Legal Marketing Articles

Archive for May, 2011

Creating a User-Friendly Website

Saturday, May 28th, 2011

Websites can certainly be aesthetically pleasing, but ultimately they must be functional if customers are going to use them for commercial transactions. Therefore, companies must ensure that their sites can be navigated quickly and easily so that customers are satisfied with their experience.

Communication everywhere
Customer feedback is vital when it comes to website functionality. If customers are having problems, companies need to know quickly so that the website can be improved. As noted in the article Improve the Customer Experience on Your Website, communication information should be on every page of a website so that clients can quickly send a message.

Less is more
There can be a temptation to fill a website with a large quantity of seemingly useful information. However, companies should focus on the customer experience and realize that there are certain pieces of data that are vital to a transaction. If a customer has to hunt through multiple pages and links, they may give up and abandon the site completely.

Simple functions
Ultimately, the transaction process itself should be scrutinized so that the steps are simple and intuitive. Companies must remember that if customers get frustrated with the site, they may simply navigate to the page of a different organization. Therefore, feedback on the buying process should be attended to as quickly as possible so that customers do not walk away and never return.

A New York personal injury attorney at Okun, Oddo & Babat, P.C. has contributed resources for the development of this content.

Can Your Website Visitors Find What They Need on Your Site?

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

Website navigation seems like an obvious consideration when companies build websites, but a surprising number of portals are difficult to use when searching for information and conducting business.

As noted by the article, I Need Some Guidelines on Good Web Design. Do You Have Any Ideas?, people can get overwhelmed by a website. If that occurs, they may quickly switch to a competitor’s site.

Intuitive menus and links
A website is like a map, and designers should keep this in mind when they design the site. Menus, buttons and links should go in a logical direction, and if a customer gets stuck there should be ways to easily get back to previous pages on the site.

Thinking like a client
What companies need to remember is that the customer may not know everything about the company. Therefore, the organization must do their best to think like a client who is seeing the site for the first time. Websites should contain pertinent information, and the site should not overwhelm people with too many flashy graphics, sounds or moving parts. Aesthetics are important, but functionality is the key.

Testing process
Organizations should go through a testing process and adjust quickly to feedback from customers who navigate through the site. Once a site develops a poor reputation, it may be difficult to repair without a large amount of communication. Therefore, firms should have potential clients try out the site in advance so that adjustments can be made before launch.

A Birmingham Divorce Lawyer at The Mediation and Law Offices of Brian Turner have contributed resources for the development of this content.

Google +1 Overview

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Sites like Google continue to work on ways to connect clients with businesses—and vice versa. Some connections are direct, while others are more subtle. Instead of waiting for random discoveries, search engines are increasingly optimized to target potential clients with information that may be specifically relevant to them.

Endorsements
The general idea behind Google’s +1 function is to allow users to endorse various sites so that their friends, family and other contacts can see that someone (who can seemingly be trusted) has recommended the site. As noted by Google’s article on +1, the site is about helping people to quickly find results that are theoretically interesting to them.

Help from friends
The Google +1 tool is essentially an Internet version of a word-of-mouth campaign. Since so many individuals are online, companies are indirectly using people to do the advertising for them. Granted, organizations still have to get endorsements from some customers who will spread the word, so conventional means of advertising must still be in place.

Social networking
Sites such as Facebook and Twitter have used the +1 idea as companies use cross-promotion to advertise their products. When individuals go to particular sites, they may see that their Facebook friends have “liked” this site. Google +1 is an attempt to utilize a similar strategy and maximize the power of consumer marketing.

Philadelphia accident attorneys at Howard, Brenner & Nass, P.C. have contributed resources for the development of this content.

How Much Does a Web Cost to Build?

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

Websites are a key aspect of marketing and customer communication, and an organization’s website may be a central location for accessing services and information.

Building a website can be a simple and inexpensive process, but as noted in the article The Cost of Building a Website, professionals may want to avoid building a site themselves or hiring a couple of inexpensive college students.

Budgetary constraints

Budgets must be met, so there can be hesitancy to spend large sums of money. However, a website can be essential, which is why firms may want to think about committing adequate financial resources to a professional-looking and functional website. Image and branding are crucial, which is why businesses cannot afford to have customers turn away from an unappealing site.

Dynamic elements and actual needs

There are considerations when working with a design firm. Companies should decide which elements are immediately vital for their business. For example, there are various artistic elements, but there are also functions such as payments, file management and online services. These may be appealing, but some aspects may not be necessary in the initial stages.

Package deals and future issues

It can be helpful to contract with an organization that can build, host and maintain the site. This is helpful because there is an ongoing relationship and the organization does not have to deal with multiple vendors in order to update their site.

A Tampa Accident Lawyer at Larson Johnson, P.L. have contributed resources for the development of this content.