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Bigcitymaps.com

Big City Maps is the website for Eric Hunden, a fantastically talented cartographer. He lovingly designs maps for cities, campuses, or any site that needs its details preserved. He is one of the most thorough and conscientious craftsmen I know.

Since the maps are the stars of this site, I used Zoomify to let visitors zoom into map samples to see the minute details Eric puts in each map.

Eric Dean Seaton is a talented director who has several shows under his belt including That’s So Raven, MacKenzie Falls, and Sonny With A Chance. He needed three (whew!) sites, two for showcasing his directing work (and his thoughts on it) and one to promote a graphic novel/movie project.

Solution:
Three customized WordPress blogs for him to easily update.

nighthawksoulsorcer.com site features:

• WordPress installation, with some html  pages for special needs
• Customized WordPress theme
• Kick ass navigation bar with graphic “sliders”
• Slideshows for displaying concept art, graphic novel pages and characters
• Twitter integration onsite: site visitors can view Eric’s tweets, and can follow him quickly from the Twitter widget.

Ericdeanseaton.com and alleyesone.com site features:

• Customized WordPress theme, including custom header graphic (these two themes are similar)
• Customized front page image rotator – front page pictures rotate to show Eric doing what he does best!
• Image galleries to display pictures from the shows Eric’s worked on
• Twitter integration onsite: site visitors can view Eric’s tweets, and can follow him quickly from the Twitter widget.
• Multiple subscription options: users can follow him on Twitter, subscribe to RSS feed, etc.
• I also provided him with Twitter training – how to write good Twitter posts, the best time to twitter, using hashtags, URL shortening services. etc.

www.davidellisdickerson.com

David is fabulous New York storyteller, puzzle creator, humorist, and soon-to-be-published author!

Client Need:
David needed to update his professional website. He previously had a blogger account. He needed a place to store his blog posts, show his little illustrations, and also to promote his upcoming book.
Solution:
I set up a customized WordPress blog for him to easily update.

Site features:

• Customized WordPress theme
• Customized image rotator – illustration changes on page refresh
• Automatic Twitter updates:  whenever he posts, it generates an automatic Twitter message with the post link.
• Twitter update widget: recent Twitter posts are shown
• Customized “welcome” messages depending on visitor source. In the picture above, the visitor has come in with a direct link. If the visitor had been directed from Facebook, they would have been welcomed with a Facebook message, and presented with a link to “share” the site on Facebook.
• Multiple subscription options: users can follow him on Twitter, subscribe to RSS feed, etc.
• I also provided him with Twitter training – how to write good Twitter posts, the best time to twitter, using hashtags, URL shortening services. etc.

www.marmel.com

I love working with a client with a sense of style and humor, and that’s Steve Marmel!

Problem:
Steve was using Facebook to post his political and pop culture rants, and he wanted to get them on site that he owned.
Solution:
I set up a WordPress blog for him to easily update, and set it up to feed the content over to his Facebook feed (where he has 4500 fans he still wanted to keep in contact with!)

Site features:

• Automatic Twitter updates:  whenever he posts, it generates an automatic Twitter message with the post link.
• Automatic Facebook import: whenever he posts, the post is fed to Facebook notes and a notification appears in his stream.
• Twitter update widget: recent Twitter posts are shown
• Customized “welcome” messages depending on visitor source. In the picture above, the visitor has come in with a direct link. If the visitor had been directed from Facebook, they would have been welcomed with a Facebook message, and presented with a link to “share” the site on Facebook.
• Multiple subscription options: users can follow him on Twitter, subscribe to RSS feed, etc.
• I also provided him with Twitter training – how to write good Twitter posts, the best time to twitter, using hashtags, URL shortening services. etc.

Site Problems

5 second Impression: Nondescript site, probably created with template software, or else it’s a “splog.” At worst it looks amateur, and at best, it looks cold and uninviting (two words you DON’T want associated with coaching!).

Ok on to the issues.

1. Floating head of doom! The first thing my eye is drawn to is Dave’s head. Dave is not smiling. In fact he looks kind of mad. Is this guy going to kick my ass if I don’t shape up in my relationships (I wonder)? A smiling picture would be much more inviting. Also the “Get Relationship Coaching” header looks slapped in there. I suspect they picked this URL to get the keywords, but once the visitor is there, the header could be Dave’s name, or something more inviting/unique.
2. Site lacks identity and navigation.  It’s nondescript enough that it has that “splog” look (those pages you land on that are made to LOOK like websites but aren’t really). This is reinforced by the lack of navigation on this page. I talked to the page developer, and he said that this page is meant as a “landing page” and not a “website.” However, users don’t know the difference. If they “land” on this page after a google search for “relationship coaching,” they will assume that this is a website!
3. The hard-sell approach is wrong for this type of client. I’m pretty sure this site was designed to emulate some of the “hard sell” sites out there. You’ve seen them – the kind that tease you with the “I know the secrets and you don’t, just buy now to get them.” I’m not sure this tactic works with a relationship coach. Users want to see and hear the person, read some words of comfort, at least. A short video of Dave speaking would be great (chest up). There is video, but that has its own issues…
4. Floating instant start video. While a video of Dave speaking would be helpful to get a feel for his coaching style, having this floating video that automatically starts when the page launches isn’t the best way to go. Let users decide when to start the video. Plus, the video doesn’t paint a very flattering picture of Dave – he’s looking a little unkempt.
5. Non-helpful first text on the page: “Clearly you’re looking for relationship help, please read on.” Since it’s clear I’m here for relationship help, this text is unnecessary.
6. Where is his unique selling proposition? Why would I choose him to be my coach? In a service/coaching business, your best ammo comes from current customer referrals – testimonials on your website. Dave has many glowing testimonials, but they are buried at the bottom of the site! Just by reading them I get the sense that Dave is a great intuitive coach. This attribute can be translated into FAST results in coaching – he is able to get to the bottom of your issues quickly. Also, the bottom of the site mentions that he’s a “coach” (vs a therapist), mentioning this difference at the top might differentiate him from the competition!
7. “Fuzzy language”: language on your site should be direct and to the point. Pussyfoot language wastes space and time.

The following text is way too long:

Please Take A Moment To Fill Out The Form Below- So I Can Help You Get A Fresh Perspective On Your Relationships- Request Your Free Call Now

What if we shortened it up to:
Request Your Free Consultation Now To Get A Fresh Perspective On Your Relationships

or even

Get a Free Consultation Now!

Conclusion/Recommendations:

A visitor to this site sees barely any information that could help them decide whether to contact Dave for a free consultation (the call to action on this site). In fact, the cold nature of this website could drive potential customers away.

My recommendations:

• Design-wise, give the site a softer feel (with colors!) and give it a unique identity. Use pictures with Dave smiling and looking professional.
• Change the tone of the site from a hard sell to a soft sell. Tighten up the remaining language for the call to action.
  
• Write concise copy to show Dave’s unique value proposition. We could mine the testimonials for great keywords: intuitive, effective, compassionate. If Dave really wanted to get crazy, he could integrate another part of his life – he’s a rock and blues singer! He could be the “Rockin’ Relationship Coach.”
• Have a short small video on the front page that the user can choose when to start. The video should show Dave from chest up, and show him at his best.
• Move testimonials front and center – have a column that shows rotating testimonials.

First Impressions

My first impression is that an engineer designed this site. Navigationally it is sound. All the categories are clearly marked (no mystery meat navigation). But the design and usability features are lacking. This is a one-person service-based company – I think the website should reflect her personality (since that is what she’s selling, after all). I know this woman personally, and this website does not reflect her personality or aesthetic at ALL. It is very cookie-cutter. There aren’t even any pictures of her! (UPDATE: photos were thankfully added) In the original design, they had used a deep (and angry, IMHO) orange, and had a silhouette of a woman on a beach in the background. Travel site anyone? The current site feels disjointed.

• “Spirited Impact” is floating up top in a red font not found anywhere else in the design (the red came from her existing logo/marketing materials).
• “Breakthrough by any means necessary” is also floating alone – and it’s not formatted in any way.
• For some reason the designer chose to have the pictures “break” the left side of the box, but it ends up just looking like the design itself broke.

Design size

The box design makes me feel claustrophobic. They’ve taken up more than a third of the box space for the header, which isn’t even very cohesive. And they’ve put all the site text inside a very shallow scrolling box. People don’t like to scroll anyway, and scrolling inside such a tiny box isn’t going to be very enticing. There isn’t that much site text to start with, so cramming it inside this box just doesn’t make sense. This site appears to be designed for 800 x 600 monitors, which is no longer the “accepted” common denominator. Should be designing on at least 1024 x 800.

Should Have Footer/Contact Info on Every Page

This site is lacking a footer at the bottom repeating the site’s navigation, and also providing a contact phone number and e-mail. (UPDATE: they added it!)

Testimonials Should Be Front and Center

Again, when you are running a service-based business, (or any business, for that matter), testimonials and word of mouth are your bread and butter. Where are her testimonials? Buried under the heading “Clients.” What’s worse, when you go to the Clients link (expecting to see a client list, which you don’t get), if you happen to keep scrolling, only then will you see the Testimonials. Testimonials belong front and center, according to Matt Bailey, of Site Logic Marketing. At the Search Engine Strategies NYC conference, he told us that you should have testimonials appear on every page. He suggested having a column for the testimonials built into the design, and having them rotate randomly. I suppose you could also put a different testimonial on every page. The point is, they should be obvious instead of hidden. (UPDATE: at least Testimonials have been raised to the level of subcategory).

Surface the Subcategories

This is a personal opinion, but I think that sub-nav should not be hidden on a nav category page. For example, on this site, If you click “services” you will see subcategories of “personal” and “professional.” I would prefer a drop-down menu with choices.

Better Naming Means Free Keywords

Most of the nav categories are fine, but I think “services” should be changed to “coaching,” as that’s the only service that Spirited Impact offers. By changing to “coaching” you’ve quickly added another keyword to the design structure – great SEO benefit!

Use Succinct SEO Keywords and Description

Although keywords and description meta tags are no longer powerful in getting the Google juice, it doesn’t hurt to have them in there. In ideal description would describe the who/what/where of the site in one or two sentences like this: Spirited Impact Nicole Stone and Spirited Impact offers life coaching using a toolbox of personal training, meditation, essential oils, and straight talk to open you to breakthroughs by any means necessary. Keywords would be things like: coaching, corporate, meditation, essential oils Instead, it looks like they lifted copy from her front page, and random words for the keywords.

<meta name="keywords" content="home, welcome, spirited, impact, everyone, tools, they, need,

happy, successful, life, just, gets, sometimes, help, break, through, your, self-imposed,

barriers, find, your, power, clients, people, notice, something, their, life, working, they, know">
<meta name="description" content="Home. Welcome To Spirited Impact  Everyone has the tools they

need to be happy and successful. Life just gets in the way sometimes. I help you break through

your self-imposed barriers and find your power. My clients are people who notice something in">

Make Page Titles Unique

Each page does have a title, but it’s too short. Again, Matt Bailey said that every page should be unique, and should have a short phrase in the page title. So instead of Products | Spirited Impact You could have: Mindful Products for spirit and body | Spirited Impact OR Personal Coaching For Breakthroughs | Spirited Impact

Conclusion

All in all I would say this isn’t a HORRIBLE site. The navigation is clean and it works. Pages load quickly. But the site design isn’t cohesive, and I don’t think it does as good a job promoting the client as it could. And I can say this because I know the client. But sadly because of this site design, site visitors won’t.

The Good Stuff

Her product photography is lovely.

Her site is simple and clean, and the pages load quickly.

The Not So Good

While the front page is striking (naked lady with nothing but a necklace!), there is no keyword text on it.

But, if we’re going for a strong visual first impression, this works.

The inner pages: the collection pages are what need help. In the olden days of the web, thumbnails were just presented in a big long scrolling list, like this.

But this is not the olden days, and this sort of design can make a site look dated. Today, it’s standard for thumbnails to appear “above the fold,” and if there are more than can appear on a page, then there are additional item pages to choose from, like this example from a site I really like, Aiko Designs.

I’m not a diehard fanatic that you should not use a scroll, but if you DO use a big long scroll page, at least have the items lined up in a grid.

The overall design is pleasing to the eye: sleek steel, white subway tile, and dark cherry wood.  The Puck eatery shares space with a bar, and there is a center entry to both. However, when you walk in the center, the first thing you see is…trash fixture/condiment bar. Not very classy. You have to go around it to the right to get to the register, to the left to get food.

Wolfgang Puck Express in Minneapolis airport

But if you go to in the right hand entrance, you’ve got another issue.

Where you start is where you’re supposed to end – the oven where you pick up your food. You have to scoot left to go to the register to order, stepping over people already waiting in line! When I came in, it was early in the lunch hour so it wasn’t busy, but I imagine a traffic pileup on busy days, people who need to order having to push backwards past those who are waiting for food. Bad flow!
How could they solve these issues? They could close off the right entrance. They could move the trash/condiments to the side, thereby opening up the flow in the center, and allowing easy flow to the cash register!