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 Wow, what a snow job! We're writing this as the first
blizzard of the season blankets the entire northeast. It's
been a great day to hunker down indoors and get some of
those pesky projects out of the way (ironing, mending, organizing).
I (Lisa) also caught Napoleon Dynamite on HBO for
the second time. If you've seen it, please let me know what
all the fuss is about. I didn't like this supposed cult
film the first OR second time!
Now's a good time to rethink, and perhaps retool, your
website (one of the Turtles' winter projects). Below, we've
outline five tips for designing an effective site. Also,
for the procrastinators out there, we've extended our Turtle
contest another month. See details after main article.
As always, your ideas, input and questions are welcome,
so please click
here to get in touch with us, or call the Turtle hotline
at 732.269.2454.
5 BASIC RULES FOR WEBSITE
DESIGN
1) Make it Easy to Read
Your website should be crisp, clean and easy to read. Dark
type on a white or light-colored background is much easier
on the eye than dropout type (light print on dark background).
Also, don't make your font size too small—which is
tough to read—or too large—which suggests SHOUTING.
Center your headlines and align main text to the left.
2) Make it Easy to Navigate
Visitors come to your website for information, not flashy
pyrotechnics. Anything that's not clear, takes too long
to load or fails to provide the information readers need
in three clicks or less could send them—frustrated—to
your competition. Make sure hyperlinks are distinctly marked.
Buttons, tabs and other graphic images should be clear and
easy to operate.
3) Make Contact
Is your contact information easy to find? Visitors should
be able to link to your contact page from every other page
on the website. You should also include a physical address
and phone number in case they're more comfortable reaching
you by phone or snail mail.
4) Make it Easy to Find
Promote your website in all your marketing materials: business
cards, brochures, letterhead, invoices, print ads, radio
and TV ads, etc. You can also boost your online presence
by incorporating search-engine-optimized terms (words the
search engines will pick up) and/or by purchasing sponsorships
on the search engines' home pages.
5) Make it an Extension of Your Brand
All your marketing materials—website included—should
carry a consistent image, or "branding." If your
logo is purple and pink and has a modern twist…and
your website is green and yellow with a country theme…you're
not following the cardinal rule of consistency. Choose the
colors, styles and moods you want to convey, and maintain
those across the board.
TURTLE CONTEST…EXTENDED!
You are a clever and imaginative audience! We got a fantastic
response to our Turtle contest, in which we asked readers
to explain how Linda and Lisa arrived at the name Flying
Turtle Marketing. By popular demand, we've decided to extend
the contest one more month, so there's still time to submit
your answer. Please limit it to 100 words or less. The winning
response will be published in the next issue of e-Flash.
Click here
to to submit your entry today.
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