When it comes to websites, apps, and social media, many companies get caught up with the  bells and whistles before thinking about the implications of using these technologies, and if this is where they should be spending their time and money in order to increase sales. A blog posted on February 28th about the new Ralph Lauren app. is the perfect example of this. 

 ”The app is split into three sections; each features four scenes to interact with. It’s a good showcase but not a useful shopping tool.”

The free app is designed to showcase the new 2011 spring collection in a fun, interactive manner. The problem is it does nothing to entice the shopper to buy and  will unlikely be any sort of revenue driver.

“It feels like a showcase, though, rather than a genuinely useful shopping tool. Tap on the shop button, and you’re simply sent to the RLX section of Ralph Lauren’s website, rather than the  specific item of clothing that you’ve been looking at.”

Small usability problems like this negatively affect sales. If a potential customer sees something they like, they should be able to get to that outfit easily so they can buy it. Sadly, these are the types of features that we see many companies focusing their time and limited resources on, since they are visually stimulating and “fun” to implement. These apps and new technologies are so new, that companies are exploring the boundaries and testing the waters.

But, do these fun gimmicks really make a difference to the bottom line? Probably not. People will not keep coming back to your site and be a lifelong customer just because you have a clever game on your site that incorporates some of your products. Of course, Ralph Lauren will be fine shoveling out the money that went into building this little app. But, what about the small to mid-sized companies that want to keep up with the times? We see these companies spending thousands (or tens-of-thousands) on nifty virtual try-ons,  24 hour video streaming, and flash  introductions which bring no additional sales to the website, and in some cases can actually hurt business by taking focus off of making the sale.

Be aware of what is entertaining and fun for you vs. what is actually going to set you apart from your competitors in the e-Commerce world. Websites need proper SEO and SEM implementation to bring in qualified customers. Customers need simple ways to shop via correct website/app. usability practices. And,  businesses need to bring in the sales. Make sure these fancy new devices and exciting technologies don’t drive business down. Simplifying is sometimes the best way to stand out. 

See the Full Article Here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/feb/28/ralph-lauren-app-review

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Learning about content usability and writing for the web is a process that builds upon a set of principles meant to work together. Without good usability, well-written content is rendered useless.

My previous post stressed the importance of creating a website that does not overwhelm, confuse or annoy the end user.  This leads to my last misconception about what users expect from a website.

Misconception #3: Showing your creative side through unexpected layouts and navigation delights users and lets them know “you’re different” than your competition.

Unfortunately, this just isn’t so when it comes to web usability. As I mentioned in my very first post, one of the best practices for good usability is to remove the ambiguity regarding the consequence of an action.

Creativity works in other mediums, but the best websites utilize consistent, expected design that users find easy to navigate and understand.

What I’ve learned: When users search for information on the web, they do not want to “work” at gathering information.

 A good rule of thumb is to simplify, simplify, simplify. Getting caught up in the aesthetics of a website can often steer the usability in the wrong direction and create a site that is confusing and ambiguous to a first-time user.

I’ve learned to treat all sites as if I’ve never heard of the product before. Working on websites from that perspective allows me to keep my primary purpose in mind and that is to make it easy for a user to get the information they want.
 
To recap, well-written web content and proper usability comes from understanding a few key principles:

• Users don’t read online the same way they read offline. Online they scan for actionable content.
• Concise, meaningful content garners the greatest results.
• Uniformity, consistency and manageable chunks of information are the hallmarks of good content usability.
• Users don’t want to work for the information they are seeking. Adhere to the standards of good web design and create a website that is easy to  use and understand.

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After beginning work at a digital marketing firm, I discovered that writing for the web is different than writing for offline mediums. What I didn’t know was that web content must be presented to users in a way that encourages them to stay on a site. My second misconception did just the opposite.

Misconception #2: In order to hold someone’s interest online, include as much information as possible on the homepage so that the user won’t leave.

This misconception breaks some of the cardinal rules of content usability. Just as users need concise, meaningful content, they need an even easier way to digest it. This means that layout is extremely important.
 
What I’ve learned: Uniformity, consistency and manageable chunks of information are the hallmarks of good content usability. Most importantly, it’s essential to create a webpage that does not overwhelm, confuse or annoy the end user causing them to bounce to another site.

My next post will discuss this very tenet. Users don’t want to work for their web content. If they do, they’re apt to bounce. Stay tuned.

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My last post was an introduction to website usability and the new writing rules I encountered while working at a digital marketing firm. I discovered a distinct style for web writing and learned how people read copy on websites.

For the first time, I learned about website usability, the ease of which a person can complete a desired task on a web page and how that affects the way a website presents information to the end user. Today, I share with you one of the largest misconceptions I had when it came to writing web content.

Misconception #1: Reading is reading. People read the same way, whether offline or online, which means that the same content can be used in both places.

This could not be farther from the truth. In fact, there is a world of difference between the way users approach online content and offline mediums. While working at a digital marketing firm, I learned that websites are an active medium and offline mediums are passive meaning people go online with a mission or intent while offline readers may not be actively searching for something.

Much to my surprise, this means that online users do not read web copy as they would a book. Instead, users scan websites for actionable content, useful information that will move them closer to their initial intention. I soon discovered that this changes how copy should be written for the web and set out to retool my efforts.

What I’ve learned: Writing concise actionable content is the way to create web content that will actually get read.

I learned to cut down the fluff when I write for the web. Jakob Nielsen’s website, useit.com, offers some good tips to think about when writing web content.

• Use concise scannable text that contains highlighted keywords
• Use meaningful sub-headings, not clever ones.
• Bulleted lists help users scan
• One idea per paragraph
• Begin with the conclusion or insight first, also called inverted pyramid style
• Use half the word count you would use in conventional writing

Learning these simple concepts has helped me create content that aids users in their search for information. My next hurdle was content usability. I discovered that it’s not just what you write, but how you arrange it on a webpage that also counts.

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Wikipedia defines web usability as an approach to make web sites easy to use for an end-user, without requiring her (or him) to undergo any specialized training. The user should be able to intuitively relate the actions he needs to perform on the web page, with other interactions he sees in the general domain of life e.g. press of a button leads to some action. The broad goal of usability can be:

1.  Present the information to the user in a clear and concise way.
2. To give the correct choices to the users, in a very obvious way.
3. To remove any ambiguity regarding the consequences of an action e.g. clicking on delete/remove/purchase.
4. Put the most important thing in the right place on a web page or a web application.

As you can see, website usability involves a variety of integral disciplines including layout and design, content and navigation. As a copywriter, I was surprised to learn how critical content writing was to good website usability.

I discovered several misconceptions when I first began writing for the web. Each day I will review a new misconception in hopes of helping others avoid making the same mistakes.

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