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We all have different ideas of what makes a website not only look good but also work well. In the end though, what we’re all trying to achieve is pretty much the same in that we’re striving to engage users so they interact with your business and at the same time do a bit of drum-banging by telling others about how good it is.

Our opinion is that you don’t need to create the best website in the world in order for it to work. But what you do need to is to make sure that whatever it is your website is about, that it captures the users imagination and makes them want to find out more.

Visual appeal goes some way to achieving that and the level you take it to depends on what your website is about – but Coca Cola, as an example, have used some neat tricks so that when you take a look at each product in their range (http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/default.html) the screen zooms around to give a little flashy presentation.

You might not want to go to that level, but using techniques like Coca Cola have done means you can get a  lot more info on your website without overloading it. With only so much space on websites and impatient users that want things and they want them now you need to think very carefully about what your most important user-engaging features are and hit them with it straight away.

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Data is often viewed as boring and just about the numbers. The truth about data is very different – it is alive with creative opportunity to help brands make their marketing more engaging and effective.

We were invited (along with Oracle & Experian – amongst other big names),  to present at a recent event discussing this topic and to answer big questions on

• How to connect the new data generated by digital marketing with traditional transactional databases.
• How to develop a genuine 360 insight into your customer by using multiple information sources.
• How to make the most of new forms of targeting: behavioural, location – based and by recommendation.
• How to measure effectiveness and optimise budgets on this new data landscape.

Over the next few months we’ll be running a series of articles on our blog to help you find answers to the questions above to help you become more creative with your data and to get the most from it.

If you have time then it’s worth taking a minute to have a look at the presentation we ran on the day – http://www.ipa.co.uk/Content/Content-from-Being-creative-with-data-25th-November

…our technical director Dave also has a spot on the video interviews – http://www.ipa.co.uk/Content/Content-from-Being-creative-with-data-25th-November

Watch out on Twitter or our blog for the first article in the series. (…and don’t forget to sign-up to our monthly email)

It’s not even released yet and already it seems everyone is talking about how Google Wave is going to be the next revolution in Web communication.

Watch this video (1h 20m) and make you’re own mind up. We were impressed as we’re sure you will be and then you’re mind will be racing as you think of all the different ways Wave can make a difference to you.

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Web analytics tools like Google Analytics can provide you with a bag load of statistical information. All good stuff because the info it provides can help you to understand more about your traffic and how to improve your ROI.

But on the other hand, the excitement of whizzy tools like Google Analytics can sometimes mean that more fundamental things are overlooked in relation to how your website is performing.

Think about implementing feedback loops for customers and it’ll give you the best and most honest information around. OK, so some of the feedback may be a little harsh and some of it may be useless but it’s all information that will give you a better understanding of what your customers really want, what they don’t like and what they do like about your website. They may even be nice to you ;0)

We’ve picked out 2 really good feedback loop services than can help you make your websites do more and help to retain more customers. We’re not affiliated with any of these companies but I thought it’d be useful to pick out a couple of real life services that do the job. I do like the look of them both though…

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Many people enter into the new year with a personal goal of living a healthier lifestyle and shedding the unwanted pounds brought on by another season of holiday excess. The same commitment should also be applied to the messages being sent to your subscribers-messages that may have slowly packed on the pounds right under your nose without being noticed.

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In the current climate of recession and all the worries associated with the credit crunch, one of the first things that many companies see as an “expense they could do without” is their marketing budget, and more over their “online-marketing-budget.”

Worried by the supplier bills, salaries and all the other expenses that go with running a business, many are looking at ways to curb expenditure in order to weather the economic storm – and all too often the first casualty is all things ‘online’.

“Why should we be investing in Pay-Per-Click, updating our site or sending out emails when things are so tight at the moment?”

The answer to that question is simple, “because your competition still are”

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What is “Accessibility”? What is the point of “Accessibility”? There are a number of definitions out there for “Accessiblity”, but the one that I think best sums it up is the following from the Java Look and Feel Guidelines

The degree to which software can be used comfortably by a wide variety of people, including those who require assistive technologies like screen magnifiers or voice recognition.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at why you need to make sure that your website is accessible. Continue reading »

Using web analytics tools isn’t as daunting as you might think, and by understanding how people are using your site, you can develop and improve your website, which in turn should lead to more inquiries, more sales or higher levels or traffic. Whatever your goals are, analytics tools can help achieve them.

Looking at the failings of your website is just as important as looking at your successes.  In order to keep ahead of the game, it isn’t enough to just be happy with the users that actually “converted” (that is someone who bought something or downloaded from you, or made an enquiry). You need to know why those users who didn’t get as far as buying from your store left at a certain stage, or why they fell short of clicking the “download now” button.

And what that means is taking a cold, hard look at what you have put online as representative of you or your company. What you have said, how you have said it, the way you have presented yourself, your company or your products online requires evaluation and re-evaluation in order to get the best results.

Many people simply don’t like to admit that they got it wrong.

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At some point we’ve all found ourselves asking these exact questions – funny thing is, they all share the same answer!

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In a recent survey of executives; approximately 60 percent stated that images were turned off on their email clients. In some email clients, turning “images off” is now the default setting (Microsoft Outlook 2007). Corporate IT policies and personal preferences are resulting in image suppression being a de facto standard.

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