Goal Oriented Design

Here's some recommended reading...Ben Hunt makes the case for something called "Goal Oriented Design." It's a clever twist on the famous Jesse James Garrett model that highlights the importance of understanding the difference between user needs and site objectives.

Users, publishers, and advertisers all have goals. Focusing on and balancing the goals of each group is a vital component of effective web design.

Segmentation: Lessons from the magazine stand

Most websites serve more than one audience. Your visitors may differ in age, interest, location, current customer vs. new, domestic vs. international, etc. Many websites try some form of audience segmentation in order to better meet the needs of their diverse audiences. The goal is to divide the audience into distinct subsets (segments) that behave in the same way or have similar needs.

Banking websites often employ a segmentation strategy. They have different products for different audiences so their homepages often present those options immediately, basically asking the visitor to identify themselves as a member of a segment. See Vanguard.com for an example.

Next time you're at the magazine stand, notice how the magazines are arranged. It's usually not done alphabetically. Nor by price or publisher. Usually the magazines are arranged by topic or interest. Cosmo is near Elle and Vogue in the fashion section. Business Week is near Inc. and The Economist.

But often it doesn't don't stop there. The fashion magazines are grouped with decorating, cooking, celebrity gossip and other "women's interests." Sports, business, outdoors, and technology magazines are in a "men's interests" section. Puzzles, coloring, games and cartoons are in a "kids" section.

The photo to the right shows an example of this. The upper rows are more "men's interests" with women's interests and "kids" magazines on the lower levels. This is audience segmentation based on assumed interest. The shelves in this example would also correspond to being at the average height of the intended audience. (Men are on average taller than women who are taller than most children.)

So the segmentation is serving to present items that may be of interest to a particular audience and make it easy for that audience to find things. Importantly, this type of segmentation doesn't prohibit users from crossing the shelf lines and buying a magazine from a different section. A man may want a puzzle book from the bottom shelf and a woman may want a business mag from the top.

In my experience with segmentation on websites, where it doesn't work is when users think they are missing out on choices by identifying themselves. Imagine how you would feel if a bookstore tried to get you to self-identify as a man, woman or child and then only showed you magazines it deemed relevant for you.

Ultimately audience segmentation is something that many sites need to do well. But you should employ a segmentation strategy, not merely to market more targeted messages, but to improve your customers' user experience and serve them better. If your customers understand why they are being segmented and see value in being served differently, your strategy will be a success.

The silent majority

In the one week since I published the Logo-palooza post, this site has been visited over 20,000 times. The source for most of the traffic has been StumbleUpon where the post has been recommended by several users of that site.

The point I wanted to make about this is that you would never guess the popularity of that post by looking at it. As of this morning it has received a total of 12 comments. It has been seen and read over 20,000 times but only 12 people commented.

But the more I think about it, I don't think this is all that unusual. Think about all the articles we read online - all the news stories and blog posts. Most of the time we don't have a good reason to leave a comment. Unless we disagree with the author or feel compelled to add something, we often simply move on and read the next thing.

Long before the Web there was user-participation in talk radio. And with that medium too, a small percentage of the audience called in to offer their opinion. Most people just listened.

As more organizations look for ways to use the Web to "better connect with and engage their customers," the trick will be finding creative ways to comfort, stimulate, and motivate them to action. But companies need to realize that, despite their best efforts and intentions, many of their customers may prefer to stay silent.

Extreme Makeover - Homepage Edition

So I'm watching one of the many home design shows last night and it dawned on me how similar in some ways designing a home is to web design. Now while I don't think we'll see TV shows called "Extreme Makeover - Homepage Edition" or "Trading Webspaces" anytime soon, let me explain.

In order to be a successful design, a home needs to not only be beautiful but liveable and functional. Just like a website, there are areas of a home that are "task-related" - the kitchen, the bathroom, the closet. The design of those areas should help the "user" accomplish the necessary tasks. The kitchen and bathroom should be organized and ergonomic, the closet should be free of clutter so items are easy to find.

Other areas of a well-designed home are for entertainment or socializing with others. These areas should be designed to foster this interaction in a comfortable, friendly setting.

Lastly, the whole house should be tied together with a color scheme and design that reflects the owners. It should be an extension of "who they are."

See any similarities now? The task related areas (registration, e-commerce, etc) of your website should be simple and user-friendly. The search function should help users find content without having to wade through clutter. The social areas of your site (message boards, blogs) should be welcoming, supportive, and comfortable to your users. And the visual design of your site should be a consistent reflection of your brand.

But there's one place this analogy breaks down. You primarily build and design your home for you. You live in it. You have to feel comfortable in how it's organized, decorated, and maintained. But with a website, you're inviting all of your friends, customers and potential customers into your home. It's more important that your website is designed for them.

Online behavior policies

I would guess that most organizations have relatively clear "Internet Usage" policies that govern how computers and the Internet should be used for work-related purposes only during work hours. Often employees agree to this policy by signing a document when they are hired or by clicking an agreement when their computers turn on every morning. And of course all employees adhere to these rules. Ahem.

But many organizations struggle with what to do regarding a corporate policy for governing and guiding their employees' online behavior outside of work. Should employees be allowed to have their own blogs? What if they talk about work on their blogs? What about MySpace pages?

Edleman PR isn't afraid to tackle the issue and has one of the best policies I've seen. It's thoughtful and thorough, and it educates and advises rather than simply prohibiting certain actions.

Obviously organizations are going to have different comfort levels regarding how their employees represent themselves and the organization online. But thinking through the issues and clearly communicating with employees is the key to an effective policy.

MSNBC redesigns

Interesting insight here and here into the creative process involved in the huge (and much-needed) MSNBC.com redesign that launched last weekend. Having been involved in a few large redesigns, I can only imagine the immense amount of time and effort that went into this.

The new site nicely integrates news with photos and videos, allows for some customization of the site by the user and provides a cleaner yet more comprehensive look at the news. It's interesting to note, however, that they chose not to include other popular avenues for user participation (story ranking/social networking/comments, etc). Paraphrasing the design team, they were able to redesign without needing to reinvent themselves as a "social news site" like Digg or Newsvine.

I'm still absorbing it, but at first blush the new site is a vast improvement over the old MSNBC site and a better effort than the recent redesigns from other news sites.

The future of the Internet

Information Week has recently launched an ambitious new website to chronicle the changing face of the Internet.

Through investigative reporting and a "moderated blogosphere of internet experts" called ThinkerNet, they aim to cut through the hype and help us understand the ways the Internet is changing and how those changes will affect our lives in the future. I'll definitely be checking this one out in the weeks to come.

Do you have "broken windows?"

I stumbled onto this article called Broken Windows the other day. I highly recommend it as a way to think about the little details of each customer interaction.

Snap judgments

Users make up their minds whether a website is credible in less than one second.

You never get a second second to make a first impression.

The Toyota way

One of the things that I like most about working on websites is that they are never "finished." In a way they are living things - always evolving, hopefully improving.

Incremental improvement is what it's all about at Toyota. The company is legendary in the business world for its automotive production techniques. This article from Fast Company is a great read and it reminds us all that, no matter what our job title or our specific objectives are, our job is to make things better.

Toyota's luxury division, Lexus, uses the tagline "the relentless pursuit of perfection." After reading that article, I have a new appreciation for those words.

Is your site a conversation or a speech?

Do you talk with your customers? Or do you do as many organizations do and talk at them? Is your website a conversation or a speech?

In school, the best teachers I had talked with the students - engaged them in the conversation.

With my kids, it always seems more effective to sit them down, look them in the eye and explain something. Get the head nod or other affirmation that you were heard and understood. Yelling at them, while it sometimes makes me feel better, seems less effective.

Customers can be like children. If they think their opinion is not appreciated, if they think they are not being listened to, if they think they're being yelled at, they will ignore you and take their business elsewhere.

The reviews are in

The statistics seem to build a pretty compelling case. Online businesses allowing customer reviews of their products reported increased sales, increased customer loyalty and increased site traffic. Plus 8 out of 10 US shoppers put more trust in brands that offer customer reviews.

I notice this in my own behavior too. From cars to books to electronics, I often seek out customer reviews before making a purchase.

It may seem a little scary at first, but making it easy for your customers to review your products, right on your site, is something that can benefit both you and your customers.

A parking lot issue

Have you ever been out shopping and seen a parking spot for the "Employee of the Month?" It's often right up front and I guess it's supposed to recognize and reward that employee. While it's nice for that one person, what about the store's customers? I guess they can just walk further and fend for themselves.

Some companies' websites reflect this same attitude. Often these websites are more a reflection of internal structure and politics than a service-oriented site focused on the customer.

Of course you want to reward and recognize good employees. But remember, most of your customers don't really care about you - they care about what you can do for them. And without your customers, you wouldn't have any employees.

As a side note, I always liked the special parking they have at Babies R Us stores. They have a dozen or so spots right up front for expectant mothers and new parents. It's a smart strategy that caters to their best customers and makes them feel welcome even before they've set foot in the door.

Is the fold pure fluff?

There's a widely held belief in web design that web users don't like to scroll. The theory is that the area on your website "above the fold" - or visible without scrolling - is much more important and valuable real estate than the area below that users must scroll to see.

The great site Boxes and Arrows examines this belief and finds some surprising evidence to support the idea that the fold may not be as important as we think.

The Age of Ideas

Where do good ideas come from?

I'm a firm believer that we all have good ideas inside us. The trick is figuring out how to get at those creative thoughts and apply them to our businesses. Some people keep a notepad by the bed and write down those middle-of-the-night revelations. Others find inspiration in the shower. Or the gym.

But the most important question is: Do you give yourself time to think? It's hard to dream of something "outside the box" if you don't set aside time to dream.

I remember one time a few years ago the radio in my car broke. As I drove in silence, I couldn't believe how active and productive my mind was. Turn off your distractions and let your mind "play." Think about your website and what would make it a better site. Or a better experience for your users.

Some organizations are very good at playing with new ideas and fostering an innovative spirit. Google has its Google Labs. Yahoo has its research area. Plenty of sites go into beta and refine their ideas with the help of users.

Ideas are the lifeblood of the information age. Being able to generate, support and grow good ideas is a modern key to success.

The four-letter "b" word

Many organizations want to jump into the "new web" waters. But they are afraid of "the B word."

It’s a geeky word. An ugly sounding word - blog. Blog. It sounds rude.

It’s short of course for "web log" but we Internet types shorten everything so we’re stuck with it as a term. But relax. It’s not rocket science. It’s not complete geekery. A blog is simply a site full of stories / snippets / information. It usually allows comments and is casual in tone and lists items in chronological order.

That’s it. Nothing to be afraid of.

Maybe your CEO doesn’t think they know how to “blog.” But they probably know how to type and be open and honest.

Sometimes getting a project off the ground is as much about selling it internally as it is about making it work externally. Avoid the jargon words and you’ll change a lot of people’s minds and allay their concerns.

Tacit communication: How's it going?

It happens like this: you are walking from your desk to the conference room or the kitchen and you see Janet from Accounting walking toward you from the opposite direction. As you pass you both nod and smile a little smile. She says "How are you doing?" and you say "Hi, Janet."

You acknowledged each other. You made each other feel good, known, loved, recognized. But neither of you expected the other to stop and engage in a real conversation. You both knew the "rules of non-engagement" and kept on walking. This can happen dozens of times throughout the day with various people.

This is tacit communication. The actions - the nod, the smile - provide more meaning than the actual words exchanged.

We do this online too. You would never end a voicemail for someone with "Regards" or "Sincerely" but we do it in email. In person you wouldn't offer someone you just met your privacy policy or your terms of use. But online, these familiar conventions can provide reassurance and credibility - a comforting smile and a nod to the user, even if those items go unread.

My needles please, hold the haystack

The bridge column in the paper. The Farm Report on the radio. The day's closing bond prices. What do these things have in common?

As long as we've had information, we've had information geared for specific audiences. But in the past, that information was delivered the only way possible - broadcast it to everyone and let them figure out what they want to pay attention to. I don't even know how to play bridge, yet the column is in my newspaper every day. I'm not a farmer so the Farm Report doesn't really interest me. And I don't own any bonds. Yet we've always had to wade through a haystack of information that doesn't pertain to us to find the needles of information that do.

Well no more. The web makes it possible to deliver just the right information to the right people. Corporate Intranets often do this based on one's role within an organization - showing the user just what they need to know to do their job.

But more and more public websites are empowering users to configure the sites to deliver information based on the their interests. Pageflakes, Netvibes, and MyYahoo are just three examples of sites that allow you to customize what you want to see. For many people these sites are powerful "homepages" that can deliver much of the information people want online, all in one place - news, weather, RSS feeds, even the bridge column.

Channel chatter

I hear some organizations refer to their website as "just another channel." While I think the web IS just one part of an organization's overall plan, it is, or at least can be, a game-changer.

Saying the web is just another channel - like print or radio - is like saying airplanes are just another kind of car.

The fact is, the web changes what's possible. It should force organizations to re-think their communications and marketing strategies. How will offline campaigns leverage the website and vice versa? How can the website help shape the direction of future product offerings? How can the website help us better understand, engage and involve our customers?

The great Marshall McLuhan would examine technological advances with a critical eye and ask of them certain questions. The first of these was "What does the medium extend?" The car extended what was possible by foot. The phone extended what was possible with voice. Radio and television extended the ability to disseminate information and images to mass audiences. But the web extends more than all of them. It extends what's possible with communication - enabling previously impossible methods of collaboration, learning and sharing and removing the constraints of authority, time and distance.

Yes, the web changes what's possible. Your organization's website should take advantage.

The Implicit Web is Watching You

We've all seen links like "Most Popular Articles" or "Most Emailed" on a website. Or e-commerce recommendations like "You might also like this" at a place like Amazon or LL Bean.

The concept is simple: sites are becoming "smarter" and more able to present information in a personalized way. This personalization used to be done based on explicit information the user had provided - an age, a sex, a zip code, a profession. But now, more implicit, behavioral factors are feeding this revolution.

I highly recommend this article on The Implicit Web.

Station wagon words

In the 1970s it was THE family car. It was versatile and roomy and functional. But these days no one wants a station wagon. Even cars that look like station wagons don't call themselves station wagons.

Why? It's an outdated term - associated with wood paneling, loud clothes and other remnants of a bygone era.

The words we use can have strong connotations. Here are some words I recommend you don't use on your website (or anywhere else for that matter). They have fallen out of favor and connote "web 1.0" instead of current times and technology.

• "Listserv" - Even if you have one - call it something else.
• "Cyber" anything - very 1995.
  
• "Information Superhighway" - Avoid the cliche and refer to it as "the web" or "the Internet."
• "Chat room" - Most chat rooms are not "chat" but are actually message boards or forums.
• "Virtual" anything - Maybe the worst of all to still see. Shudder.

In contrast to those five, here's a post claiming that these are the Five Most Important Words You Can Have on Your Website.

LP Content

Think about the changes the music industry has gone through in just the last 30 years. The focus has shifted from 8-tracks and albums to cassettes to cds to digital. A show like "American Top 40" (with Casey Kasem back in my day) used to have incredible power is now marginalized by MTV, iTunes, Amazon and satellite radio.

The focus of music as a product has shifted too. The main focus used to be selling albums: 33 1/3 LPs. Yes, you could buy "45s" - also known as singles, but the main focus was on selling whole albums. Today, it's downloads and ringtones.

Even the name is telling. The name LP stands for "long play." Who has time for long? As we've already discussed, short is the new long.

Written content is undergoing a similarly radical change. Freed from the confines of books and magazines, information is flowing, searchable and available. It's become a commodity. Being an "author" is no longer reserved for only the elite as decided by a publishing company - anyone can blog or self-publish and have their voice be heard.

Just as you are no longer bound to the record player to hear your music, users of the Internet won't forever be tied to a computer. Users will access your content from their phones, PDAs and other portable devices. Just as your Pink Floyd LP can't be played with your iPod, these new devices aren't good for digesting "LP content." Reading a long article or downloading large pages on your phone is tedious and painful.

Content is (and will always be) king. But the king is changing.

Cutting corners

One summer I helped landscape the front of a bank. There was a paved walkway from the parking lot to the front door that took a 90 degree turn. As I was planting some new plants, my boss Steve told me not to put one too close to the corner. I asked why.

"Because people cut corners" is all he said. If we put a plant right on the corner, it would have been stepped on and killed by visitors cutting the corner or at a minimum, brushed often and irritated by pant legs and shoes.

Take a look at this picture of a traffic gate. Notice the tire tracks. If given the chance, people will cut corners and take the path of least resistance. Easy is better than hard.

The organization of your website should not only allow but encourage
this corner-cutting behavior. Don't put up a roadblock and make them click 4 times to get to a popular feature if you can provide a direct link. Add a list or drop-down box of "Popular Destinations" and allow users to jump right there. Configure your search engine to deliver the right results for key search terms.

Help your users cut corners and save time and suddenly your site will become more useful and user-friendly.

When do you cut off the long tail?

Average life of a major league baseball: 7 pitches
A housefly: 20 days
A giraffe: 25 years
The sun: 10 billion years

Some content on the web? Even longer. Or so it seems.

Much has been written about the benefits of "The Long Tail." And it's true that modern technology has allowed businesses to cater to and profit from niche audiences more than ever before.

But I think it raises an important topic: What's the distinction between "older", valuable content and "old" content that should be deleted? How valuable does something need to be for you to keep it?

In many cases, deleting older articles or files from your website is not a necessity - as long as the information is still accurate. But if old content clogs up your search engine, it may be doing some harm. Consider keeping older items in an archive directory that can be searched separately.

Do an occasional content audit and review the metrics of your site. Then you'll have a better idea of what to keep, what to archive, and what to trash.

The Slipping Point

When does a brand get old? When does a Nintendo become an Atari? When does a Toyota become an Oldsmobile?

Rolling Stone magazine was once on top of the music world. It was the authoritative source for what was cool and upcoming in the music and entertainment industries. They announced recently that they will be launching an online social network - a "MySpace for music," if you will.

My thought: Kinda late to the party, don't you think?

I wish them luck, but the problem is the world has changed. Today's youth doesn't read Rolling Stone. Most teenagers probably think of it as a "stodgy, old" magazine that their parents used to read. A vestige of a bygone era.

It's hard work to rejuvenate a brand. Just saying "this is not your father's Oldsmobile" is not good enough.