Blog — Everyone has a blog these days and the last thing the world wide web needs is another blog that no one reads. However, if you’ve got something to say then a blog can be a great way to keep in touch and start to build a community amongst your customers. Hopefully after some work you’ll have customers posting responses to your blog and contributing content of their own.

Adding a blog to an existing website is generally a fairly quick and inexpensive process. Existing blog software can be installed on your website then it’s just a matter of setting it up to fit in with the look of your website. Popular software includes Movable Type and WordPress.(we use Wordpress)

Forums — Providing an area for discussion on your website can be seen as a great community service and will keep people coming back to your site. As mentioned in my previous post, an active community can provide support to your users, provide feedback on your company and help gain repeat customers.

There are many forum software options out there such as phpBB that allow you to quickly and easily set up a forum on your website. Again it’s important to “skin” the forum to make it fit with the design of your website but that should be a relatively simple process for your web design firm.

I look forward to learning more about how to utilize user generated content both for smaller businesses like mine as well as for the larger businesses of some of my clients. I’ll be sure to post about the sessions I’ve attended after each day of the conference and I look forward to discussing this information with you when I return.

Typography is defined as “The design and use of typefaces as a means of visual communication.” Typography can make or break a design and is one of the most important tools in effective graphic design. Careless or improper typographic technique can ruin an otherwise great piece. On the other hand, well-crafted use of letterforms can guide the reader and create a hierarchy that is necessary in good communication.

Whether you are designing something in house or hiring a designer, it’s good to be aware of proper typographic techniques. Below are a few of my favorite tips gleaned from a post on “11 Essential Tips for Good Print Typography.”

Alignment — Many people like to get creative by adjusting the alignment of their type. While it’s possible to use other alignments effectively, it is almost always best to left align text. As readers of the English language, we are used to seeing text aligned along a common line on the left so it’s most comfortable for us to read it that way.

Contrast — The color of type on a background can greatly affect the readability of a design. The most legible text is black type on a white background. Any other arrangement will be, at least to some degree, harder to read. Obviously pure black and white can get bland but make sure there is good contrast between your letters and their background. A good rule of thumb is to keep large sections of copy dark on a light background for easy reading.

Fonts — Using a variety of fonts is a mistake that you see too often. A good rule of thumb is to use one serif font and one sans-serif font per piece. Any more than that and you’ll be trying to combine too many different looks.

White Space — I’ve discussed white space before but I’ll mention it again because it is so often overlooked. Too much information overwhelms. If your page is filled with text leaving no room for the eye to breath, then the reader is quickly going to move on. Make sure you leave ample margins around the text cut down copy to only what is necessary. This will give you a clear and concise message that can easily be digested.

As with any guidelines, there are exceptions to the above list, but rules must be broken intentionally and for a clear purpose otherwise you risk hurting readability.

Now one of the reasons I took notice is personal, the idea of a performance car that gets good gas mileage is appealing to me. However, I have to say that the design of this fantastic ad is what really drew me in. Although I had been flipping quickly through the other ads to get to the articles, the ample white space surrounding the copy and photos in this ad made me stop. By minimizing the amount of content this ad is almost saying, “We know you’re busy with other things so we’ll make this quick.” And they’re right. I am busy and I’m not going to bother reading an ad unless I can do it quickly.

Too often people try to cram all the info they can into their ad, brochure, website, etc., when they could be much more effective by pairing that info down into only what matters most. Sure it would be great if everyone would take 15 minutes out of their day to learn about your product, but that’s not going to happen. If you want people to pay attention you’d better be considerate of their time or they’ll skip right over you.

Getting your message across requires good design and well-written copy that quickly zeros in on your point.

Here’s the problem with that mindset: content should be the driving force—the guts—behind a business website and should be attended to from the start. A website that is attractive, but is empty or has incoherent content will only keep a visitor for a couple of seconds, max. Once your customers see that your site either doesn’t have the content they need, or possibly even worse, has poorly written copy it is likely they will leave. If visitors do decide to stay on the site, disorganized content can work against you by leaving the unfortunate impression of unprofessionalism. As with design, it’s a good idea to hire a professional. Having someone on your team that is an experienced writer, particularly for the web, will help your website accomplish the goals you’ve laid out.

A website’s content is as important as its design, and in development of an excellent site, the two must work hand-in-hand. For this reason, neither aspect can be ignored during the planning process. The purpose of your site, it’s content and the tone your company wants to take with its visitors, all direct the content and design development. Just as the tone of the design affects a visitor’s impression of the site, the way content is written can convey your company’s culture and way of doing business. Your tone must fit the way you want your business to be perceived by your customers, and reinforce the mission of your company.

The benefits of thoughtful, well-organized content are innumerable, but here three:

1. Search Engine Optimization
Well-written copy places emphasis on keywords, which helps you get noticed by search engines (such as Google), resulting in people that are searching for your services finding your company site.

2. Recognition as an Authority
If your website contains articles or other informational content, your customers will start to view you as an up-to-date, well-informed authority. This puts you well on your way to gaining new and repeat business.

3. Saves Time
If you get a lot of the same questions directed at your business, you should consider answering those questions on your website. Doing this won’t stop all of the phone calls, but it will definitely stop some. There are a lot of people who prefer finding their answers online rather than making a phone call anyway, and finding their answer there shows them your ability to anticipate their needs not a bad thing.

As you’re developing your website, make sure you put appropriate thought into the content. Hiring a writer that is familiar with writing copy for the web can go a long way in making your website a success.