Must Design

5 Web Design Implications Evolution Of Web Design

Our @Curagami Evolution of Web Design Infographic (http://sco.lt/74Nvsn_ broke daily view records for our startup. Here are 5 Web Design Implications implied by that infographic:

• Leave Room For THEM (visitors & customers) - As User Generated Content (UGC) becomes increasingly important its important to build in ROOM for comments, reviews and other UGC. UGC needs an ASK and the room to curate and share results of the ask.
  
  
• One For You, 2 For Them - Every System & Process you build for YOU, build 2 for them. Can users follow each other? Can users share a profile? Can users share content ideas and content easily? What is your social reward system for content shares.
  
  
• Social Graphics - there is a reason people in the army wear rank. Wearing "social rank" immediately says who someone IS with a single graphic. Easier to trust social avatars when they are similarly grounded with graphics earned and proudly socially displayed. Social graphics reward those who've earned them AND set the stage for the next generation of people aspiring to "be like them" so a double win. Find ways to share feedback in social spaces like charities do with thermometers.
  
  
• Build an Ambassadors Area - ambassadors are so important to creating and sustaining online community. Ambassadors are volunteers wiling to sacrifice to JOIN and ADVOCATE you and your ideas. One CSF our startup Curgami is working on is how to quickly identify a website's 1% Contributors and 9% Supporters. Once identified GIVE THEM JOBS and a special place to "hang out".
  
  
• Curate & Collaborate More, Create Less = more "blank pages" - design is an important wrapper, but web design can become an obstruction too. If you curate a "Member of the Month" feature leave room to fill up as you go. Maybe this month's feature sits on top of 3 previous months. The more face-time you can build for THEM the more social shares and support your online community earns.

What about you? What design changes do you see ahead? As we move to "community" how can our design support and create trust?

Graphic Designers ROCK
I have more than tremendous respect and admiration for graphic designers. The ability to use tools like Photoshop and Illustrator to create MAGIC is something I will always envy. I know enough to know just how magical those skills truly are, so thank you.

I would LOVE to convince gifted visual marketers of the need to fix five mistakes I see over and over, mistakes that can HARM a websites bottom line and ability to scale.

I confess to making some of these mistakes myself. Easy to do when caught up in the NEW chase. I got so I printed out this list and keep it in view so it smacks me as a reminder while creating ideas for a new design.

Despite the list being omnipresent I forgot a subscription option on CrowdFunde.com two months ago, so EASY to forget these ideas:

** Email Subscription
Any websites lifeline is the LIST of supporters and subscribers they OWN. If Google changes their algorithm and PPC goes bankrupt you can always may your own list, so making sure the ability to opt in to that list is omnipresent is a CSF (Critical Success Factor).

** Keywords In Category Names
Think, "Do we want to win that keyword," when reviewing your navigation. You may select to have your URLs rewritten to be more keyword specific, but those internal links play an important role with Google's spider and SEO so KEYWORDS are a must.

** Research Keywords
My CrowdFunde co-founder Phil Buckley asked me if I thought attorneys or lawyers would be the most searched term. "Lawyers," I answered confidently knowing I was wrong (you never win these who will win questions lol). Attorneys is the winner and by a large margin. Don't write copy to what you THINK when it is so easy to do a little research and KNOW.

** The Tricky Part To Web Analytics
Here's the rub to web metrics. They operate in a constant seesaw dance with one another. Attorneys may be the most searched, but maybe that is because the Mass Tort guys have crushed the deck in some way (have no knowledge of that only using it as an example so please don't sue me lol). When you DESIGN with numbers you design better, but be sure to ask your SEO contact where the rubs are in the numbers. Rubs are numbers that LOOK one way but actually ARE another. Trust me you NEVER want to spend the kind of time in Google Analytics knowing where the rubs are requires, so ask.

** 80/20 Rule
One Internet marketing FRACTAL we discovered is 20% of the links, traffic, pages always get 80% or more of the value. Your job is to build a flexible framework so when your managing team SEES the emerging 80/20 rule you can easily shift the presentation to favor the 20 over the 80.

Now please take these practical, money making ideas and make them beautiful and THANK YOU for your dedication to BEAUTY in design and life :). Marty