Yeah, a lot going on in the title here, but I promise it’s all related and of value.

Clean & Simple Web Design
Stuart Atkinson of Bulletproof Box, a blog offering web design techniques, recently highlighted the Five Technology website as one of his 7 Fantastically Simple Web Designs. If you’ve peaked around our portfolio and read a few of our posts on web design then it’s no secret we’re fans of clean, simple and usable web design techniques. We’re proud that others appreciate and recognize our style and it’s fantastic elements. Clean and simple web design is a great way to produce results rather than confusion.

In addition to our feature, Bulletproofbox offers some great posts on CSS and other web design resources, so you might want to check it out.

Dashboard Design
I’ve been working on some concepts for a dashboard design on a in-house project we are rolling out and I’ve learned a few things in the process. Designing a dashboard is like putting together an airplane cockpit. The user is your pilot and needs all the right controls and gauges within reach and view. Clean and simple again wins out here as you need to build a clear structure and layout for the user. Below is a sample concept of our start.

The New Google Browser: Chrome
Obviously a lot of buzz is in the air with yesterdays leak by Google in comic book form. I, like many other net junkies are waiting to put it through the paces to see if Google Chrome is something completely new … or just a few tweaks to what we already use. I literally downloaded it while writing this post, so you can bet I”ll be giving my two cents as well as linking to others comments as they appear.

Form first glance, I think the clean and simple thing is part of Chrome’s push as well, not only in the interface, but in the inner workings.

For many a small business website, it all boils down to your specific products or services and how well you show the user your features and benefits. I push clients to find as many ways possible to educate, inform, build trust and ultimately answer questions on their product or service. A good web design needs to properly display, engage and move the user to the desired goal of contact, form completion or purchase to be a success.

Product / Service Page Web Design Tips:

• Research. Look at competing service or product pages and find out how you can better their offering. More pictures, more details, a tips section, links to additional blog posts or reviews. It all adds up.
• Information in multiple types. Make use of photos, video, HTML text, graphics, supporting PDF downloads or whatever else you have. A good balance of visuals and text goes a long way and is truly expected.
• Details, details, details. Do your best to get specific in the right ways. If it’s a product there are plenty of “specs” you can convey. If you are a service, there is often a range of capabilities or benefits to list out. You are likely being compared to another product or service and your value of details will help you win that comparison.
• Good layout and organization. The user has little patience. Organize your page correctly to make it all easy to digest. Well defined content areas, short paragraphs, bullet points, use of icons, spacing and other visuals all enable this “scanable read”.
• Call to action. Make sure the desired next step (your end goal) is easily available and clear. This may be a button to buy online, a button or link to fill out a request or inquiry form online or schedule a meeting/appointment. Don’t make your user guess what next step to take after you win them over, show them the way.

Product Page Web Design Layout Example
Below is a screenshot from a high end ranch real estate website. Even in this small graphic example you can see the use of spacing, structure, HTML content, photos in a gallery and a video to give this product (real estate) page value. This page also includes an integrated Google map, PDF brochure download and more.

Make sure you apply these 5 tips to your website pages on your products or services and start creating more business opportunities with your website.

Feeling mobile? You need to be. The mobile web is continuing to grow, fueled by iPhones, Treos and Blackberrys in the hands of users that need the Internet in the palm of their hand. I’m sure you need no convincing that with over 3 Billion cell/mobile phones in the world, we are only moving forward with what we access on them and how. Here is just a glimpse on the mobile web design and marketing front. I’m sure I’ll be diving further into these on their own in the future.

+ Mobile Web Design
As a small business, maybe you have given little or no thought to this point on your website on a mobile device. Just as you might have eased into this whole Internet thing, you should probably start dipping your toe in the water here. It is very easy to start small with mobile web design. I recommend putting together just one “mobile friendly” page on your website that delivers the type of information a user might be most interested in when accessing your info from their mobile phone. Consider these areas:

Mobile Devices

• Many different devices, features
• Mostly small screens, no room for big graphics
• Code with standards of W3C, xHTML

Mobile Content

• Little or no graphics
• Consider users want specifics, they are not browsing
• Display content like location, directions, hours, main services/products

My Mobile Web Recommendations

• Build a mobile friendly page at yourdomain.com/m
• Examples of using a /m directory or sub domain:
  Google.com/m or m.bestbuy.com
• Make your customers/users aware your mobile page exists
• Start small, track and make adjustments

Yes, there is a lot to consider in the mobile web design arena, but there is a better grasp on it now then 2 years ago and it will only improve. At Five, we are working on getting a /m page up to show as an example, so stay tuned. I also think we are not far off from designing a mobile page or section as a standard when creating new web projects.

+ Mobile Marketing
The ability for users to search on their mobile phone will also expand. With search engines refining their display, content and offering in the mobile web, there will be new and different opportunities. The same way Google Maps or Yahoo Local change up their algorithm for local search, mobile search has it’s own formula. The search engine results for Google mobile display only 6 results on page one. You also have to consider Google 411 and other local mobile search services.

The limitation of visual banners and ads on mobile devices will make search and link advertising the mobile marketing methods of choice for now, but who know what the future will hold … but speaking of the future, this next service is attacking it.

+ Nabbit.com, A Mobile Marketing & Tagging Service
Have you ever heard an ad on the radio and wanted to remember to call that company, or wanted a reminder buy that new song on iTunes when you returned home? Nabbit is a service that enables radio, Internet and mobile to connect to give you the ability to tag content.

Bringing Media Together
For me the beauty of Nabbit is the connection of various mediums, all for the benefit of the user. Signing up for Nabbit is quick and easy, you then set the stations you listen to, then you use your phone after a quick download to tag songs or ads. When you “nabb” a favorite song or an advertisement, it pushes the details back to your web account for you to review later and can send you a reminder to your email that you added to your playlist.

Marketers have to love the features Nabbit offers from coupons and callback features to significantly add to their radio ads. The songs you nabb give you options to buy and download from your favorite online store/service. Very cool.

As you can read above, there is a lot going on and advancing in mobile web. The good news is there are many small ways you can start to explore your capabilities and options. The worst thing to do at this point is to ignore it.

While there is no specific rule of thumb in web design for when you should redesign your website, there are many factors that signal it is time to revamp things. I addressed this topic in our August e-letter and decided to post it to our blog as well.

Are you in need of a website redesign? Here are some points that might be telling you it’s time.

+ Time
If you want to consider timeframe as one rule, an industry average is every 2 to 4 years. Design evolves, your competitors improve their website, your brand grows and you need to keep things fresh. If you haven’t touched the visual interface of your site in 5 years, please seek help!

+ Functionality & Features
Many companies are looking to add features and better functions to their website. This is a perfect time to give the site a fresh coat of paint as well as roll out new tools. It might be the need to move to a content management system or to integrate specific functions like e-commerce or user profile accounts. Whatever the technical need is, a redesign can be more than just a visual touch-up.

+ Usability Issues
Some sites lack an easy to use navigation structure or have simply become larger than they were designed for. A redesign can incorporate an improved structure, utilize drop down navigation and other elements to make the site easier to use and convert more business. I’m always amazed, but there are still so many sites out there with random navigation features on every page. Yikes!

+ Search Engine Optimization
If you are lacking traffic from Google and Yahoo, then a redesign combined with proper coding and content structure can help. A site designed the right way and coded the right way can attract search engine traffic the right way.

+ Drab, Boring, Unprofessional
Sure this one is obvious. Just plain looking better is a great reason. Many websites are too basic as they were built to get something “up and out there”, have gone untouched for years and they have become old news. A redesign can freshen up your look, brand you apart from your competitors and show your dedication to future success and more. There are so many incredible web design and layout techniques we can employ in today’s world of web design to make you stand out!

The best part is while just one reason above may be driving your website redesign needs, you can address multiple deficiencies or challenges during your redesign. This can allow you to get more value and bang for the buck. If you are wanting a few more signals on when to redesign this post has 11 Signs on time for a website redesign.

We recently launched our 2nd donated non-profit website (see the 1st) for 2008, this time for the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride.  This growing event offers a day of fun while raising money for the Cancer Center at Regions Hospital.  The main event is the 100 mile motorcycle ride and the evening ends with two LIVE bands and a pizza dinner in Rogers, MN.

The 4th annual event is on September 20th and you can see all of the details on the website.  Five Technology is very proud to be included as a sponsor for our web design work for the event and wish everyone a great time while supporting a great cause.

Visit the event website:  http://www.thebreastcancerride.org