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Reach:

Highlight your social media accounts & extend the reach of your online efforts.

Imitate:

The mobile version of your website should feel and look like a native smartphone app.

Balance:

Equip your website with fresh design and easy navigation to keep bounce rates low.

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010
   

Top 5 Web Resolutions for 2011

Every year, our December Net Results identifies fresh ways to enhance corporate websites. With new technologies and changing online behaviors, the World Wide Web is constantly evolving. This year we focus on the user experience and effective ways to communicate with prospects. From Flash’s comeback to digital layouts mimicking print, we offer web resolutions that can help make 2011 your best year ever.

Forward to
a friend
630-323-0555
waltdenny.com
For interactive marketing,
PR and advertising insight, follow us!

FLASH FORWARD
We’ve all been to a website that is heavy on Flash elements, splash screens and other glitzy animations. Flash is an attractive, exciting way to grab attention, create a unique experience and use visuals to convey a message. However, before sprinkling your website with Flash, ask yourself, “How does this enhance my visitor’s experience?” Expect to see more websites that combine interactive elements like Flash with intuition. Harness functional Flash elements to provide more than visual interest to your site.

Combine intuitive navigation with interactive design.

SOCIAL BUTTERFLY
Social media is foremost about dialog. When using it as a business tool, results are key. Conversationalize your marketing by weaving your social media accounts, blogs, microsites, press rooms, etc. onto your homepage. Move website visitors into your marketing funnel by encouraging them to visit your other online initiatives and then share your information with their online peers. Our newly redesigned website uses ‘News Bytes’ on the homepage which allows our web visitors to visit our LinkedIn Group, WDI blog, Net Results e-newsletter and Mary Lou’s BUILDER Online blog.

Use your homepage to highlight your interactive information for farther reach and higher impact.

Take a Page from the Print Playbook
The web cannot replicate the feel of printed pages or the experience of flipping through the pages. As more people migrate from traditional press to online information, your website is challenged to welcome them with an easy transition. With the popularity of tablet devices, like the iPad®, a design with some print-like features will allow visitors to easily explore your information.

Develop a homepage layout that is engaging and organized.

Mobile Web to Imitate Native Apps
In 2010, mobile web usage experienced new heights. 40% of American adults turned to the Internet via mobile devices at least once a day. Expect the number to continue rising in 2011 as new, web capable devices begin to flood the market. With 4.6 billion global mobile phone owners, your website needs to look great on desktops, laptops, mobile devices and smart phones. Mobile web development does not have to be rocket science. Instead, create a sleek, clean and easy-to-use design that looks and feels more like a native smart phone application. Avoid cluttering the small screen with images and links.

Focus less on frills and more on a simple, clean navigation.

<This mobile phone screen capture shows how a no-frills layout imitates high-functioning smart phone applications. Its ease of use drives interaction and return visits.

Balancing Design with Engineering
The average user only views a few pages of your entire website during their visit. Your website can be more impactful with a unique, fresh and friendly design. However, a layout change may not be enough. The ease of which users can interact with the site plays an equally large role. A balance of strong information architecture, usability engineering and design impact is best.

For more information on emerging social media and other digital trends,
email walt@waltdenny.com, call 630-323-0555 or visit www.waltdenny.com.

Invest as much time on improving the user experience as you do on design.