Multivariate testing (MVT), testing multiple elements of a live web page at a time, is becoming more and more popular amongst the web design and development community. Understandably so, multivariate testing allows you to test a large amount of combinations and see exactly how those combinations stack up against one another. You will quickly find out that the smallest changes can produce the biggest results.

What elements should you test?

When deciding exactly what elements to test within a multivariate test you are going to focus on the call to action. Determine what you want users to do upon landing on a page and then outline all of the key elements in and around the desired call to action. Any element a user will have to interact with to complete this action is an element you are going to want to run the multivariate test with. A few of these elements may include:

Brand Awareness

Depending on how popular, or unpopular, your brand is may impact conversions. If you have a well-known brand it may help encourage conversions where an unknown brand would not. On the other hand, having too much brand presence on a page may get in the way of users trying to complete a conversion. Figure out what you would like to accomplish with your brand awareness and then test it.

Headings

Headings are the first section of text a user will read on a page and if they like it they will continue on. Perhaps they will continue reading, maybe they will scan the rest of the elements surrounding the call to action, or if you’re lucky they just might jump straight to completing the desired call to action. Either way, testing different headings will allow you to determine which has the best positive outcome. Not too sure headings can make that big of difference? You do not have to take my word for it; 37signals have had significant results all from testing headings.

Text Content

Not every user is going to read the text content surrounding a call to action, however those who do are only going to be interested in helpful and useful content. Creating a few different blocks of text to test against one another can give you an insight as to how your users think and what will work best with them moving forward. While you may not see a very sizable difference in your conversion rate from testing text content you will gain a tremendous amount of awareness.

Images

The eye is naturally drawn to images on a page, especially striking images. How you present your call to action can be dramatically affected by the images used around it. As an example, if you are selling an e-book that is to be downloaded, try using an image of an actual book against an image of a PDF icon. You may be surprised to find that your users like to see a tangible product over a file icon. The right image or images can work wonders on your conversion rate.

Buttons

Buttons may very well be the most important part in completing a call to action. Simply put, buttons are one of the easiest ways for users to take action, an action that is often important in determining the overall success of a website. Does your button actually look like a button? Is it instinctive and easily recognizable? Put together multiple button combinations and test them against one another. It may take a few different tests, but soon enough you will have a shinning star.

How should you test these elements?

Within a multivariate test you will need to visually design multiple combinations of the elements surrounding a desired call to action. I recently wrote an article, 4 Simple Design Elements Behind a Good Call to Action, which goes into great detail on how to visually craft a strong call to action using size, shape, color, and position. Using size, shape, and color, you are able to create an extensive array of elements to test, all of which will help lead you to the preferred conversion rate.

Size

The larger you make your call to action, the easier it is to recognize. Furthermore, the larger an element is the more importance it will signify. You want to find a good balance between how large your headings and images are as compared to your button. Headings should not be so small that they do not stand out over the other copy, meanwhile a button should not be so large that it is the only item on the page.

Shape

A good call to action will use shape to its benefit. Make the corners on your button rounded so that it looks more like a button and instinctively clickable. Use an arrow or another object to draw attention to the button. Do not be afraid to break a grid in order to make a call to action stand out. On a page full of straight lines the curved one is sure to stick out so use shape to your advantage.

Color

Every color is going to catch a user’s attention a little differently. Additionally, each color is going to provoke a different emotion for each user. One of the biggest things you can test, and continually test, is the color of your headings, buttons, text, and so forth. Honestly, the options are endless! Test and work with colors that will standout, provide a high contrast, and encourage users.

Position

Logos are commonly found at the top left of a page for a reason, it is where they are most easily recognized and successful. Position plays a very important role in gaining conversions. How does your call to action perform placed within the left side of the page as compared to the right side? In addition to that, how does your button perform on the top of your call to action as compared to the bottom, left, or right? The position of your call to action needs to be in an instinctive location and clearly obvious to your users.

Multivariate Testing Example: Smashing Magazine

I recently wrote a review on The Smashing Book and in doing so I was visiting the Smashing Magazine website quite a bit. I started to notice that they are running a multivariate test on how they advertise the book to their visitors. Outlined below are a few of the different examples and combinations I was able to identify. I do not know how well each of these is performing, nor do I know anything about the parameters of the test. I would love to hear more about the test if Smashing Magazine was to share. Maybe they will release a post about it sometime in the future (wink wink)?

Variable: Text – Simple enough, these two combinations are strictly comparing the call to action text.

Variables: Text and Button – These combinations are slightly different from the first set. Here the call to action text is different as they have added a button into the mix, and the Smashing brand is down played a little from the previous examples.

Variable: Color – Here is a new set of combinations, of which the strong variable is the colors of the buttons. The color of the buttons changes along with the text within the buttons as necessary. Also notable, the color of the text “Smashing” within the bottom two examples changes to emphasize the brand within the bottom right example.

Variables: Position and Size – Within these two examples Smashing Magazine mixes testing position along with size. The image of the book switches from the right hand side to the left of the call to action. Additionally, the size of the button is increased within the example on the right.

Variables: Text, Size, and Color – Paying attention to the small details, this example tests the effectiveness of different context. In doing so, they slightly change the size of the text. Notice the text on the right example is just a tad larger than the left. In addition, the color of the pricing is different from one example to the next.

Variables: Random – These are just a few of the additional examples I found thrown into the mix, each of which is testing a random combination of elements.

The multivariate test by Smashing Magazine is a great example of a multivariate test as it is testing a wide array of elements. The test does a fantastic job at testing the brand, headings, text, images, and buttons. In doing so, they often change the size, shape, color, and position of different elements. There was a decent amount of planning put into this test and it is obvious that Smashing Magazine knows what they are doing.

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Smashing Magazine is one of the largest web design and development blogs online. They publish high quality content on a regular basis and are often seen as one of the most reliable sources within the industry. When they started kicking around the idea of creating a book the community widely encouraged it. After much talk the idea of creating a book, The Smashing Book, became a reality and Smashing Magazine went to work. To say that it was a difficult process for Smashing Magazine would be an understatement. As with every project they had their fair amount of roadblocks and then some. Regardless of what was put in from of them Smashing Magazine managed to release a book filled with excellent content written by none other than their own community.

Each chapter is written by a different author or authors, of which has appeared on Smashing Magazine before. Perhaps they have written an article for the blog before or maybe they have appeared within the articles themselves. The authors of the book are well established within the community and are experts in their line of work. Each chapter is well crafted to the personal style of the author(s) and is packed with valued content. Let’s start from the beginning, shall we.

In Review

Opening/Preface

The preface to The Smashing Book was very short and there was no introduction chapter disclaiming who the book is or is not for. The book does not waste anytime and quickly gets right to the content. I loved the fact that I did not have to wade through a chapter with an unnecessary introduction. Perfect!

Chapter 1 – User Interface Design in Modern Web Applications by Dmitry Fadeyev

The first chapter, User Interface Design in Modern Web Applications, written by Dmitry Fadeyev was a great opening to the book. Dmitry starts out by giving us an overview of the building blocks of visual interface design and how they relate to developing a quality application. In doing so, he covers things such as layout and positioning, size and shape, as well as color, contrast, and texture. Moving from building blocks into the practical techniques Dmitry discusses how different elements of a user interface can play a large part in the success of a web application. A few of the design techniques he mentions include whitespace, rounded corners, color, shadows, and more. He also touches on other elements outside of design including using verbs as field labels, auto focusing inputs, using help messages, and so forth. I won’t give all of Dmitry’s techniques away as this is definitely a chapter worth your while.

“Even if someone uses an interface for the first time, certain elements can still be familiar.” Excerpt from Chapter 1

Chapter 2 – The Art and Science of CSS-Layouts by Jacob Gube and Kayla Knight

Jacob Gube and Kayla Knight tackle The Art and Science of CSS-Layouts in the second chapter of the book. They explain the differences between fixed-width, fluid, elastic, and hybrid CSS-layouts. The chapter gives a detailed explanation of each layout type along with the pros and cons behind each. Their explanations include the basic principles behind each layout type as well as where each layout type is most commonly suitable. Apart from the solid explanations the chapter also provides a few CSS examples to get you started. Some people may argue against different types of CSS-layouts but after giving this chapter a read I believe you may be more open minded to giving other layout types a try.

“The question of optimal layout doesn’t have a single answer. Depending on the context, the time constraints and designer’s skills, each layout type has its purpose.” Excerpt from Chapter 2

Chapter 3 – Web Typography: Rules, Guidelines, and Common Mistakes by Alessandro Cattaneo, Yves Peters and Jon Tan

Web typography has been a hot topic as of lately, so it is no surprise that the third chapter, Web Typography: Rules, Guidelines, and Common Mistakes, was a massive one. I understand the idea of covering a different aspect of web design and development in each chapter, but I feel like this chapter could have been split into two as it is nearly twice as big as all of the other chapters. That being said the content of this chapter was superb.

When it comes to web typography there is a lot to talk about and Alessandro Cattaneo, Yves Peters and Jon Tan leave no stone unturned. They discuss different elements of typography such as legibility, readability, measure, tracking, and leading, as well as giving us an overview of all of the different typography terms and what they actually mean. Beyond this they also talk about the different techniques used within typography to really add value to the content. They do so by talking about font sizes, white space, building a grid, vertical rhythm, hierarchy, typesetting, paying attention to details, and so forth. It is obvious the authors of this chapter know what they are talking about and whether you are a seasoned typographer or a beginner there is something to learn from within this chapter.

“In its essence, typography is a powerful medium that allows for precise, effective communication. On the Web, typography can be used to enhance content, turning lifeless chunks of data into vivid, elegant conversations.” Excerpt from Chapter 3

Chapter 4 – Usability Principles for Modern Websites by Andrew Maier and David Leggett

Chapter four, Usability Principles for Modern Websites, comes from some of the good folks over at UX Booth, Andrew Maier and David Leggett. Really breaking down the core elements for usability within modern websites is a challenge. Doing it within one chapter is an even bigger challenge, kudos to Andrew and David for pulling it off successfully. The chapter covers everything from how users think to how important user testing is. Along the way you learn about some of the core usability rules and principles including putting content first, honoring standard usability conventions, and how to really plan out and design your interface. This chapter is jammed packed with information, worthy of a second read to pick up on things missed the first time around.

“Creating a great user experience takes a little bit of skill, a little bit of luck and a lot of detailed work.” Excerpt from Chapter 4

Chapter 5 – The Ultimate Guide to Fantastic Color Usage in Web Design, Usability, and Experience by Darius A Monsef IV

Color just may be the most under rated element when it comes to web design. All too often designers are given a logo and from that they pick a few complimentary colors and run with it. Darius A Monsef IV explains how to pick great colors in chapter five, The Ultimate Guide to Fantastic Color Usage in Web Design, Usability, and Experience. Darius give us the basics on color theory and explains the different color models commonly used today. From there he quickly moves on to providing fantastic examples of different color schemes and palettes used within modern websites today. The examples are amazing and it is obvious that quite a bit of time went into finding the examples. Furthermore, Darius finished the chapter by explaining how different colors can relate to usability, engagement, and experience. It is difficult to say, but this chapter just might be my favorite.

“Even when your website has a lot of colors, you can draw users to a certain element by giving that element a color unique to the page.” Excerpt from Chapter 5

Chapter 6 – Performance Optimization for Websites by Rene Schmidt

Rene Schmidt does a great job explaining helpful ways in which we can optimize the performance of our websites in chapter six, Performance Optimization for Websites. The chapter starts by laying out a few simple suggestions that almost any web designer and developer could implement. A few of these suggestions include paying attention to your file and image sizes, using CSS sprites, potentially using a content delivery network, using only external CSS and JavaScript (no inline styling or scripting), validating your pages, and so forth. After this Rene gets into the more technical side of performance optimization providing ways to tweak and speed up your server by directly modifying the server. This part of the chapter is not applicable to everyone, however it is very informational. The best part about this chapter is that after each tip or suggestion given Rene highlights exactly why it is helpful and why you should take it into consideration.

“Slow and unresponsive web sites are annoying. And if your website is annoying, your visitors are unlikely to buy goods or contact you.” Excerpt from Chapter 6

Chapter 7 – Design to Sell: Increasing Conversion Rates by Dmitry Fadeyev

Dmitry Fadeyev, whom also wrote the first chapter, tackles how to increase your conversion rates online in chapter seven, Design to Sell: Increasing Conversion Rates. Dmitry talks about the 4 principles needed to increase conversions, attention, interest, desire, action, or AIDA for short. In doing so he outlines quite a few recommendations including really showing the product (possibly using video to do so) to users, provide users with comprehensible lists, give back to users who convert, add testimonials and product recommendations, always provide the next requested action, drive demand with limited time offers, promote money back guarantees, provide shipping cost, and most importantly make your interface instinctual and easy to use. Dmitry does a great job explaining his recommendations and the benefits behind them, making this chapter especially educational.

“You need to break down the barriers that customers will put up when evaluating how valuable your product is to them.” Excerpt from Chapter 7

Chapter 8 – How to Turn a Site into a Remarkable Brand by Chris Spooner

Inside chapter eight, How to Turn a Site into a Remarkable Brand, Chris Spooner gives readers 5 guidelines or tips on how to make your website memorable and your brand stand out. The first guideline covered is to produce a unique design by using stunning visuals and breaking the mold while still following universal design principles. The next guideline is based on producing quality content that is not only interesting, but useful as well. The third guideline focuses on exploring new concepts, being unique, and making your brand entertaining. The fourth guideline is something we can all agree with, become part of the community. Last, Chris talks about building a buzz around your brand by advertising, creating link bait, and really getting inside people’s heads. Chris has created a solid brand for himself and within this chapter he does a great job of sharing how he built his brand, allowing us to learn from him.

“Building a remarkable brand takes constant and daily effort and attention. Be confident in your content, help others, spread the word and you’ll be on your way to a remarkable high-profile brand of your own.” Excerpt from Chapter 8

Chapter 9 – Learning from Experts: Interviews and Insights by Steven Snell

Chapter nine, Learning from Experts: Interviews and Insights, by Steven Snell is kind of an odd chapter, however very helpful. The chapter basically breaks down into a question and answer with some of the top designers and developers in the industry including Jason Santa Maria, Paul Boag, Andy Budd, Elliot Jay Stocks, Chris Coyier, Dave Shea, Nick La, and more. The questions are broken into 4 categories: Designing and Development, The Design Process, Self-Improvement and Skill Development, and Business and Freelancing. The questions and answers are both well thought out and descriptive. While this chapter is not the most exciting chapter in the book it is very interesting and a great way to bring together what has been talked about in all of the previous chapters.

“Web design is still relatively new when compared to the rest of the disciplines in the ‘big d’ design field.” Excerpt from Chapter 9

Chapter 10 – Behind the Curtains: The Smashing Magazine Story

The final chapter, Behind the Curtains: The Smashing Magazine Story, is an excellent way to close the book. For those strictly reading the book to learn about web design and development this chapter probably is not for you, but those who are genuinely interested in Smashing Magazine and would like to learn about them this is the time. This chapter covers it all including how Smashing Magazine started, exactly how they got to be as successful as they are and how they stay successful, as well as what happens behind the scenes. Last, Smashing Magazine thanks everyone within the web design community, stating if it was not for us they would not be where they are today. I would personally like to say the same. I would not be where I am today if it was not for the help of Smashing Magazine, thank you Smashing Magazine.

“Our job is not only to contribute to the design community but to help maintain this fertile environment in which ideas are born, insights are exchanged and discussions take place, making the lives of designers and developers easier and richer.” Excerpt from Chapter 10

9 Stars Out of 10

The content of the book is next to none. All of the chapters are greatly detailed and well written. I cannot say enough about the authors and content of the book. My problem with the book is the amount of time it took to release as well as the physical quality of the book. I pre-ordered the book on August 5, 2009 and did not receive it until January 2, 2010, almost five months later. Smashing Magazine has been admirably honest and admits they had numerous setbacks while publishing the book. I also recognize that I did pre-order the book, at which time the release date was not set.

As for the physical quality of the book, the binding on the book fell apart. During the course of reading the book the binding began to split and pages started to fall out. Luckily, Smashing Magazine has recognized the bad binding and have stopped shipping this version of the book. They have fixed the binding and are now strictly shipping the second, fixed binding, edition of the book. Smashing Magazine was nice enough to send me a copy of the new edition of the book upon hearing my troubles.

In all, the book is outstanding and I highly recommend picking it up! It does not matter if you’re a veteran designer or new to the scene, you can definitely benefit from purchasing this book. Thank you Smashing Magazine for yet another satisfying experience.

You may view the all of the links and resources included within the book over at Smashing Magazines list of links.

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When it comes to designing a website, content is often overlooked, but why? Very rarely do users browse the web looking for a good design or decent experience. Users come for the content. Not giving them what they want with poorly written content will frustrate users. Not only does it waste their time, but your time as well.

Writing for the Web: The Right Strategy presented by Shay Howe

Refresh Chicago, January 12th, 2010

The Problem

Online content is bad. Real bad.

Generally speaking, the Internet is lacking when it comes to quality content. People are not properly taking advantage of the opportunity in front of them and commonly fall short with insufficient content.

Content is low priority.

All too often we get caught up in the design and development of a website to pay attention to the content. We understand that the website will have a blog, about page, and contact page, but that is as far as we get. From the introduction of a project content takes a low priority.

Content is last minute.

Some people do not even think about content until the day that the website is completely designed, developed, and ready to be rolled out. The wireframe, site map, and graphics are all water under the bridge by now. The only thing missing at this point is the content. All too often the content has not even been assigned or allocated to anyone at this point.

Users notice bad content.

If your copy is updated, cheerful, and friendly users will not notice. If your content is sterile and resembling a textbook, users will notice and you will hear about it. The second your product description starts to drag users will jump ship.

Mint – Mint has welcoming copy that often goes unnoticed because it is good, friendly content.

Make your content work.

The only way to overcome this horrid content is to make your content work harder. Before you begin any wire frames or development sit down as a whole and put together a content strategy. Initiate a strategy that will outline the metrics needed to keep your content moving forward.

Developing a Strategy

Kristina Halvorson has written an amazing book, “Content Strategy for the Web”, which goes into great detail on how to create a content strategy for the web. The following section summarizes some of her most important points. Please support her and purchase her book for more information.

Create, publish, and govern.

When putting together a content strategy it is important to understand that your strategy needs to cover not only creating and publishing the content, but governing the content as well. Once a website is live and time passes by content will become obsolete and need to be updated. This includes images and videos as well as the text itself.

Think “lifecycle” not “launch”.

Typically a website is launched everyone involved moves on to bigger and better things. We need to break the “launch” mindset and focus on the “lifecycle” of a website rather than the initial lift off. Plan to have an individual or team in charge of occasionally updating and checking the content.

Stop the separation.

Who is really in charge of creating the content? Designers and developers? The client? Marketing and research? Information architects? Truth be told, we all are in charge. Bring everyone together to work on the content strategy as a whole and the content will take life.

Stop using lorem ipsum.

Lorem ipsum will not, at all, resemble your actual content. Stop using it as a placeholder within your design or wireframe as it will be mismatched to the real content that will be delivered. While you are all together initiating a content strategy think through the content and any implications you may encounter. Know how to handle multiple levels of headings, ordered list, blockquotes, and other situations a head of time.

Answer more than just what.

If all your content does is tell what the website is about you’re missing the point. Quality content will answer the what, why, when, where, how, and who. Go over the website inside and out and cover your tracks. Make sure any possible questions a user may have are answered upfront.

Set goals.

Measuring your success can be difficult if you do not set goals. Figure out what you are looking to achieve with your website and exactly how your content can play a role in helping. Outline your goals and use them as motivation moving forward.

Determine accomplishments.

Figure out exactly what you want to accomplish with your content. Maybe it is to help sell a specific product, to build brand recognition, or to drive form conversions. Whatever you are looking to accomplish, define it now and then, work towards accomplishing it within your content. Knowing what you need to accomplish is easier than taking a stab in the dark.

Recognize risk.

Try to recognize any potential risk involved with developing content. Are you worried about being too edgy or too dull? Figure out exactly what your pressure points are and then plan on how to overcome the risk.

Flickr – Flickr avoids being dull by welcoming users in a different language every time they visit their profile.

Outline content structure.

All websites need to have a structure to their content and this structure needs to be carried out through every single page on the site. Outline a content structure that covers your headings, body text, linking between pages, as well as your narrative, tense, and flow. Really go over your content structure and determine how you will stay consistent throughout the entire website.

Identify roadblocks.

As with every other part of the project you are bound and determined to run into a few roadblocks when creating content. Is user research going to hold you up from getting a proper start on the content? Is marketing going to come down on you when they feel that the brand is not properly being carried out? Or, is legal going to tell you to completely scrap entire sections of the content? Identify what roadblocks you may encounter and figure out how you will move around them.

Determine overall messaging.

When putting together the content strategy this is the best time to determine the overall messaging of the website. This is a hard question to tackle so getting a head start on it now makes all the difference. Put together some recommendations for the overall messaging and tone of the website and how it should be conveyed. Chances are you will not completely iron out the messaging and that is fine, but getting a head start is crucial.

GIANT Creative – GIANT Creative has a great overall messaging that is carried out through the entire website.

Assign launch priorities.

Since the website will be a work in progress and you plan to continually make updates to the content, figure out where you want the content to be at launch. A lot of projects are time sensitive and getting off the ground is very important. Decide what needs to be completed before launch and what can be incorporated after launch. Do not, I repeat, do not launch a website for the sake of getting it live with the mindset that you will review the content later. This happens all too common and the content is never defined after launch.

Decide content hierarchy.

Now is also the time to decide your content hierarchy, meaning in what order do you want to present your messaging to users. Put your most important messaging first then move users back within the site for more information if they wish. Throwing all the content you can at users all at once will not work. Decide in what order you wish to present the content to the users.

Prepare sub page recommendations.

A content strategy should include recommendations for the home page all the way down to sub pages. Outline if some sub pages will receive specific templates to better convey messaging. Also determine how the sub pages will carry out the top level messaging, stay consistent from one page to another, and how they will all link and interlace.

In general, your strategy needs to provide all information needed to make any decisions when producing and creating the content. While developing the strategy you need to reach out to all of those whom may have some input. Gathering their input now, rather than later, will hopefully help prevent any roadblocks from occurring later on. Furthermore, use this time to set guidelines on to how the content will be maintained and updated moving forward.

Writing Quality Content

There are many different factors that all play into writing quality content. Many of which I addressed in my article “Writing User Friendly Content”, including:

• Give users a summary.
• Get to the point quickly.
• Use small sentences.
• Limit one thought per paragraph.
• Use bullet points.
• Use sub headings.
• Do not over use exclamations!!!
• Drive emphasis with repetition.
• Drop unnecessary adjectives.
• Use details, be specific.
• Use hyperlinks.
• Use a personal tone.
• Be unique.
• Escape content overload.

These are just to name a few. Please refer to the article for further details and complete explanations. In addition to these points I would also like to add:

Forget the sales pitch.

Online users are used to the typical sales pitch and can spot it from a mile away. It is commonly tasteless and users hate it. Instead, present them the facts in a friendly manner and let users decide for themselves.

Keep content understandable.

Having clear and understandable content is easier said than done. What may be understandable to you may not be to someone else. If a user struggles to find what they are looking for or to understand any of the content they will pounce on the back button like no tomorrow.

Communicate conversationally.

Communicate conversationally with a more casual tone and voice to allow for a friendlier and easier reading experience. Users will be extremely happy with content they can understand and you can rest assured you avoided them any frustration.

Carrot Creative – Carrot Creative uses a friendly tone and characteristic content to provide for very enjoyable reading.

Do not brag.

No one likes a showoff and the same goes online. Do not brag or boast about how popular you are or how well you did last year. You must earn your users trust and any pompous language will not sit well.

Avoid industry slang.

I could ramble all day about front-end and back-end development along with different content management systems, but would my audience understand me? No. Speak in terms that everyone will understand.

Bringing Content to Life

Apply your hierarchy.

Take the hierarchy you decided on within your strategy and apply it using different headings, text sizes, and typefaces. As before, put your most important messaging first and show users where to begin. From there guide them through the rest of the website.

37signals – 37signals uses a creative design to apply their hierarchy and to guide users down the page.

Make content able to be scanned.

One of the most important things to take into consideration when creating and stylizing your content is to make sure that it can be scanned. Users do not read content online, they scan it. Make sure you break up your text using multiple headlines, bullet points, short paragraphs, and descriptive links.

HUGE – Huge adheres to all reading types by breaking up their content with paragraphs, list, and other grid based elements.

Stylize your text.

Make use of common text styling elements like bold, italics, shadows, and so forth as they help to bring life to your content. A little bit of an added touch can go a long way so be sure not to overdo it. Too much style and your content can start to look gaudy.

N.Design Studio – N.Design Studio uses a variety of text effects including multiple typefaces, colors, sizes, strokes, and more.

Play with different fonts.

Online we are commonly limited to a specific number of web friendly fonts. However with the improvements of @font-face and services like Typekit the number of fonts is quickly growing. Use different fonts to help deliver your content in a more aesthetic manner. As with adding stylization to your text, be sure to pick a font that will compliment your design.

Viget Inspire – The Viget Inspire blog uses multiple different typefaces for an added touch, easily taking the design to the next level.

Use contrasting colors.

Using black text on a black background probably is not a good idea. Pick colors that fit well with your layout and design. A bright contrasting color has the ability to really draw a user’s attention. Use colors within your content to your advantage.

Friendly Duck – The contrasting orange color on Friendly Duck sticks out amongst the dark background and really draws users attention.

Apply clean rags.

Each line of unjustified text should be as close as possible to the same length as the other lines above and below it. Any large spaces at the end of a line will create a large gap that is hard to follow when reading. Further more, having text hanging out on the end of a section of text within the last line creates an unpleasing arrangement and is often over looked.

Happy Cog – Happy Cog is aware of their rags and has taken the additional effort to make them as pleasing as possible.

Exercise white space.

A fair amount of white space in a design allows the content to breathe and makes it easier for users to read and follow. White space can also be used to build a grid within your layout and design. Which, in return, may help your content establish a rhythm for easier reading.

Elliot Jay Stocks – Elliot Jay Stocks uses white space to help sculpt his layout while allowing users to easily read and follow the content.

Make graphics and text coincide.

Excellent text and a strong graphic can communicate a powerful message, a message that has the ability to leave a lasting impact on users. Use graphics that work well with your text. Simply adding graphics to a page for no apparent purpose is distracting and aggravating for users.

Housing Works – Housing Works makes use of emotional images to add a powerful impact to their messaging.

Take advantage of CSS.

Cascading style sheets give you the potential to not only add outstanding effects to your text, but to also set a content standard for text across an entire website. Setting standards in CSS ensures the consistency of your typography across an entire website.

You Need Excellent Content

Developing a strategy, writing quality content, and bringing that content to life take a tremendous amount of energy. The majority of companies do not have the resources, let alone the time and effort needed to develop great web content. Quality content requires a detailed procedure and hard work which will end up being worth it.

Having a content strategy along with quality content in place allows for a strong user’s experience, better brand regularity, up to date working efficiency, improved risk management, more powerful search engine optimization, and more advantageous personality and targeting.

Stop acting like content is secondary nature, of which can be touched up at a later date. Start your projects with creating quality content and start today!

Very special thanks to Kristina Halvorson on her amazing contributions to educating the importance of web content. Please visit her at Brain Traffic or purchase her book “Content Strategy for the Web”.

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It is not uncommon for companies to sink large amounts of money into obtaining traffic to their websites in an attempt to increase conversions. Some of their money might go towards search engine optimization and some might go towards pay per click or search engine marketing. Little do they know their problem might not be about getting more traffic. The real problem could be that they have a poor call to action.

A plain “Click Here” link buried underneath a wall of text is not going to yield very good results. Driving traffic to your website is important, however what good is the traffic if the primary call to action is nearly invisible? Having a well-designed call to action could be all the difference needed to rocket conversions sky high. The design of a call to action can be broken down into 4 simple elements, size, shape, color, and position.

Design Elements

Size

Make your call to action large enough that it stands out on top of everything else on the page. It is your primary focus, right? Generally speaking, the larger an element is on a page the more noticeable it will be, thus the more importance it should hold. A good call to action is large enough so that it is easily recognized without being tacky in the process.

Before going off the deep end realize that it is possible to create a call to action that is too large. If you create too large of a call to action users may not understand that it is clickable and will miss the call to action altogether. Create a call to action that is large in relation to other elements on the page, but not over done.

Alternatively, if you have more than one call to action, size them in relation to their importance. The primary call to action should be larger than the secondary call to action.

Sortfolio – The “get listed” call to action stands tall above the rest of the navigation as the primary call to action.

MailChimp – The home page over at MailChimp features two large call to action buttons that ensure they are not missed.

Shape

The best calls to action are most commonly shaped like buttons as they attract attention and are instantly identified as clickable. Use rounded or circular corners on the ends of your call to action to give it the shape of an ordinary button. Square corners do work as well, however some users may misinterpret your call to action for an ad or banner and steer clear from it. Feel free to use square corners, just do so with a bit of caution in mind.

On top of shaping your call to action to that similar of a button it is also beneficial to use a unique font from the rest of the page for your call to action. The difference in the shape of the font will help attract attention to the call to action and draw users in. As always, choose a font that is distinctive yet complimentary to the other fonts on the page as well.

Apple – Apple uses multiple rounded corners to enforce that the element is indeed clickable. They also make use of a “+” circle on the top left corner to help draw users attention.

Authentic Jobs – Authentic Jobs uses a dominant button with an accent below it to guide users eye path.

Color

To say that any of the 4 elements being outlined here has more importance than the other is too close to call, however the color of your call to action is right at the top. One of the quickest ways to grab a user’s attention is by using a bright, contrasting color right within your call to action. Choosing a color that stands out from the rest of the colors used within the page will enforce its significance.

Pick a color that is specifically unique to your call to action and is not used anywhere else on the page. For example, if all of your text is black and all of your links and buttons are blue you should use a different color than black or blue for your call to action. Instead, use a brighter contrasting color such as orange. By using orange the call to action will not fade in with the rest of the blue and black and will stand atop of all the other elements on the page.

It is also recommended that you need to practice using colors appropriately. By all means pick colors that are bright and contrasting, however make sure you pick colors that fit the overall color scheme of the page. Throwing in random colors in order to get a call to action to stand out will look unprofessional and perhaps worse, untrustworthy. Additionally, be careful when using more than one call to action on a page. Too many colors can quickly turn your page into a rainbow, draining the impact of the primary call to action, and pushing users to an unresponsive state.

h2desk – h2desk uses a beautiful bright red call to action on top of a dark background.

Less Time Spent – The bright green button on Less Time Spent is a high contrast of the other colors used on the home page.

Position

Positioning your call to action instinctively within the eye path of users is incredibly important. No matter how large, oddly shaped, or brightly colored your call to action is users will never see it unless it is placed within an intuitive position. The exact position for your call to action will depend on the page layout itself, however the best practice is to keep the call to action above the fold and in a prominent area with plenty of breathing room.

You are able to prioritize the elements on a page simply by the order in which they are placed. Keeping the call to action toward of the top of a page, not requiring users to scroll down to find it, places more value on the call to action and allows it to receive more impressions. Leaving the call to action in an instinctive position allows users to also come back to it after browsing other parts of the website.

Leaving a fair amount of white space around the call to action prevents other elements of the page from interfering with the importance needing to be placed on it. Positioning the call to action in an intuitive position without any clutter in the way will reward the highest amount of conversions.

Textpattern – Textpattern places their primary call to action right underneath the logo ensuring it is going to be seen.

Notable – Notable positions their call to action above the fold with plenty of whitespace surrounding it.

Examples of Great Calls to Action

BuySellAds

VideoTeaching.com

Site Remark

CoTweet

File Share HQ

Catch Mail

Templatic

Pulse

Campaign Monitor

Home Theater Forum

Healogix

Livestream

Donor Tools

WebNotes

TrackMyPeople

FreeAgent

SugarSync

1Password

Pastebot

MemberFuse

Droplr

Zaplee

Xpelo

HelpSpot

EnStore

Jolicloud

Xero

POP Creative Group

Glasscubes

Planning Center

Bidsketch

Virb

WWF

LemonStand

Crush It! Book

Matthew Henry

Shopify

Medical Licensure Group

Halogy

LightCMS

International ArtExpo New York 2010

Osmond Interactive

Magntize

Mobile Roadie

Microsoft MIX10

Art in My Coffee

Onehub

Sprouter

SliceMyDesign

Essay Academia

Ambition Wordpress Edition

Brite Revolution

StreetMavens

Vuu Media

Message Stream

Additional Information

• Smashing Magazine – “Call to Action Buttons: Examples and Best Practices”
• Boagworld – “10 Techniques for an Effective ‘Call to Action’”
• UX Booth – “Good Call-To-Action Buttons”

Putting it all Together

At the end of the day creating a good call to action is all about getting users to convert. No matter how you go about getting conversions you cannot ignore the design of your call to action. The 4 simple elements outlined here may not seem like much, but can work wonders on your conversion rate. Take a look at your website and reevaluate your call to action. Could it use a little work? Would any of these 4 elements help give it a boost? Please let me know about it in the comments below. Maybe I can give you a hand or lend you some advice?

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Online sales are growing rapidly year over year and now more than ever is a great time to have an e-commerce website. While maintaining and optimizing an e-commerce website may be quite the assignment, taking little steps in the right direction will greatly help the overall improvement. Begin with small improvements you can tackle quickly. Then move on to more complex tasks that may require extra effort. Slowly, but surely, you will fine tune your website into an outstanding website. Outlined here are 10 quick e-commerce tips to get you on your way.

Start Your E-commerce Optimization

1. Accommodate All Users Types

When a user visits your website it is virtually impossible to know where they stand within the purchase process. Some users are just browsing around gathering information for a future purchase while other users may be in a dead heat to make a purchase as quickly and easily as possible. Take note of all the potential user types and try to accommodate them all equally.

2. Use Captivating and Compelling Copy

Users browse e-commerce websites as if they are on a hunt. Hunting for a desired product and the moment the hunt goes cold they fall off track and disappear. Write strong impact copy that keeps users on the hunt. If a landing page or paid search ad is promoting "Affordable Baking Accessories" you better be sure the corresponding page on your website uses this same copy.

3. Use Headings with a Punch

Headings are the main place where you can persuade users to stay on your website for another few seconds. If your heading is too informational or puts them to sleep you have missed your chance. Use clear, descriptive headings that get to the point and provide users with a source of relevancy. For example, "Pet Safe Wireless Containment System PIF-300 Including Lifetime Manufacturer's Warranty" has less of an impact than "Pet Safe Wireless Pet Fence - Lifetime Warranty Included".

4. Take Advantage of Good Calls to Action

As a child when your mother told you to clean your room, did you? No. When you tell a user to "Click Here" are they going to? No. Give users a reason to proceed and to follow through. Using a call to action like "See Our Lowest Priced Bikes" is much more appealing than "Click Here" or "Learn More".

5. Provide Multiple Professional Product Images

One of the best parts about walking into a brick and mortar store to make a purchase is that you are physically able to pick up and examine a product. By giving users multiple images online allows us to overcome this barrier. On top of giving users multiple images, give them professional images from different angles and in different environments. Show them a shirt from the front, back, side, as well as on a model.

6. Allow Users to Read and Leave Product Reviews

User reviews, both good and bad, are proven to increase your conversions. Studies show that 77% of users look at reviews and ratings. Of them, 63% admit that they are more likely to make a purchase from a website with reviews and ratings. (Jupiter Research, August 2006, and Comp USA & iPerceptions) Furthermore, negative reviews allow users to see that the ratings are concrete and the product is in fact real with flaws. If you receive too many negative reviews and you may consider discontinuing the product offering.

7. Lead Users through the Checkout Process

Getting users into the checkout process is an accomplishment in itself; do not ruin it with poor user experience. Give users an overview detailing how many steps are involved and where they currently stand. Additionally do not promote any products or try to sell additional products within the checkout process. Keep the process to a minimum and as intuitive as possible.

8. Develop Clean Easy to Use Forms

For many websites forms act as the plague. Design and develop your forms in a clean easy to use manner. A few best practices include:

• Require only necessary information. Do not go data happy.
• Provide security assurance ensuring personal information is safe and secure.
• Use descriptive buttons like "Continue to Shipping and Billing" rather than "Submit".
• Assist users with error handling on incorrectly completed fields.

9. Provide Help and Support

The first thing a majority of users are going to do before making a purchase is to make sure that you are willing, and able, to help them after a purchase is made. The quickest way to insure your support is to provide users with a phone number at all times. Furthermore you should also supply a mailing address and email address. On top of contact information you should also provide a privacy policy, return policy, shipping policy, and so forth. Providing all of this information upfront will help reassure users.

10. Test Then Test and Test Some More

These days testing is inexpensive, potentially free, and will warrant substantial benefits. The only excuse not to test is the matter of time it takes, however with Google's Website Optimizer this excuse is no longer valid. You can be up and running a test within the hour. Make a list of 3 things that bother you about your website, things you think could be improved. Then set out to test them. Once you have finished your initial test, rinse and repeat.

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Guido Daniele is an extremely talented artist and his collection of "Handimals" is proof.

After attending art school he began working as a hyper-realistic illustrator in 1972 with many large promotional and advertising corporations throughout the world. After experimenting and trying a few different painting methods he found his stroke with body painting in 1990. What started as body painting for advertising pictures, commercial, fashion events, and other exhibitions has turned into more than Guido could have possible imagined.

The "Handimals" collection originally started when Daniele was hired by an advertising agency to do some body paintings of animals. Instantly he took passion in the idea. "I researched each animal in depth to see how I could transfer it to a hand, and then set about bringing it to life." The first "Handimal" was the cheetah, and to this day is still his favorite. "It turned out perfectly the first time and gave me the courage to complete the rest of the set."

Most commonly, Daniele uses his son (Michael James, 15) and daughter (Ginevra, 22) as his primary canvases. "If you're spending hours on end holding someone's hand, I'd rather it be the hand of someone I love. There's nothing worse than working with a nervous, unfamiliar model whose hands are shaking." On average the typical "Handimal" takes around three to four hours to paint in its entirety. However the first time Daniele painted the eagle with outstretched wings clocked in at ten hours upon completion.

Daniele admits that the hardest part is not the painting itself, but rather having to watch his paintings be washed down the drain and disappear on a daily basis. "I'm getting used to it. At least I get to start each day with a fresh canvas."

For more information on Guido Daniele please visit his website.

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One of the most valuable resources you have is sitting right under your nose and you may not even know it. What is this indispensable resource you may ask? Email marketing. For those of you who are currently practicing email marketing you may already know of the potential benefits at hand. For those of you who are not, please take note, this may greatly increase the performance of your business.

Many companies are profitable simply from their email marketing campaigns alone. With help of these time tested methods and a touch of your own fine-tuning you too can earn extra profit as well. Broken down here are the two parts to smart email marketing: Sending and Ensuring Delivery of Emails, as well as, Considerations for Designing Emails.

Sending and Ensuring Delivery of Emails

Send Emails on a Consistent Time Table

When you send your emails on a regular basis you create a pattern of which readers will become familiar with. The less likely you are to catch readers by surprise the lower your non-subscription rate will be. Internet service providers (ISPs) will also take note of regular sending patterns and credit you accordingly.

Find A Happy Sending Medium

It is important to find exactly how often you should send emails. By sending emails too often you will annoy users and by sending emails not enough users will forget about you. In either situation, they are likely to unsubscribe.

Readers are Most Receptive Tuesday and Wednesday from 2-3 PM

On Mondays everyone is running around trying to catch up on an inbox full of emails from the weekend. On Thursdays and Fridays everyone has one foot out the door looking forward or preparing for the weekend. Studies show that readers are most receptive to emails on Tuesday and Wednesday, and specifically after lunch from 2-3 PM. (View source.)

Steer Clear of Spam Filters

Internet service providers (ISPs) have caught on as to how spam email is created and delivered. In their detection of spam they have developed diligent spam filters. One of the best ways to prevent an email from being flagged as spam is to completely leave out words like "Free", "Promotion", "Sale", "Discount", and so forth.

Use the Current Date

Spam filters will often look for a recent date within an email. If they do not come across one the email may potentially be flagged as spam, or pointed in the direction of the spam folder. Using the current date will also provide relevance to the reader as well.

Be Personable

Treat readers as your friend, even address them by their name if possible, and you will see open and click-thru rates skyrocket. No one wants to be addressed by "Hello there" or "Dear Subscriber". If I get an email address as "Good afternoon Shay" I am most likely going to open it. Any good email marketing service will allow you to address users by their name by using a tag similar to "[subscriber_name]". Check your specific service for instructions.

ALWAYS Use a Double Opt-in Subscription System

When a reader signs up for your email or newsletter send them a confirmation email. Once they confirm the subscription, then and only then, add them to your email list. Doing so ensures that they really want to be on the list and will be susceptive to your emails. This will also prevent you from adding people to your list that have accidentally entered the wrong email address or even purposely entered a fake email address.

Do NOT Buy and Sell Email List

The quickest way to get black listed is to buy and sell your email list. Your emails will regularly be flagged as spam and your delivery rate will plummet. Most email delivery services will also refuse to send out your email campaigns if your list is purchased.

Stay in Touch with Readers

After a user has signed up for your email list, and has double opt-in, send them a welcome or thank you email with a 10% off coupon. In another week send them another email outlining some resources available on your website. Staying in touch with users ensures them that you are trustworthy and may later help you complete a sale.

Write Captivating Subject Lines

Once an email lands in a reader's inbox they have two choices. Read the email or disregard the email. Most commonly, the only opportunity you have to influence them to open the email is by the subject line. Do not title your email "FREE EMAILING ADVICE". Instead use "Company Name Newsletter: Smart Email Marketing" or "Company Name Newsletter: Issue 12".

Write Related Emails

If someone signs up for an email newsletter pertaining to web design and development and you send them an email about cheap auto insurance your non-subscription rate is going to explode. Keep your emails relevant and avoid continuously sending out sales pitches. Give your readers valued content.

Check Your Links

Before sending out your email be sure to check all of the links, both websites and email addresses, included within the email itself. Any links to spam or blacklisted websites is sure to set off spam filters. Be sure to only link to creditable sources.

Provide Benefits to New Subscribers

One of the best ways to build your email list is to give new subscribers an added bonus. Let readers know that by subscribing to your email newsletter they will receive a free e-book or even a 10% off coupon. Of course, make sure you use the double opt-in service to ensure that people are not providing you with false information.

Send Emails at a Slow Delivery Rate

Attempting to blast your email list instantly will throw up quite a few red flags and more than likely cause your email to head straight into the spam folder. Use a professional email delivery service that will send out the emails at a recommended effective speed in order to get all of your emails out in a reasonable time without causing any interruptions.

Encourage Users to Add You to Their White List

The best way to ensure your emails make it a reader's inbox is to encourage them to add your email address to their contact list, or white list. Not everyone will do it but those that do are your most dedicated readers and are sure to get your emails on a consistent basis without having to worry if the emails get flagged as spam. Additionally, internet service providers (ISPs) will count the number of times your email address is added to a white list as an account of creditability.

Delete Inactive Subscribers and Bounces

Any readers that are not opening and reading your emails are most likely marking them as spam. Removing these subscribers will help you lower your spam score. Furthermore, delete any hard bounces or undelivered email addresses. Repeatedly resending to these address may likely be considered as spamming.

Check Your Replies

Some users are going to reply to your email asking to be taken off of your email list. This is fine and it is in your best effort to listen to them. You may also receive replies from readers providing you with valuable feedback. Either way, checking your replies is to your benefit.

Considerations for Designing Outstanding Emails

Use Plain Stylization of Links

Readers browse their email differently than they do web pages. While it is tempting to stylize your links in attempt to make them stand out, you are more likely to better results by using a plain stylization of links (blue, underlined, bold). Even if you think you can do a better job of making your links stand out by adding images and other visual effects there is no guarantee that the email client your reader is using will even display the correct results.

Provide a Clear One-Click Unsubscribe Link

May users may argue that you need to place your unsubscribe link within the header of your email. I do not think this is completely necessary, however it is necessary to make your unsubscribe link evident and easily noticeable. When users unsubscribe make this process as easy as possible, preferably with one click from the email. Dragging out the unsubscribe process may frustrate users and provoke them to mark your email as spam.

Encourage Readers to Forward to a Friend

Readers do not need a button or link to let them forward your email to a friend, however a little encouragement will never hurt. If they do forward your email the chances of you getting business from a referral from a friend is much higher than not.

Use a Strong Call to Action

Using a strong call to action will dramatically increase your click through rates. Do not use "click here". Instead, use intriguing text or an unmistakable button to drive your main call to action.

Stay Around 600 Pixels Wide

A good majority of email clients will limit the width of an email and because of these limitations the most optimal width of an email falls within or close to 600 pixels wide. Before creating your next email masterpiece make sure you do so with a width of 600 pixels in mind so that all readers may enjoy it.

Check Popular Preview Panes

A lot of popular email clients, Microsoft Outlook specifically, provide a preview pane from which readers are able to see the beginning of an email. When designing your email make sure that the top of your email is captivating enough to get readers to view the rest of the email.

Make Your Email Legible with Images Disabled

For many email clients, most notably Microsoft Outlook and Hotmail, will disable images within emails by default. This makes it important to make sure that your email can still be comprehended even if the images are disabled.

Use Plain Text to Accompany HTML

If you decide to send your emails in HTML you need to make sure that you also attach a plain text version as well via MIME-Multipart-Format. In doing so you make certain that readers without HTML support are able to view your email. Keep in mind, your HTML and plain text versions should contain the same text. Your HTML should contain more content than markup language and in total your message should be between 20 and 40 Kb.

Utilize CSS Carefully

Only use CSS to stylize the text and some of the minor elements of your email. When doing so you are better off if you decide to use CSS as an inline style. Do not use CSS for the layout of an email, as most email clients will not support a CSS layout. Unfortunately, instead you should refer to a table-based layout.

Reduce Intricate HTML and Images

Most email clients are not able to render complex HTML, while a handful of email clients block images by default. A high percentage of HTML tags may also be flagged as spam. In general, the cleaner and simpler your emails are the better performance you will see from your emails.

Include a Signature

One of the easiest ways to be personable is to use a signature on all of your emails. On top of adding a personable measure to your email it will also help drive traffic to your website. Be sure to include a name, company name, website, as well as a link to unsubscribe from the newsletter. Here is a good example of a signature:

Regards,
Shay Howe
Freelance Web & User Interface Designer - letscounthedays
Visit me online at http://www.shayhowe.com/
Unsubscribe from this newsletter anytime at www.shayhowe.com/unsubscribe/

Include a Link to Your Privacy Policy

Ensure your readers that their email address and personal information was obtained in a moral manner and that this information is safe with you. Do your best to make it clear to them that you will not rent or sell their information and the more likely they are to stay subscribed to your email list.

Include Your Address and Phone Number

Federal legislation requires that a physical mailing address be included with any commercial email newsletter or campaign. Take this a step further and include your phone number as well. Giving readers multiple methods for contacting you provides them with extra insurance.

Use an Online Version for Support

No matter what you do there is no guarantee that your email is going to come through and be displayed the way you want it to for all email clients. To combat this, provide readers with an online version of the email for support.

ALWAYS Test Before Sending

Each email client will render your email a little differently. Do your best to check as many email clients as possible before sending. You may be surprised at how differently each email client will interrupt your email.

Inspirational Email Gallery

Apple

Backpack

Cabedge

Eye Design Studio

Fresh Books

Mindful Metropolis

SxSW

Threadless

Tri-North Builders

Typekit

Unmatchedstyle

uPrinting

Virb

Virtuosa

Wufoo

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When it comes to online copy content is king. And this king is one of the determining factors in how successful your website is. Simply enough, if your copy is not up to par users will not read your content nor will they do business with you. Furthermore they are likely to never return to your website. Having good content will make a world of difference.

Qualities of Great Web Content

1. Give Users a Summary

Before diving into the nitty-gritty give users a summary of what they are about to read. This will allow them to make sure your topic is worth their time. If you have written your summary successfully they will continue to read.

2. Get to the Point

If you take away anything from this article let it be this. Users online do not read, they scan. Get straight to the point in the least amount of words possible. Do not beat around the bush. Simply get your point across quickly.

3. Use Small Sentences and Paragraphs

Using smaller sentences and paragraphs makes your content easier to comprehend and take in. Users will not take the time to read long sentences or paragraphs. They will continue scanning down the page. By using short sentences and paragraphs you can pull them in and work them down the page without making them scan too much.

4. Limit One Thought Per Paragraph

Attempting to cram 5 thoughts into one paragraph is not only going to look like you are rambling, but you are also going to confuse all of your readers. As mentioned before keep it short, precise, and to the point.

5. Use Bullet Points

There are many advantages of using bullet points. Many of which include:

• They are easy to scan.
• They break up the flow of the page.
• They draw users in.

6. Use Sub Headings

Sub headings break up the flow of your content and provide a very intuitive way for users to scan the page. Not to mention, sub headings provide a great benefit to search engine optimization. The most effective sub headings are descriptive and if possible make use of a few good keywords.

7. Stay Organized

Ease users into the content and then keep them reading by staying organized. It is difficult to talk to someone who is jumping from one topic to another. Most of the time you can hardly understand what they are trying to say. The same thing goes for online content.

8. Stylize Your Content

Adding a little stylization to your content will allow you to add emphasis to key statements. Using bold and italics are both great for capturing user's attention and driving your point home. Avoid using underline for anything but links. Underlining any text that is not a link can be very frustrating for users as they are preconditioned to think they are links.

9. Do Not Over Use Exclamations

Using exclamation points here and there can really help add emphasize, however using them after every sentence is only going to annoy users. You will sound like a loud advertisement that no one cares to hear. Keep your exclamation points to a minimum and use them only where effective.

10. Remember Users are Pessimistic

There is so much garbage and hoaxes online that users are immediately skeptical of any and all content published online. Write using unbiased language and avoid any sales pitches. Build your creditability and cite any sources if available.

11. Do Not Worry About Contingency

Do not pad your sentences in attempt to cover all your bases. While using a more daring statement may not convey the strict truth, it will make a stronger impression. For example, "The majority of monkeys prefer to sleep at night." is weaker than "The monkeys sleep at night."

12. Use Repetition For Emphasis

Using repetition is an effective method of getting your point across. Using repetition is an easy way to create a pulse within your writing. Using repetition is simple to do, however it is also simple to overdo so practice with care.

13. Drop Unnecessary Adjectives

There are a million different ways I could explain my love for cupcakes, however no other is more effective than "I love cupcakes." If your adjectives are not providing any significance or additional information to your content then drop them.

14. Use Details and Be Specific

No one is really interested that your product or service is "new and improved". Tell users exactly what is new and improved. The more descriptive you can be and the better explanation you can give, the more likely users are to continue reading.

15. Use Links Within Your Copy

Remember this is the internet after all and linking from one page to another is acceptable. Links will also standout amongst the other content on your page and help users to quickly scan the page and identify what the page is about.

16. Use A Personal Tone

Writing your content as if it is a law document is boring and will put users to sleep instantaneously. Make your content personal and users will be able to relate, furthermore allowing them to trust you. I must warn you though, going too far can make you seem immature and unprofessional (ya' meanz omg lol). Speak to your readers as if they are next to you and you will find a happy medium.

17. Be Unique

One of the best ways to stand out is to be unique. Give your content some personality, make readers laugh, and enjoy reading your content. If you can do this you have struck gold as users will continue to come back for more.

18. Escape Content Overload

Too much content can overwhelm visitors and furthermore drive them away from your page. Upon landing on a page of your website, users are typically going to scroll down to see how much text there is to read. If it looks like a wall of text odds are they will leave before even reading the first line.

19. Always, Always Proofread

The last thing you want is a potential client or customer to come to your website and start pointing out your spelling and grammar errors. Yes, updating copy online can be accomplished quickly and easily, however by the time you notice the errors so have thousands of others. Always proofread your content.

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These days finding inspiration is easy with help from hundreds of design blogs. With a few simple clicks you have an endless supply of inspiration right at your fingertips. The real trick is finding motivation and, further more, staying motivated. Please do not get the wrong idea. Inspiration can serve as great motivation, however there is more to it. Staying motivated is a practice and requires more effort than ambiguously cruising for inspiration.

You Know Inspiration, Let Us Try Motivation

1. Do Not Overwork Yourself

Working too much is a sure fire way to put a screeching halt to any and all of your motivation. Constantly working too much will put you in a rut, of which may become too deep to dig yourself out of. Use a timeline with every project to ensure you have allocated enough time for the work entitled.

2. Pace Yourself

On top of not overworking do not try and fit too much work into one day. Doing so will not only stall your motivation but even worse it will produce unacceptable work. Create a reasonable daily schedule and do your best to stick to it. If a daily schedule is not your style perhaps try a quick to-do list instead.

3. Set and Beat Your Deadline

Once you have your timeline and daily schedule in place work to set a goal to beat your deadline. A lot of people have their productivity peak right before closing in on a deadline and until the deadline is insight productivity is minimal. Use multiple deadlines for every project and benefit from completing them early.

4. Get a Good Start

Getting a good start to a project will help to keep you motivated throughout the duration of the project. On days when you sleep in you typically do not tend to be very productive. Same thing goes with web design. Do your best to make a solid effort at beginning every project.

5. Disregard Any Interruptions

Email, Twitter, instant messaging, and other interruptions are just as big disadvantages as they are beneficial. Taking a few minutes here and there to check your RSS feeds or email will quickly add up in the course of a day. Blocking out and limiting these interruptions is the only you are going to be able to willingly meet your deadline.

6. Make Good Use of Your Spare Time

Staying motivated requires you to make good use of your spare time. If you are able to truly enjoy your time away from work the happier you are going to be when the time comes to get some work done. Being happy and having a good attitude can stretch a long way when it comes to staying motivated.

7. Rotate Work Environments

Sitting in front of a computer day in and day out will take its toll. A good way to mix things up is to move to another location or environment. Heading down to your local coffee shop, bookstore, or café once a week to work can brighten the day and provide something to look forward to the rest of the week.

8. Put It Off If Possible

If you get a rough start to a project or hit a roadblock put it off for a little while when possible. Sitting there and spinning your wheels without any results is only going to put you further back on your feet. Learn to set a project aside and move on to another for the time being if possible.

9. Follow Your Progress

After working on a project for a while it is easy to lose track of your progress, at which it begins to feel like you are just plugging away for an unreachable ending. Keep an eye on your overall progress and make sure to note when you reach desirable points.

10. Take Productive Breaks and Vacations

A change of scenery for a while can do wonders for one’s motivation. Breaks can be as simple as heading out for lunch, walking the dog, or as delightful as taking a vacation. Not only do you work hard to earn these breaks, but you also come back refreshed and ready to get to work afterwards.

11. Work With Others

If there comes a time when you get stuck, look for a second opinion or help from others that will provide you with the added push you need to continue. If possible develop a network of people you can look to for advice on difficult projects. Even help from others completely outside the industry can provide an additional insight you may have previously missed out on.

12. Take Another Approach

Sometimes we get jammed and that is all right as it is a natural process of being a web designer. Rather than go insane and throw your hands in the air take a look at the work from another angle or take a different approach. Working around the holdup can help you continue working without wasting any valuable time.

13. Have Fun

One of the best ways to stay motivated is to have fun. Turn your work into fun by adding a twist to it, making it competitive, or getting others in on the action. If you are doing landing page testing make bets with others around you as to what page will perform the best. Adding a little competition or twist to your work can be just what you need to make it more enjoyable.

14. Eat Lunch or Grab a Snack

Not only does eating give you a break and time to clear your head but it also provides you with much needed energy. If you are working and come to a barrier too high to breakdown go eat lunch or grab a snack then come back full force ready to break the barrier down. Along with eating, stay hydrated to avoid fatigue and stay ahead of the game.

15. Go Exercise

The benefits to exercising are endless. In regards to staying motivated, exercising will allow you to release endorphins, blow off work stress, and ultimately detoxify yourself. After exercising you will be able to relax and in return increase productivity and motivation at work.

16. Drop the Dead Weight

More times than none you are going to have to deal with a dysfunctional client and they can make you absolutely hate your job. Do your best to work with the client and turn the relationship around. However; if all else fails and you have the option, drop them. No amount of money is worth driving you insane and making you hate your job.

17. Reward Yourself

Rewarding yourself is one of the easiest and most important ways to stay motivated. After every small task you complete reward yourself by taking a break or getting some coffee. For the larger tasks or projects you complete go home early or buy yourself something new. No matter what you decide to do make it meaningful for yourself and recognize your accomplishments.

18. Keep Your Head Up

At times we all feel like throwing in the towel and calling it a day. Fact of the matter is quitters never win. Everyday is a new opportunity and it is up to you to make the most of it. Learn from your mistakes and do not let things get the best of you. If you can do that you will be all right.

What Keeps You Motivated?

Everyone is different and I believe I have only touched on the surface of what can keep you motivated. I would love to hear what you do to stay motivated. Please share your tips and advice with us below in the comments.

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As a web designer you are bound and determined to at one point and time come across a troublesome client. There are know-it-all clients, the low-tech clients, the day-late clients, and many more. No matter what their nature may be they exist and seem to come by all too often. Learning how to communicate with these clients can immensely change the outcome of your day-to-day productivity as well as your overall success.

Above All, Communication is Key

1. Start With a Fresh Slate

Carrying an attitude with clients is quickly going to ruin your career. Every time you approach a discussion, email, or call from a client you should do so with a good attitude and a positive mindset. Working with a bad attitude is only going to produce bad results and further fuel the flames. Keep your head up!

2. Look Between the Lines

When a client asks you to make the logo larger could they really mean they would like a stronger branding presence? Be sure to completely understand what your client is requesting before jumping to conclusions. Ask respectful questions and get to the bottom of what the client is really looking for.

3. Keep a Level Head

A lot of times you will receive an email or message from a client that seems to be a little pushy or assertive. Take a step back and realize that this may have come off the wrong way, perhaps because the client is not familiar with industry lingo they do not know how to effectively communicate with us without sounding somewhat bossy.

4. Learn to Renegotiate

As a project progresses clients can tend to get more involved and in a result often ask for things out of the scope of the original project. Rather than doing the work for nothing (and becoming ticked in return) or refusing to do the additional work altogether learn to renegotiate the contract. This will eliminate frustration on both sides and hopefully increase the overall efficiency of the project.

5. Communicate with Purpose

Try your best not to get in the habit of shooting off quick messages looking for answers. In return you’ll get quick answers that are not thought out which may carry back-and-forth, eating away at time you could have saved by sending one detailed message. Make it your goal to only send messages with some medium and detail.

6. Pick Your Battles

Putting up a fight is important in ensuring that you clients are getting the best possible results. Pick the battles that will win the war and learn to take the hit on the others. This may take some practice in figuring out exactly what to figure for with each client but once you do figure it out it will make your life easier.

7. Provide Support to Decisions

If a client is a little weary or questioning one of your decisions back it up with proven examples, case studies, or performance metrics. Clients will question you from time to time and it’s only to ensure they are really getting the best possible website. Be ready and willing to provide support behind your decisions.

8. Put it in Writing

I work best when I have something to reference or fall back on. Keeping all of my discussions in writing not only helps me stay on track but also allows me to reference previous discussions if any questions arise. Whenever you talk to a client over the phone or meet to go over the project send them an email recapping your discussion. They will appreciate the summary and it will allow you to stay organized.

9. Interrogate the Client

When push comes to shove and you are truly struggling with a client interrogate them to find out what they are genuinely looking for. Do it tastefully and do your best to really get the client thinking. The harder they think the better they are at being able to express what they have in mind.

10. Never Stop Communicating

Always keep the communication line open between you and the client. Keeping them in the loop and allowing them to ask questions will ensure them that you are doing your best work and ultimately care about their project. In the end they will be in a better mood and you will be able to sleep better at night knowing your client is happy.

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