Category Archives: Effective Web Design

Good Store Design Essential to Site Success

Posted on November 2, 2006 by Tom Gray

Did you ever walk into and out of a store based on its appearance. Merchandise was poorly organized or strewn around; the store was dirty; the staff unkempt… Now look at your web site’s store… Does it bear a closer resemblance to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecommerce, Effective Web Design, Internet, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Do You Sell Stuff Online; Are You Secure? Do Your Customers Know?

Posted on May 11, 2006 by Tom Gray

If you are using security (you know with SSL certificates behind https:// pages with Verisign logos, etc.) but your customers don’t know about it you may be losing sales. According to a MarketingSherpa case study (note: this article is publicly … Continue reading →

Posted in Calls To Action, Conversion, Effective Web Design, Testing | Leave a comment

Learning From Amazon

Posted on March 25, 2006 by Tom Gray

Would you agree that Amazon.com probably puts a lot of thought into how it conducts it’s business on the web? Then don’t you think that one of the smartest things you can do to improve your web performance is to … Continue reading →

Posted in Calls To Action, Effective Web Design, Marketing | Leave a comment

Don’t Make Me Think – Two Simple Rules for Online Success

Posted on March 14, 2006 by Tom Gray

I’m rereading a great book on web usability – Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug. If you don’t read beyond the first page of the first chapter but apply the 2 simple rules (one, a footnote) you’ll find there … Continue reading →

Posted in Effective Web Design, Uncategorized, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Ask Who?!

Posted on March 9, 2006 by Tom Gray

Steve Krug, web design guru and author of Don’t Make Me Think – A Common Sense Guide to Web Usability, has a simple suggestion for resolving conflicts when your boss, partner or whoever wants to add a feature or function … Continue reading →

Posted in Effective Web Design, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

If it Sounds Too Good to be True … (or) What Happens When Your SEO Company Runs Afoul of Google?

Posted on February 22, 2006 by Tom Gray

Here’s a nightmare scenario for you … You head into the office and log-on to check your web site stats to see how your traffic is holding up. You’re excited because the big bucks you’ve invested in Search Engine Optimization … Continue reading →

Posted in Developing Content, Effective Web Design, Google, Search Engine Optimization, Spam and Phish, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Here’s Looking at You, Kid. Eye-tracking Research and Your Website’s Layout

Posted on February 21, 2006 by Tom Gray

No, this is not the path I took to my car after this month’s Super Bowl party! What it actually represents is a fairly simplistic model of the most common eye-movement pattern of a group of browsers viewing a web … Continue reading →

Posted in Calls To Action, Effective Web Design, Navigation, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Writing for the Web; Internet Users Don’t Read, They Scan

Posted on January 24, 2006 by Tom Gray

I was recently reminded of a study that Jakob Nielsen published several years ago on how browsers view web pages. Nielsen, long considered to be the leading guru of web usability, found that only 16% of visitors read a page … Continue reading →

Posted in Effective Web Design, Uncategorized, Web Usability | 1 Comment

Your Home Page is Your Storefront; Invite Visitors In

Posted on November 22, 2005 by Tom Gray

Read the excerpt from the article below and frame its approach to doorways within the context of your own web doorway. Your home page is an 8 second invitation that will either persuade a visitor that you have the answers … Continue reading →

Posted in Calls To Action, Conversion, Effective Web Design, Marketing, Web Usability | 1 Comment