First off, MacDonald outlines a multitiered promotional strategy, beginning with creating a site that is actually worth viewing. I appreciate that he emphasizes this point since worrying about attracting traffic before designing a useful web presence is counterproductive and will probably result in chaos later on in the process. One step at a time is the lesson here. That said, once the site is up and running he points out that it is imperative to get the word out. Sharing links with friends and related websites is a strong suggestion — what I didn't realize however, was just how important this step is. Google ranks pages for its search results based on a number of factors, but apparently the popularity of your website is based largely on how many other sites link to it (as well as the relative importance of the websites linking to yours). Interesting enough, this makes sense, since the World Wide Web is, after all, supposed to be about sharing and creating networks.
Beyond linking, MacDonald has some great suggestions for establishing a web presence. Among the standards are registering the website with search engines and directories, however his more sophisticated ideas involve making contributions elsewhere. Posting thoughtful responses to discussion boards related to the contents of your website and then closing with a subtle signature containing your URL is one that seems sure to drive some traffic your way. I have seen this done and followed signature links to external websites many times, but I never really stopped to think about it as a strategy.
MacDonald's description of the importance of meta elements was a good reminder about how to use these effectively. For example, in his discussion of creating a sense of community through your web presence he presents a description of a website that presents itself as a resource for group sharing versus a description that presents the same site as a place to consult for information on a topic. This distinction is important because it will clue users in to what the purpose and site contents will be when they read the description in a search engine listing. Accuracy and shades of meaning are therefore important here. Additionally, I was surprised to read that keyword meta elements have fallen out of favor in so far as many search engines ignore them. In fact, MacDonald suggests that many web experts don't add them to sites anymore. I will have to check out some code from a few sites to test this idea. I am certainly no expert, but I thought this was actually still a widely used practice…
The most exciting portion of MacDonald's chapter 11 was his explanation of Google Analytics, a tool that tracks web traffic and provides an analysis of user behaviors. I am honestly shocked that a tool with such extensive tracking features is free. I figured that such a service would provide standard information such as site visitors by day, week, and month, and perhaps the referring website or search engine that brought them to your website. I was amazed to see that it also displays statistics such as averages of time spent browsing and pages clicked per visit. Examining such material could certainly help to ascertain whether the contents of your website were offering enough depth to keep people around for more than a few minutes. Another interesting analysis MacDonald suggests is reviewing where most people are entering and exiting your website. The former, he mentions, is a good indicator of content that is a popular draw, while the latter may indicate that something is offensive about that particular page. What a great way to truly assess the effectiveness of your contents and design, by making inferences about user behavior based on hard data. This seems especially useful for small business websites, where the stakes are probably a bit higher than they are for a personal web presence.
Speaking of small business websites, I have recently changed direction on my own creative endeavors for this class. I have designed a first draft of a personal website, seen in several posts below. However, as I have read more and more about creative web design I have agreed to create a website for my aunt's new business, Taste the World. This will be a brick and mortar storefront specializing in fine foods and coffees. The idea is to supplement her business with a strong web presence since most people that hear about the store will probably head to the website first to check it out (I know I usually do that before I head into a non-chain store or restaurant).
To start out with, I have gone through the process of searching for and procuring a domain name and hosting service from GoDaddy. Since TasteTheWorld.com was gone, I took MacDonald's earlier advice and chose TasteTheWorldOnline.com, rather than settling for a .biz or .net. Then, I have designed a preliminary logo, which will of course become part of the company identity. Anne has given me pretty much full creative control, so the website design should present an excellent challenge. The logo, which admittedly needs some tweaking, looks like this:
As for site design, I am looking to create a rich and decadent feel that incorporates some quirky personal touches. This should appropriately represent the character of the store, which will carry high end cooking oils, spices, and fresh roasted coffee blends, as well as items like funky gourmet hot sauces and spreads. I am leaning towards using burgundy as the dominant header color, which Beaird mentioned was associated with high end living; an analogous color scheme with muted oranges and parchment yellows should create a nice harmonious but energetic feel for the site. I am still thinking about textures and other elements to create a sleek but lively design. I am also thinking about how the blog design I create for her will tie in with the rest of the site and reflect the nature of the store.
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