Information Architecture - Calls to Action - Web Findability/Usability Design

Stopped Dead on the Info Superhighway

A guy I know paid a talented designer five grand for a new Web site. After months of meetings, emails and design revisions, the site was finally completed and posted. He was stoked–really, the site looked awesome. In fact, all his friends and family–everyone to whom he emailed his link–thought it looked cool, too.

Well, he's a nice guy and his budget was totally blown. So I refrained from laying waste to his elation by telling him that, frankly, his site was third–rate: navigation was awkward, the site was not Firefox–friendly and worst of all, there were no clear 'calls to action.'

The big questions–ones he ignored–weren't whether his site was cool, hot or not. It was whether unsolicited searchers from his target market could and would find it from among the 155 million–plus sites on the Internet. And if it were found, would any visitors stay onsite long enough to get what they wanted? More importantly, would the site motivate them to do something this guy wanted them to do–and had spent five grand on in the hopes they would?

The brutal truth was, given his site's messaging and construction, these weren't going to happen. Inadequate strategic planning had gone into its design. His friends' opinions were inconsequential to his hoped–for online success.

An analogy is that he paid for a car that didn't drive–the engine was missing and the tank was bone dry. This guy was launching his Web vehicle onto the hyper–congested, information superhighway–but even if he'd dropped in a supercharged 427 Hemi and a full tank of high test he still lacked a destination. Basically, what he–and so many other site owners–lacked was a travel plan.

At my workplace, half of our clients come to us with a well–formed Request for Proposal. In these cases, our role is to meet their expectations with a mix of deliverable services and products matching their expectations and budget.

Others come with vaguer notions. For them, we spend more time on discovery–listening and probing to better understand their priorities and company culture, uncovering realistic needs and goals. Goals vary hugely between clients and projects: making sales, strengthening brand, generating leads, forming and nurturing a community, and so on.

Effecting these requires the art and science of conversion. Conversion must be planned–it never happens by chance.

The essence of good planning is inherent in a pre–build phase called Information Architecture. Wikipedia defines IA as "The art and science of organizing and labelling web sites, intranets, online communities and software to support findability and usability." [my italics]

Our IA deliverable outlines user behavior, defines pages of content and creates a clear blueprint of a site's look and feel, functionality and flow. In short, it identifies how users will experience a Web site and convert to the owner's goals. IA results inform proper design, construction and marketing.

So, should your Web site be created solely by the tech geek who lives code? Or by the artist with a great eye but no business savvy? In truth, it shouldn't be undertaken by anyone who hasn't taken the time to help you identify and articulate your online goals.

Even the cheapest coffee maker is thoroughly diagrammed before it's manufactured–and your Web site is far more complex than that.

(Submitted by Seth Klapman for 'Business Thompson Okanagan' February 2008 issue)

Have you any questions or comments? Can we help you at all with your Internet-based marketing needs? Please contact:

Seth Klapman, Marketing
Acro Media Inc.
103 - 2303 Leckie Road
Kelowna, BC, CANADA
V1X 6Y5
tel: 250.763.8884
fax: 250.763.6936

Acro Media Inc. (acromediainc.com) is an interactive agency that professionally delivers four main solution sets:

Ecommerce solutions—for product sales.
Corporate sites—for lead generation.
Showcase design—for brand building.
Portal sites—for community building and member services.

With a decade’s experience and team of 33, Acro Media ably provides:

Acro Media guarantees their work, and builds W3C valid search engine friendly Web sites.

Information Architecture, Calls to Action & Findability/Usability Design January 15, 2008 Kelowna, BC
Stopped Dead on the Info Superhighway A guy I know paid a talented designer five grand for a new Web site. After months of meetings, emails and design revisions, the site was finally completed and posted. He was stoked–really, the site looked awesome. In fact, all his friends and family–everyone to whom he emailed his link–thought it looked cool, too. Well, he's a nice guy and his budget was totally blown. So I refrained from laying waste to his elation by telling him that, frankly, his site was third–rate: navigation was awkward, the site was not Firefox–friendly and worst of all, there were no clear 'calls to action.' The big questions–ones he ignored–weren't whether his site was cool, hot or not. It was whether unsolicited searchers from his target market could and would find it from among the 155 million–plus sites on the Internet. And if it were found, would any visitors stay onsite long enough to get what they wanted? More importantly, would the site motivate them to do something this guy wanted them to do–and had spent five grand on in the hopes they would? The brutal truth was, given his site's messaging and construction, these weren't going to happen. Inadequate strategic planning had gone into its design. His friends' opinions were inconsequential to his hoped–for online success. An analogy is that he paid for a car that didn't drive–the engine was missing and the tank was bone dry. This guy was launching his Web vehicle onto the hyper–congested, information superhighway–but even if he'd dropped in a supercharged 427 Hemi and a full tank of high test he still lacked a destination. Basically, what he–and so many other site owners–lacked was a travel plan. At my workplace, half of our clients come to us with a well–formed Request for Proposal. In these cases, our role is to meet their expectations with a mix of deliverable services and products matching their expectations and budget. Others come with vaguer notions. For them, we spend more time on discovery–listening and probing to better understand their priorities and company culture, uncovering realistic needs and goals. Goals vary hugely between clients and projects: making sales, strengthening brand, generating leads, forming and nurturing a community, and so on. Effecting these requires the art and science of conversion. Conversion must be planned–it never happens by chance. The essence of good planning is inherent in a pre–build phase called Information Architecture. Wikipedia defines IA as "The art and science of organizing and labelling web sites, intranets, online communities and software to support findability and usability." [my italics] Our IA deliverable outlines user behavior, defines pages of content and creates a clear blueprint of a site's look and feel, functionality and flow. In short, it identifies how users will experience a Web site and convert to the owner's goals. IA results inform proper design, construction and marketing. So, should your Web site be created solely by the tech geek who lives code? Or by the artist with a great eye but no business savvy? In truth, it shouldn't be undertaken by anyone who hasn't taken the time to help you identify and articulate your online goals. Even the cheapest coffee maker is thoroughly diagrammed before it's manufactured–and your Web site is far more complex than that. (Submitted by Seth Klapman for 'Business Thompson Okanagan' February 2008 issue) Have you any questions or comments? Can we help you at all with your Internet-based marketing needs? Please contact: Seth Klapman, Marketing Acro Media Inc. 103 - 2303 Leckie Road Kelowna, BC, CANADA V1X 6Y5 tel: 250.763.8884 fax: 250.763.6936 Acro Media Inc. (acromediainc.com) is an interactive agency that professionally delivers four main solution sets: Ecommerce solutions—for product sales. Corporate sites—for lead generation. Showcase design—for brand building. Portal sites—for community building and member services. With a decade’s experience and team of 33, Acro Media ably provides: Web site design & development. Ecommerce & software integration. CMS & dynamic Web site solutions. Internet marketing & SEO. Online branding & corporate identity. Flash, interactive & motion design. Acro Media guarantees their work, and builds W3C valid search engine friendly Web sites.
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Information Architecture, Calls to Action & Findability/Usability Design January 15, 2008 Kelowna, BC

Stopped Dead on the Info Superhighway

Information Architecture, Calls to Action & Findability/Usability Design
January 15, 2008
Kelowna, BC