When first starting out on a project, major aspects of a site like color, form, shape and whitespace get all the attention. Of course, these traits are extremely important, but it’s imperative to see that larger elements of your site aren’t the only things that deserve your attention. Experienced designers know that what makes or breaks a website is often hidden in the details.
When viewing a website, it takes users less than two-tenths of a second to form their first impression, according to recent research from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
John Manoogian III is the founder and CTO of 140 Proof, the leading social ad platform for Twitter and Facebook. John created the 140 Proof brand and co-led development of its API and ad-targeting architecture.
Note: I wrote about practices like this here, and while I didn't discuss this explicitly, the linking strategy of pigeonholing web viewers, the practice of "Download my app" is one of the most frustrating, especially when you can't get back to your expected content easily. Or in some cases, at all.
Apple is good at many things, but so far, it has not excelled at "social" Web services. For example, Ping, the music-focused service it launched in 2010, is seen as one of its rare failures.
But now Apple has a real chance to do something "social" properly, by turning its huge and growing base of iOS users into a useful social platform, while maintaining appropriate privacy and security.
While social media can perplex a single business unit, imagine the challenges and multidimensional complications that can arise when a franchisor decides to incorporate social media into his or her integrated communications plan. Social media does not dictate an entire marketing program, but it must be approached with the same level of attention and definition as the rest of its marketing counterparts.
When we started Angie's List in 1995 — going door-to-door in Columbus, OH to find reliable contractors for my co-founder's home — our goals were simple: recruit members and collect reviews. After 16 years and millions of reviews, we are still in the same game.
Customers want to talk. And it doesn't matter what you are — small plumbing service or Fortune 500 — feedback matters. Turning testimonials into a tool rather than a threat takes understanding. Understand what your customers are saying, where they are saying it, and (most important) why they are saying it.
I went to Forbes.com to read the article on Glock's pricing plan that I posted here. It's a great read, and I had sent it around to a couple clients who enjoy reading case studies (I hope).
I had originally found the story through my iPhone's Flipboard app, (which if you don't use go get it this minute for your iOS device). The UI is much different on Flipboard than Forbes.com, or any other site not specifically set up to look like, well... Flipboard.
