{!date dayname+0}, {!date long+0} Dear {!firstname_fix} Did you go to a fireworks party last night? It was raining here so the celebrations that Guy Fawkes did not blow up Parliament were rather muted. By a strange quirk, yesterday was the day that the British Parliament exerted its authority by expelling an MP who was found guilty of lying. Gosh...how come the rest remain in their post..? Ha Ha..! But it is a reminder of the enduring influence that politicians have in our lives. We might think they are remote but our daily lives are affected by what they do. Now, wouldn't you like to be in the position of being able to be so influential on the day-to-day life of your customers? Maybe politicians can actually teach us something.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: What is the most important design feature of a website? Whenever people think of revamping their website, or starting a new one, they tend to focus first on what it will look like. Even if people set up their own site by using something like WordPress, they generally first of all go to the "themes" section so they can choose a template design. And if you talk to web designers, they will tell you that their clients frequently come in with a website printed out saying they want theirs to "look like this". Website owners are pre-occupied with design, looks and aesthetics it seems. But is that worthwhile? Amazon, for instance, will probably not win any design awards. Yet this rather chaotic site brings in $7bn every three months. Not bad for rather average design. Conversely, there are websites that do win design awards, but don't actually win any business. What would you rather have - an award on your shelf, or money in the bank? Design is not unimportant, but it is not the be-all and end-all of a website. It is vital to concentrate on three other factors before you consider design. These are: 1. The purpose of your site and what visitors will DO 2. The content your site will contain and the associated structure that will need 3. The functions your site will have available, such as newsletter sign-ups Only after you have these three things in place should design be a consideration. But there are two key design elements which you need to consider above all else. One is what you might call "feel". This is the immediate (and I mean IMMEDIATE) impact your site will have on a visitor. That includes overall layout, the predominant colour, the typography and the imagery. Of these, the colour is the most significant. If you run a gardening website, your visitors will expect to see green, immediately. If you are a girls toys website, pink will be expected. This is all stereotypical, of course, and many designers will try to shy you away from stereotypes. But the problem is, within just a handful of microseconds your visitors disappear unless the colour that hits their eyes matches their pre-conceived idea of what your website should feel like. The next most important design consideration is navigation. Your visitors need to know - INSTANTLY - that they can easily find their way around your website. Your navigation needs to be clear and obvious. And it needs to be in the expected place - near the top of the page. So rather than get wound up with the niceties of design, focus on colour and navigation, but spend most of your time concentrating on content. As Amazon shows us, good content, a clear purpose and excellent functionality far, far outweighs less-than-brilliant design. Remember, you can always ask your question and get it answered in this newsletter by going to: http://www.grahamjones.co.uk/questions
WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK: We all should go that extra mile Last week I mentioned "Easy Video Player", the software that gives you significant control over how you can publish your videos online. However, this week I had a problem with the program myself and I was concerned that I had recommended something I shouldn't have done. I contacted the company's technical support team who went out of their way to solve the issue. It transpired that it was nothing to do with the program at all, but rather a setting on my server. Not only did they identify the issue, but the folks at Easy Video Player also solved it for me by making the necessary technical change. They didn't have to do either of these things because they were able to show that the software was working properly anyway. Yet, using their own time, at their own expense, the sought out the problem and solved it. Does Microsoft do that when you can't get something to work on one of their products? Do most companies? Few businesses go out of their way to help. Yet, when they do we are dead impressed - and loyal. Perhaps we would all get more business if we did much, much more than we are expected or contracted to do. If you want to check out what else I've been doing for the past week, you can always look at: http://www.grahamjones.co.uk/week
THIS WEEK'S "MUST BUY": Motivate yourself with this download  The chances are you have plenty of ideas - but you either don't get the time to follow them up, or you just can't find the get-up-and-go to work on them. Either way, they become ideas that are wasted. And no matter how many lists you make, somehow those great ideas never seem to get the attention they deserve. One way of improving the likelihood of things getting done is with self-hypnosis. No, you don't need any incense or fancy incantations. What self-hypnosis is really about is listening to an audio file in a relaxed state. Over the years, I have recommended the self-hypnosis audios from Hypnosis Downloads and many people tell me they have benefited greatly from them. Now, they have a new download on "taking action", which will help you ensure you act on those ideas. The download is only a few pounds and there is a 90-day money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose. To get the taking action download visit: http://GJurl.com/takeaction So, that's it for this week - see you in seven days...! Kind Regards
Graham Jones Web: grahamjones.co.uk Tel: +44 118 336 9710 If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter than you can delete your name from the mailing list by clicking this link: {!remove_web} Affiliate Links: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links providing me with a small commission when you purchase the item. However, I only use affiliate links for products which I personally value. |
