New website launched – YPWichita.org

We’ve been working for YPW since the very beginning… We’ve done a logo, materials, a first website, and now we’ve done their second website as well.

It’s fun to be part of a growing organization that makes an impact. You see, -we’re at a disadvantage here in the midwest. Although we turn out lots of great people who go on to be leaders in their industry, an awful lot of them do it somewhere else. It’s ironic, but we’re losing our youngest, and brightest to perceived greener pastures.

YPW is working against all that. They’re bringing together young talent, building a community, and helping to crystallize our future. It’s a big goal, and an important one. Being a young company ourselves, we’re extremely happy to have played a part.

The site:
ypwichita.org

In our portfolio:
link

Fundamentals: Target Audience

The first rule of selecting target audience is not to lie to yourself. Your first instinct might be to say “our target audience is everyone…” -Unless you’re the government, you’re lying to yourself.

Being precise with your target audience selection will help you to present benefits that will be well received. If your target audience is not targeted enough, you will likely suffer from a bland, non-specific website or project, the kind that neither offends nor pleases anyone.

The most committal websites in the world are the ones that make the strongest impact on the audience they target. They have an authentic and determined voice that users respond to.

The target audience for your website should affect everything from the tone of the copy to the way the code itself is written. Try to put yourself in the place of your target audience and ask what you need. Let that motivate you through every decision while constructing the site.

Things to say to a developer

• What do you think of the target audience I have isolated for this project?
• Do you have a past track record of success with this particular demographic?
• Are there other groups you believe we should be targeting?

Fundamentals: Browsers

While building a website, you will learn more about web browsers than you ever wanted to know. Most of the world operates in Internet Explorer, but there are many popular web browsers:

Internet Explorer (Windows only)
IE is the worlds most installed browser. Although it is difficult to work with and lacks many advanced features available in other browsers, it is the standard.

Firefox (For Windows and mac)
Firefox is the modern open source replacement for IE. It is more standards compliant, more secure, and faster. Although only a small portion of the general population is using it, it is extremely popular in the tech savvy world. If you’re still using Explorer, consider switching; -it’s free.

Safari (Mac only)
Safari is the default browser on all new Macintosh computers. It is also a modern browser, with a feature set equivalent to Firefox.

Developers spend many frustrating days of their lives trying to get a particular browser to see a website the way that it is supposed to. Be prepared for a good portion of your budget to go into testing to get user experience to be consistent across multiple browsers and platforms.

Some companies and developers elect to opt out of this process. Despite the overall percentages of browsers, keep in mind that when you are launching new products and services, you need to appeal to early adopters. The kind of personality that will select the rare product if it is newer, or better. Don’t rule out your early adopters. That kind of personality can be your biggest asset in spreading the word. Encourage your developers to build a website that performs well on at least the major 3-4 browsers.

Fundamentals: Collecting data

One of the most exciting things about owning a website is the ability to collect data. Large companies pay big bucks for a glimpse into the buying habits of their customers. With some careful planning, your website can set you on a path to knowing some of the things that the big boys know.

Some of the things that websites can tell you about your users:

• Approximate location
• Type of browser
• Length of time they spent on your site
• Path they took while navigating your site
• What search term they used to arrive at your site
• What site they clicked over from

With some prompting and proper motivation, you may also be able to entice users to cough up their names, email addresses and even phone numbers, and addresses.

Be careful with what you ask for though. The modern consumer is very wary of giving away personal information online. If you don’t explicitly need a piece of information, consider not asking for it. You will have increased the chance that the information you really need will be filled in.

There is something called “permission based marketing” that you might be familiar with. The basic premise says that if you give, you shall receive. Try to isolate a few small benefits that you can open up to your customers if they pony up with their information.
Things to say to a developer

• What experience do you have with data collection?
• How does your system collect and display the results of data collection?
• Can you give an example of how data mining has allowed you to pro-actively steer the future course of a website or campaign?

Fundamentals

In our business, we get to answer a lot of questions. It’s the nature of our jobs. We deal with a lot of ephemera, and ideas; -there’s not always a straight route from a to b. And there’s also the technology factor… A swimming world of acronyms that moves faster than anyone can hope to keep up with.

We’ve decided to have a regular feature on this blog called fundamentals. Some posts may be too basic for you, others might fill in a few gaps you’ve skipped over. If you’ve never met us before, it will be a great way for you to figure out just what Entermotion is all about. If you’re trying to select a design/development partner, you just might pick up some tips to make it go smoother.