Ben Hunt’s Web Design Newsletter, August 2009

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  1. Systemising a business
  2. One of the worst corporate straplines ever
  3. Copywriting ebook - full version now available
  4. David Ogilvy's classic ad layout
  5. New projects: TradeBit UI & Rankmill UI
  6. 101 Tips for Google Website Optimizer
  7. How not to order a web site
  8. How TO order a web site
  9. Save the Pixel, 2nd Edition finally due out in print late 2009

1. Systemising a Business

Over this Summer, we’ve been very busy systemising what we do at Scratchmedia, in preparation for growth over the next 12 months. So we now have documented systems for sales, design, production, project completion etc. etc. The whole point of systems is to let you do your best work every time, so you’re not relying on sheer talent and effort every time.

As I’ve learnt through figuring out the process of web design, working out a system doesn’t mean you lose the fun. It just means you can take the hard graft out of the common, repeated tasks, which gives you more time and energy to invest in the really interesting areas in which your talent can make a difference.

What do you do again and again that you could turn into a system?

We’re about to take the plunge with a new comprehensive CRM/ERP system (NetSuite) which looks like it could help us take the way we work to another level of quality. I’ll let you know how that goes.

2. One of the worst corporate straplines ever

I saw this strap line on a company’s (Severn Trent Water) van recently:

“Working to improve our service to you”
There are many reasons why this is appalling, including:
  • It implies that the company’s service isn’t any good now.
  • Next year, when they’re using the same strap line, it will imply that the service still isn’t any good, and hasn’t gotten any better in the last year.
  • It doesn’t differentiate the company’s offering from any other organisation out there (I mean, who isn’t working to improve their service anyway?).

Takeaway: If your message isn’t positively differentiating you from something else that’s valid, it’s isn’t worth saying. So the strap line or heading “We’re not rubbish at what we do” is pointless, as nobody would ever say the opposite.

3. Copywriting ebook – full version now available

In a previous newsletter I told you about “Ad Doctor” Geoffrey Heard’s ebook on writing killer marketing copy? Those of you who downloaded the free preview will already know how many nuggets of pure marketing gold Geoff manages to cram into his pages.
The even better news is that the full version of the ebook is now finally available to buy. It’s now re-titled “How to make great ads for (sm)all business” and it’s a must-read!

4. David Ogilvy’s classic ad layout

On the subject of classic advertising know-how, here’s a great article I read recently: Understanding Ogilvy’s Layout and Why it Still Works.

5. New projects: TradeBit UI & Rankmill UI

We’ve put a few projects live in the last month at Scratchmedia. Here are a couple of interesting ones I’m allowed to tell you about.

6. 101 Tips for Google Website Optimizer

I’ve been banging on a lot about the importance of optimising your web site’s content to keep as many visitors as possible moving forward to success. Here’s a nice article packed with tips and advice on how and why to start using GWO on your site.

7. How not to order a web site

Another interesting article from Marketing Donut I got via Twitter. This one compares the stupidity of letting your web designer decide what your web site should do to the idea of going into a restaurant and telling the waiter to decide what meal you want… Link.

8. How TO order a web site

OK, so if that’s not the way to commission a web site, what should you do?

Whether you’re a web designer, or a web design client, here are the questions you should be asking… (If your web designer isn’t asking questions like these, consider using a better one.)

  1. What’s the state of play for the business right now?
  2. If things carry on the way they are, what does the future look like?
  3. Where is the business going? What does future success look like?
  4. So what’s important for the business right now, to help make that future happen?
  5. What goal can the web site/project realistically achieve?
  6. Who will use the web site/application etc.? Focus only on the people who will pay the bills, as you can’t focus your communication on everyone.
  7. What do they want to achieve?
  8. How can we achieve what we want to achieve through helping our visitors achieve their goals? (This is the key, the win-win: “Reaching our goals by helping visitors…” do what?)

9. Save the Pixel, 2nd Edition finally due out in print late 2009

If you’ve already read “Save the Pixel – the Art of Simple Web Design”, you’ll be pleased to know I’m currently planning the second edition, and it’s due out later in 2009 on good old-fashioned paper!

It’s a significant re-write, in which I organise the process of designing a winning web site into a series of 9 simple steps.

There will also be a lot more info on the “attractor factors” (content, size, space, colour, contrast, position, dynamism etc.) with plenty of new hints & tips and examples from my portfolio of web and web app design.

We’re considering taking pre-orders for signed copies of the first run of books, so email me if you’d like to be kept informed.

All the best for August my friends, your pal,

Ben

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