen your site in a while to evaluate how easy it is to find info they want.
  3. Get rid of pop-ups – Computers have pop-up blockers for a reason – they’re annoying! If you want ads on your site, place them on the edges instead.
  4. Pay attention to color (or NO color) – It’s easier to read sites that have a lot of white space. Your company may have a color scheme, but don’t over-do it. It’s all about making info easy to find and read.
  5. Get to the point — Site content must be concise and clearly present benefits. Avoid long paragraphs and break up the content with sub-heads to let the reader jump to what’s most important.
  6. Take a top-down approach – Put the most important info first, so that a reader can quickly find what they want to know, then read more. Don’t make the visitor work too hard.

Keeping your Website up-to-date is a discipline that pays off with strong first impressions. Talk with us about how we can help.