Web Design for ROI: Turning Browsers into Buyers & Prospects into Leads

Web Design for ROI: Turning Browsers into Buyers & Prospects into Leads

by Lance Loveday, Sandra Niehaus
Released October 2007
Publisher(s): New Riders
ISBN: 9780321549693

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Your web site is a business—design it like one.
Billions of dollars in spending decisions are influenced by web sites. So why aren't businesses laser-focused on designing their sites to maximize their Return on Investment (ROI)?

Web design can do more than make a site look good—it can be a powerful strategic weapon that enhances financial returns and creates competitive advantage.

It's time to make web sites accountable. It's time to make design decisions based on metrics and business goals. It's time for Web Design for ROI.

In this book you'll learn:

  • Why so many organizations think about web design the wrong way

  • How small design changes can have a big impact on your bottom line

  • Simple tips  to increase web sales/leads by 10% – 50% (or more)

  • Concrete design guidelines for:

  • Landing pages

  • Home pages

  • Category pages

  • Detail pages

  • Forms

  • Checkout processes

    • Packed with helpful examples from a wide variety of sites!

    Table of contents

    1. Copyright
      1. Dedications
    2. About the Authors
    3. Acknowledgments
    4. Foreword
    5. Introduction
      1. What is this book about?
      2. Who is this book for?
      3. How this book is organized
      4. What this book is NOT (the inevitable disclaimers)
      5. Web design ain’t easy
      6. Visit us at www.WD4ROI.com
    6. The Big Picture
      1. 1. A Novel Concept
        1. The Science of Shopping: A Brief History
        2. Moving Online – and Starting Over
        3. Of Economics and Web Design
          1. Your Web Site: An Investment
          2. Choosing Between Investments
          3. Lies, Damn Lies, and Economics
          4. Taking Web Design More Seriously
        4. Web Design Is Broken: It’s Probably Your Fault
          1. Blame Management
          2. Blame It
          3. Blame Designers
          4. Blame the Process
          5. Blame the Agency
          6. Blame “Old School” Thinking
          7. Blame “Internet Time”
          8. Breaking the Cycle
        5. You Have More Power Than You Think
      2. 2. Business Case
        1. Stuck In a Rut
        2. Roi Smackdown: More Traffic Vs. Higher Conversion
          1. Establish the Baseline Metrics
          2. Know Your Costs
          3. Roi Analysis #1: Buying More Traffic
          4. Roi Analysis #2: Increasing Conversion
          5. Nobody Will Believe This
          6. Conversion Optimization: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
          7. So... When Can We Buy More Traffic?
          8. Think This Doesn’t Apply to You?
          9. A Different Path
      3. 3. Managing for ROI
        1. Know What You Want
          1. Pop Quiz
          2. Ask the Right Questions
        2. Know Your Audience
          1. Who’s This Thing for?
          2. Do You Get It?
          3. User Testing: The Secret Weapon
          4. Build Your Knowledge
        3. Treat Your Web Site Like A Business
          1. Web Strategy Vs. Web Documentation
        4. Create A Web Site Strategy
          1. Objectives
          2. Audiences
          3. Primary Audience Profile
          4. Audience Questions
          5. Competitive Assessment
          6. Traffic Sources
          7. Strategies
          8. Metrics
        5. Measure the Right Metrics
          1. Problems with Web Reporting Tools
          2. Measuring Web Site Success: Key Principles
          3. The Metrics That Matter
          4. Metrics That don’t Matter (As Much)
        6. Prioritize Design Efforts Intelligently
          1. Use Analytics to Pinpoint Problem Areas
          2. Estimate Roi on Design Projects
        7. Test, Learn, Repeat
          1. Are we Done Yet?
        8. Up Next
    7. Design Guidelines
      1. 4. Landing Pages
        1. Visitor Questions
        2. Landing Page Goals
        3. Key Metrics for Landing Pages
          1. Considerations
        4. Unique Issues for Landing Pages
          1. They must Integrate the Entire Sales Cycle
          2. They must Perform Quickly
          3. They Have More First-Time Visitors
        5. Landing Page Design Guidelines
          1. Establish Credibility
          2. Use a Professional, Industry-Appropriate Design
          3. Include Those Excellent References
          4. Ensure Everything Works
          5. Simplify and Separate
          6. Reduce or Eliminate Navigation
          7. Reduce Branding and Other Standard Site Elements
          8. Make the Landing Page an Extension of Your Ad
          9. Provide What the Ad Promised
          10. Match The Wording of the Ad’s Call to Action
          11. Use Consistent Graphics and Illustration
          12. Maintain Language and Tone
          13. Offer Segmenting Options for Different Audiences
          14. Personalize to the Visitor
          15. Use Fewer, Better Graphics
          16. Choose the Most Effective Media Type for Your Offer
          17. Create Interest and Desire with Compelling Copy
          18. Speak the Customer’s Language
          19. Engage the Visitor with Benefits, Reasons, or Scenarios They Can Relate To
          20. Include Only the Most Important Points
          21. Accommodate Different Reading Patterns
          22. Include the Right Amount of Copy
          23. Provide A Clear Call to Action
          24. Be Clear, Obvious, and Concise
          25. Avoid Intimidating or Unclear Language
          26. Provide A Secondary, “Safety Valve” Call to Action
          27. Keep Form Design Clean and Simple
          28. Ask for the Minimum Amount of Information You Need
          29. Make Buttons Easy to Find
          30. Make Buttons Look Like Buttons
          31. Make Buttons Large Enough to Read and Click
          32. Make Important Buttons More Prominent
          33. Use Clear, Concise, Inviting Labels
          34. Be Clear About What’s Coming Next
          35. Place Buttons Intuitively
          36. Putting It All Together
        6. Summary
      2. 5. Home Pages
        1. Visitor Questions
        2. Home Page Goals
        3. Key Metrics for Home Pages
          1. Considerations
        4. Unique Issues for Home Pages
          1. It must be Everything to Everyone
          2. It Is Often Highly Political
        5. Home Page Design Guidelines
          1. Start with Landing Page Fundamentals
          2. Establish Credibility—Look Like What You Are
          3. Clearly Identify Yourself and What You Do
          4. Is Your Logo Clear and Legible?
          5. Is Your Logo Visible?
          6. Does Your Logo Describe What You Do?
          7. Do You Need A Tagline to Describe What You Do?
          8. What If You Must Use Your Marketing Slogan?
          9. Meet Expectations—Feature Important Items
          10. Consider What Visitors Want to See
          11. Consider What You Think Is Important
          12. Consider What Competitors Think Is Important
          13. Consider What Customer Feedback, Surveys, or Focus Groups Tell You Is Important
          14. Consider What Metrics Show You Is Important
          15. Make Your Navigation Easy and Intuitive
          16. Use A Standard Navigation Scheme
          17. Include Search Capability and a Site Map
          18. Establish Conventions
          19. Establish Your Organization’s Tone
        6. Summary
      3. 6. Category Pages
        1. Typical Category Page Goals
        2. Visitor Questions
        3. Key Metrics for Category Pages
          1. Considerations
        4. Unique Issues for Category Pages
          1. They don’t Understand the Audience
          2. They’Re Too Rigid
          3. They’Re Overpopulated
        5. Category Page Design Guidelines
          1. Create Categories That Support How Visitors Think and Act
          2. Make the Category Title Obvious
          3. Clearly Define the Category Display Area
          4. Clearly Separate Individual Items
          5. Use Clear, Sharp, Professional Images
          6. Make Thumbnail Images Large Enough to Identify the Item
          7. Crop Thumbnail Images for Relevance and Meaning
          8. Link Thumbnail Images
          9. Provide Options for Display, Sorting, and Filtering
          10. Exclude Extraneous Information
          11. Include A Comparative Price
          12. Consider Including an Add to Cart Button
          13. Putting It All Together
        6. Summary
      4. 7. Detail Pages
        1. Typical Detail Page Goals
        2. Visitor Questions
        3. Key Metrics for Detail Pages
          1. Considerations
        4. Unique Issues for Detail Pages
          1. They May Also Serve as Landing Pages
          2. They Tend to Become Cluttered
          3. They Are Judged By A Single Image
        5. Detail Page Design Guidelines
          1. Focus Attention: Clearly Define the Detail Display Area
          2. Use Clear, Professional Images or Rich Media
          3. Consider Showing the Item in Context
          4. If It’s A Service, Show the Process or Result
          5. Cover All the Important Angles
          6. Have A Clear, Descriptive Heading
          7. Prioritize And List the Most Important Benefits and Features
          8. Include Related Items That Enhance the Offer
          9. Make Special Offers Obvious and Contextual
          10. Use the Description to Make A Connection
          11. Provide Social Feedback Information
          12. Make Option Selection Easy and Available
          13. Provide Availability Information
          14. Putting It All Together
        6. Summary
      5. 8. Forms
        1. Typical Form Goals
        2. Visitor Questions
          1. Arrival Questions
          2. Process Questions
        3. Key Metrics for Forms
          1. Considerations
        4. Unique Issues for Forms
          1. They Look Difficult
          2. They Get Greedy
          3. They Take Too Long to Get to the Point
          4. They Break
        5. Form Design Guidelines
          1. Focus Attention on the Form Area
          2. Use A Clean, Simple Layout
          3. Be Ruthless: Remove Unnecessary Fields
          4. Overcome Hesitation with Benefits
          5. Use Clear, Descriptive Field Labels
          6. Consider Using Active Verbs
          7. Consider Using Sentence Completion
          8. Consider Using A Complete Question
          9. Provide Help and Contextual Answers
          10. Allow Estimated Answers
          11. Prefill As Many Fields as Possible
          12. Clearly Indicate the Steps or Time Involved
          13. Provide Security and Privacy Reassurance
          14. Putting It All Together
        6. Summary
      6. 9. Checkout Process
        1. Typical Checkout Process Goals
        2. Visitor Questions
        3. Key Metrics for Checkout Processes
        4. Unique Issues for Checkout Processes
          1. They’Re Burdened By the Past
          2. They Break
          3. They’Re Scary
          4. They Put on Masks
        5. Checkout Process Design Guidelines
          1. Apply Basic Form Design Guidelines
          2. Help Visitors Remember What’s in the Cart
          3. Prioritize Those Buttons
          4. Make the Process Steps Clear
          5. Make It Easy to Begin: Don’t Require New Visitors to Register
          6. Reduce the Number of Steps—or Simplify them
          7. Reduce to A Single Step
          8. Provide Security and Privacy Reassurances
          9. Provide Shipping and Return Policy Information
        6. Summary
    8. Resources
      1. 10. Digging Deeper
        1. What, No Carrier Pigeons?
        2. Usability and User Behavior
        3. Design
        4. Web Design
        5. Online Marketing
        6. Persuasion and Persuasive Selling
        7. Metrics
        8. Search Engine Marketing
        9. Other Influences
        10. Come by and Say Hello!

    Product information

    • Title: Web Design for ROI: Turning Browsers into Buyers & Prospects into Leads
    • Author(s): Lance Loveday, Sandra Niehaus
    • Release date: October 2007
    • Publisher(s): New Riders
    • ISBN: 9780321549693