Beyond the Brochure: Honing Your Web Strategy Donica Mensing Reynolds School of Journalism University of Nevada, Reno Talk given to the American Marketing Association July 2004, Reno, Nevada

Why wouldn’t you put your company brochure on television? Boring Can’t read much on the screen Pictures are static; no sound

Then why would you put your brochure online? It seems easy It seems fast It is cheap You’ll do more later…

But online media can do much more… It’s a marketing, sales and service tool all in one Facilitates communication between you and your customers Provides timely updates Makes customer service more efficient Enables personalized service and information Engages new and repeat customers over time

Example 1: The online brochure Static Hard to read Not Web friendly Written in marketese

Examples 2 & 3: Interactive Web Sites Focused on the purpose of the company Specific services are easy to find Updated frequently Navigation easy to find and follow Balanced, colorful layout

Good Web design is focused and purposeful The Web has infinite space People do not have infinite time Be clear and concise Know what your customer wants and deliver it quickly

Examples 4 & 5: Two large organizations Cluttered, redundant, verbose Simple, focused, well-organized

Criteria for successful Web design Clearly organized sections Consistent layout and navigation Concise, well-written text Appealing, relevant graphics Useful, well-described links Interactive Quick loading

Know your customer Broadband or dial-up Home or work Technically saavy or novice Frequent or infrequent Examples: Reno Rodeo and m-productions

How do you know if your site is well designed? Test it!

If your visitors can’t find the information they want, the product they want, the page they want -- quickly -- they will leave. Period.

The Good News User testing is effective, even if you only test with five randomly selected customers For more information see Jakob Nielsen:

Components of usability testing Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design? Efficiency : Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks? Memorability : When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?

Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors? Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design? Utility: Does it do what users need? From Jakob Nielsen 's Alertbox, August 25, 2003 Usability 101

Users can help create your information architecture Try card sorting as a way to develop your organizational scheme and name sections of your site Jakob Nielsen:

Finally… Start simply Pay attention to your user logs Focus on functionality for your users Use databases and dynamic architecture where possible Keep refining!

Questions? Donica Mensing

More examples… Reno Gazette-Journal Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce Nevada Museum of Art