Jakob Nielsen commented on a couple of different websites, saying "Bad content, bad links, bad navigation, bad category pages... which is worst for business" In these examples, bad content takes the prize for costing the company the most money."
I think Nielsen makes an excellent point on the three different websites he commented on. As for the first on about Jazz, the fact that there is not any information about the musicians and it only has a picture of one of the members it does not do the band justice. There aren't any reviews or samples on the website to help encourage people who want to make reservations to actually make them. One thing I did notice on the website, and Nielsen did as well, was the fact that there was a link that says "email to a friend." However, what exactly are you emailing to your friend? Will that person be getting more information about the concert? Or just a picture of the lead trombonist?
Another site that I want to comment on Nielsen's comments is the Christopher Norman Chocolates webpage is another site that Nielsen had a lot of good comments on. Because this website uses splash screens, the everyday web surfer might not know that ther are more products under the categories. The content information just is not enough on page, which causes the user to have to keep clicking through and they may not realize that they have to do that.
These two sites are the ones that caught my eye the most. Nielsen believes that the jazz website is the one that is losing the most business and I agree with him. There are too many other jazz bands or what not that have a lot more information that encourages those interested to attend the concerts.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Facts of Life-VC Star
Fact of Life #1-- We don't read pages. We scan them.
According to Steve Krug, author of Don't Make Me Think, readers on the internet do not take a lot of time reading most of the information on the websites. The reason why most of the time we scan the information rather than reading everything is because 1- we're usually in a hurry, 2- we know we don't need to read everything and 3- we're good at it.
If VC Star created a microsite for a younger demographic they definitely need to take this information and use it as their advantage. On their regular website, it is very cluttered and there are tons of information on one screen. Most readers, especially those who are younger are only interested in reading things that are relevant to what they want. VC Star can have less words on their new website and possibly more pictures so it draws more attention to the reader. That way the scanning process can be done by looking at the pictures and clicking on the link that follows to what they really want to read.
Fact of life #2--We don't make optimal choices. We sastisfice.
While using the web, most users scan the page and rather scanning to choose the best option, they use the first reasonable option. Because web browsers have the "back" button it is easy to just click on the first thing you see that will help you and if it doesn't you can always just go back to the previous page.
Because VC Star's main website is so cluttered, while scanning the page it makes things more difficult to pick an option because there are so many different options to choose. The VC Star might have a lot of good information, but that's not what readers are looking for exactly. They don't make optimal choices so if there's a lot of information they could always use the back button or just go to a different website that they believe will have the same information but not as wordy. Having links on their website that look more appealing will aslo be a good tactic because if it catches the readers eye, and it looks somewhat of a reasonable option they will click on it.
Fact of life #3-- We don't figure out how things work. We muddle through
Even though technologically savvy people are on the internet all the time, they still might not be using the websites correctly. Designers have made websites and the functions of those sites for particular reasons but most of the time users don't even take those functions into consideration. Users do this because 1- it's not important to us and 2- if we find something that works, we stick to it.
The problem with VC Star's website right now is the fact that they have so many different functions and links on their page and their users could really care less about it. Younger demographics do not take the time to learn how things work because they don't care. They are the ones who are on the internet majority of the time so they have a lot of practice in finding shorter ways of doing what they want. Because most users only "muddle through" websites when there is too much content they will just pass by it. Also- once they find something that works, they stick to it. By making VC Star's microsite easy to use and properly made for the younger demographics where they don't have to search for what they look for they'll be more likely to come back.
According to Steve Krug, author of Don't Make Me Think, readers on the internet do not take a lot of time reading most of the information on the websites. The reason why most of the time we scan the information rather than reading everything is because 1- we're usually in a hurry, 2- we know we don't need to read everything and 3- we're good at it.
If VC Star created a microsite for a younger demographic they definitely need to take this information and use it as their advantage. On their regular website, it is very cluttered and there are tons of information on one screen. Most readers, especially those who are younger are only interested in reading things that are relevant to what they want. VC Star can have less words on their new website and possibly more pictures so it draws more attention to the reader. That way the scanning process can be done by looking at the pictures and clicking on the link that follows to what they really want to read.
Fact of life #2--We don't make optimal choices. We sastisfice.
While using the web, most users scan the page and rather scanning to choose the best option, they use the first reasonable option. Because web browsers have the "back" button it is easy to just click on the first thing you see that will help you and if it doesn't you can always just go back to the previous page.
Because VC Star's main website is so cluttered, while scanning the page it makes things more difficult to pick an option because there are so many different options to choose. The VC Star might have a lot of good information, but that's not what readers are looking for exactly. They don't make optimal choices so if there's a lot of information they could always use the back button or just go to a different website that they believe will have the same information but not as wordy. Having links on their website that look more appealing will aslo be a good tactic because if it catches the readers eye, and it looks somewhat of a reasonable option they will click on it.
Fact of life #3-- We don't figure out how things work. We muddle through
Even though technologically savvy people are on the internet all the time, they still might not be using the websites correctly. Designers have made websites and the functions of those sites for particular reasons but most of the time users don't even take those functions into consideration. Users do this because 1- it's not important to us and 2- if we find something that works, we stick to it.
The problem with VC Star's website right now is the fact that they have so many different functions and links on their page and their users could really care less about it. Younger demographics do not take the time to learn how things work because they don't care. They are the ones who are on the internet majority of the time so they have a lot of practice in finding shorter ways of doing what they want. Because most users only "muddle through" websites when there is too much content they will just pass by it. Also- once they find something that works, they stick to it. By making VC Star's microsite easy to use and properly made for the younger demographics where they don't have to search for what they look for they'll be more likely to come back.
Monday, April 28, 2008
SWOT
Strenghts
Some strengths that I believe the VC Star has for them is the name recognition it already has. VC Star has been around for years and so even if you may not read it you know it exists. If VC Star was able to actually come out with this new and great paper for a younger demographic, or even just an internet site for a younger demographic it will already somewhat known. The website VC Star already has contains a lot of information about what is going on in Ventura County, surf reports, weather, gas prices, etc. and that may be one of the only things going for them.
Weaknesses
Even though VC Star has a lot of information on their website and it is helpful to know what the surf is going to be like or how hot it is that day, or even what gas stations have the cheapest gas, the website itself is so hard to read. I think because it's so cluttered and somewhat has an ugly layout it draws people away from visiting the website.
Opportunities
Like I said before, the VC Star is known, but not many demographics read it. If they figure out ways to approach to younger demographics in a better way it'll help them gain more traffic to their website. They have the resources (I think) in order to make this happen and if they change their approach to the website and make it easier to read and user friendly it'll have a significant impact on the number of times the website is visited.
Threats
Unfortunately, because of all the other websites that relate to Ventura County that are more reliable and easy to read people may just stick to what they know. There are websites that already exist that target a younger demographic and are a lot easier to read than the VC Star and so this bring somewhat of a competition.
Some strengths that I believe the VC Star has for them is the name recognition it already has. VC Star has been around for years and so even if you may not read it you know it exists. If VC Star was able to actually come out with this new and great paper for a younger demographic, or even just an internet site for a younger demographic it will already somewhat known. The website VC Star already has contains a lot of information about what is going on in Ventura County, surf reports, weather, gas prices, etc. and that may be one of the only things going for them.
Weaknesses
Even though VC Star has a lot of information on their website and it is helpful to know what the surf is going to be like or how hot it is that day, or even what gas stations have the cheapest gas, the website itself is so hard to read. I think because it's so cluttered and somewhat has an ugly layout it draws people away from visiting the website.
Opportunities
Like I said before, the VC Star is known, but not many demographics read it. If they figure out ways to approach to younger demographics in a better way it'll help them gain more traffic to their website. They have the resources (I think) in order to make this happen and if they change their approach to the website and make it easier to read and user friendly it'll have a significant impact on the number of times the website is visited.
Threats
Unfortunately, because of all the other websites that relate to Ventura County that are more reliable and easy to read people may just stick to what they know. There are websites that already exist that target a younger demographic and are a lot easier to read than the VC Star and so this bring somewhat of a competition.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
my deliciousnessssss
My social bookmarking consists of websites that I go on frequently. For example my email, favorite YouTube videos, music websites, my social networks, websites to the NFL, my favorite team (SDCHARGERS!), etc.
I have used bookmarks before so it is pretty easy, however sometimes I don't want to go to "my delicious" just to go to the website I'll just type in the url. Then again, sometimes I am too lazy and don't want to type and that is when del.icio.us comes very handy.
http://del.icio.us/acabal
if you want something to laugh at, I ENCOURAGE you to watch human tetris on my del.icio.us. It is hilarious... sneak preview:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LI2kajMH2u0
what's with iTunes...
I realized that when I download and listen to music it comes naturally because I do it so frequently. Here's some steps I go through to listen to my music, I happened to choose Bob Marley...
1) open iTunes
2) go to library--> music
3) upper right hand click in the search box
4) type in "Bob Marley"
5) look for songs you wanted to listen to, don't hear it? let's buy it!
Steps to buying music...
1) go to STORE and click on iTunes store
2) wait patiently while it accesses store
3) when it opens, the homepage will have new album releases, top songs, top movie rentals, etc.
4) type in "Bob Marley" in search engine (upper right)
5) click on song to preview it
6) above songs click on the album where the song resides (if you can't find it or want more songs from that album)
7) choose to buy certain song or whole album
8) choose new artist, repeat
Some improvements I thought of were when songs are searched ath the iTunes store they could possibly be organized better so it is not as hard to find them. For example songs should be in order the way the original album is and in order by release dates for the album. Lyrics would be a huge improvement on iTunes because a lot of people are always curious as to what the lyrics are to songs but have to go online to check them out, and sometimes they are not online. If wist lists were available on iTunes the buying process would be faster for the consumer; this would be better for iTunes as well as the consumer.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Internet Marketing Survey...
When thinking of questions to put on my survey I decided I should try and keep the questions somewhat related. That is when I decided to have it focused on iTunes and our discussions on trying to improve it. Before I finished my survey I asked my 6 roommates (males and females) if they would fill out the survey when I was done. Most of them asked what it was about, but a few of the guys asked how long it was as well. I soon realized that the probability of responses would be greater if there were less questions.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=WvFPSd4aLv0ditwXT2ZgFg_3d_3d
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
