Let’s face it, you don’t dare build a website for your business without a content management system at the core of it these days. With many choices out there, what flavor is right for you to manage your website?

We obviously like the features and benefits of our CMS, the Site Management Console, so we thought we’d give you 5 good reasons to work with our web platform.

ONE: User Friendly Interface - The SMC interface was designed for the business owner to update website content, not the IT staff (like other CMS solutions). It’s very easy and intuitive to manage content and website features.

TWO: Scalable – Watch your website grow from 30 pages to 3,000 as your content and feature requirements increase. Road blocks for future business processes do not exist, as the SMC is fully customizable to integrate and evolve with your needs.

THREE: Software as a Service (SAAS) – The SMC software and hosting infrastructure are maintained and supported fully by our staff. No requirements to staff a technical crew who’s responsibility is to ensure your website is up and running 99.99% of the time, we cover that.

FOUR: SEO Friendly – Features built into the SMC will not guarantee you will be on the first page of Google for a competitive keyword, but it will ensure the basic SEO standards are easily implemented on your site. With properly designed layouts, the SEO basics such as Title Tags, Page Names, SEO URLs, Site Maps, Alt Tags, H Tags, etc. will all be taken care of when you add content.

FIVE: A Proven Platform – The SMC has been managing websites for over 10 years. The attrition rate on the SMC is amazing. The SMC is loved!

So there you have just 5 reasons of the hundreds we could list off (including fresh bacon, just ask). If you are having a tough time picking the right CMS for you, give us a shout and we can throw a great content management solution your way.

The importance of having a content management system (CMS) integrated within your website has never been more important. The value of an “alive” website with fresh content, SEO value and a scalable platform are just some of the many reasons an organization seeks out a CMS they can utilize to manage and grow their website.

Content Strategy & Web Usability Sharpen The Tool
The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently was the focus of a press release by their CMS and Analytics provider citing a 50% increase in site traffic in the 6 months the tools been integrated. The story also highlighted how StarTribune.com became the top newspaper website in the country for visitor length of stay, which is very impressive.

I couldn’t help but see the true reason for the increases further into the press release though, not so much the specific tools, although the abilities they game them are a factor, it was this:

“Through the integration, editorial staff members increased interlinking within pages to Related and Most Popular stories to augment site visitor stay time. These improvements in viewership have resulted in higher ad rates and a dramatic increase in annual revenue for the StarTribune.”

The tool gave them the ability, but it was having a strategy with their content and making it more user friendly that truly drove their increase. By interlinking from story to story based on relation and popularity, StarTribune.com began to give users more of a path to follow. In turn the users went further down the path. More related information, more links, more insight into what others are reading turned into more time on their site.

So in a simple format, here are the goals and what lead to making them.

Website Goals:

• Land new visitors
• Increase repeat visitors (by making them happy)
• Increase length of stay and page views
• Increase ad impressions and ad values from above items

Web Content Strategy:

• Easy to update content with CMS
• Use analytics to understand the users and content
• Link internally to related & popular stories to keep users interested
• Increase page views & visit length (which increases ad impressions)

With educating and enabling their editors to keep visitors interested by engaging basic content strategy and usability they accomplished their goal. They stopped just adding content and started optimizing it with a strategy.

I often head down this same path with our web clients. We build all of our websites on our content management solution, the Site Management Console but the tool alone is nothing without the right content structure and strategy. Having a purpose and following the right guidelines when adding and editing content can make all the difference.

It’s a great start to have the right tools, but it’s even better to have a strategy on how best to use them.

Over the last 2 years I have become more of a supporter of layout then design.  Yes, layout is an element of design, but in the web design process they have their own areas and purposes.  This post takes a peak at the use of wireframes to help determine a websites layout and also the factors we consider in a web design layout.  It’s a great step for the web designer, production team and the client.

Web Design Layout
Simply put, layout is where things go.  When I start looking at layout needs and options I consider the following in this order:

1. The user.  What do they need to see, read and do.  Usability is a big factor in good layout for me.

2. The target market as a whole.  There are certain expectations a user might have of a small business website compared to a social media website.  These differences determine the navigation, placement and number of “areas” or aspects in the layout.

3. The website owner/company.  In building CMS integrated websites for 8 years, we consider the types of information, the amount of information and the placement of that information.  The areas of the layout will offer up some static areas of content or functions and others will be dynamic or manageable with the CMS. You must give your client the right tools to offer up their message, communication or features.

Wireframes: The blueprint of the layout
Instead of just jumping to a full blown web design, taking the time to create a wireframe to plan the sites layout, usability and features is a great starting point to your visual design process.  It also allows you to worth with your client on these aspects and start understanding the users possible experience.  Q & A about CMS features, user needs and structure all can be determined with a wireframe.

In writing this post and doing a bit of research I also ran across these helpful posts on wireframes:

• The What & Why of Wireframes
• Improving Your Process With Wireframes

The wireframe serves as a great plan, where the design elements are the polish and can include colors, graphics, gradients, photos, buttons, icons and more.  As a designer, it also provides a great in between step for getting your design approved and embraced. You have outlined and provide some foundation to the client, so the first design concept is less of a surprise and of a continuation and enhancement of the wireframe.

A Wireframe Example
Here is a project we are starting work on and shows our wireframe concept and then the first design mock version of the website.  Many web designers will just start adding their design elements right over the exact grid and wireframe once that has been approved.  Some prefer to start on paper sketching as well.  There is no right or wrong way.

As you can see we also provided some notation on the areas.  This is up to you to provide this detail or just keep it to content blocks and usability features.

Next is the web design concept.  Keep in mind that this is a rough version one, the finished product will take on more polish and elements.  But it serves the purpose for a visual example.

I hope this helps you understand the web design process a bit better and the value of wireframes in the layout and design steps.  Feel free to either comment as a client or web designer on how a wireframe has helped your process or maybe you realize it’s time to start using one.

While many businesses are interested in the benefits a content management solution (CMS) or a blog can bring to their web presence, many are confused on the types of content to publish and use.  Fresh web content is a component of search engine optimization so it is important to brainstorm, plan and execute production of new web content to your site.

Here are just 5 ideas to add fresh content to your website with a CMS or blog:

1.   Write a short comparison article on your product or service versus the competition.

2.   Produce case studies on clients you have helped.  Describe the solution and how it benefits the client.

3.  Have some fun.  Put together a Dave Letterman type Top 10 list like “The Top 10 Reasons Our Web Geeks Are The Best”.  Humor can also educate.

4.  Spotlight on an employee.  Breakdown their job position, their interests and how what they do is of benefit to the customer / client.

5.  Recap a company event, a community event you participated in or a networking event.  Add a photo to the recap and show your involvement.

There are just five very basic ideas to add content to your website.  These angles not only produce fresh content but will likely contain keyword phrases that are important to your search engine optimization.  We often work with a client to develop ideas on building better content on their website and it can take only a few minutes of creativity to develop a list of 40 to 50 ideas.

The goal is to show both users and search engines your website is alive and well, not ignored and out of date.

If you are a service based business you need your website to create, build or maintain a high level of trust. Whether you are a service for consumers (lawn care, electrician, chiropractor, mechanic) or a service for businesses (consultant, accountant, web designer, bank), you are after the user’s trust.

Building Trust With Your Website Content
When you meet with someone in person, there are factors that earn their trust. Some of the trust factors are appearance from how you are dressed, the way you talk, the way you listen, the examples you can give them of your success. You also have the ability to tailor the conversation to each personality type or issue to hit their hotspots, answer their biggest questions and ultimately earn their trust.

Online, it’s tough to adjust on the fly, but here is how you can provide content on your website to earn their trust. Below is a Trusted Web Content Pyramid that I will break down to give you the best chance or earning your website visitors trust and their business.

+ Case Studies – Top Level
This is at the top for me. Why? Because I feel that ultimately every user feels significant trust in seeing their same situation or problem addressed. Getting the user to think “That’s the same issue or need I have, they have what I need.”. Building this content our on your website is simple, just outline what the customers issue is/was, then talk about how your service solves it, mix in some type of visuals to compliment and reinforce your solution and close it with the outcome. Building out these case studies and and continually adding to them brings trusted content to your website.

In a brief example our web design portfolio and project blog posts are examples of this. We outline what the client’s needs were when they came to us, the services we put into their website and the outcome is available for viewing on the site and by clicking the link to visit the website for yourself.

+ Features – Mid Level
Many companies often mistake their features as the top content on their website. Although very important, it’s not the top. To get the most out of your service features and build trust, make sure you organize the information correctly and make it easy to read. Make use of bullet points or icons to separate out features. Keep descriptions short by providing the main feature and then limiting yourself to one or two sentences of supporting information. Provide details, specs or data that supports in anyway possible. Lastly make use of visuals to support your features. This can be in the form of photos, graphics or video.

+ Benefits – Mid Level
If anything from this post, remember this: can the marketing copy. People are tired of the “latest, greatest, biggest, blah …blah …blah”. Use website content that is straightforward and real to relay your benefits. Link to the case studies and examples you have provided on your site (top level) as they relate to the specific benefits. When possible, translate your service benefits into numbers. What do you save the consumer or business in money, time or efficiency? Finding ways to provide numbers give the user a clear message on your benefit.

+ Company Info, Visuals & Clients – Bottom Level
Yes these are on the bottom, but they do the dirty work of a supporting role. Having information on your companies history, awards, key staff and affiliations provides a personal touch and needed background. Highlighting staff that customers might interact with builds familiarity and that builds trust.

I touched on visuals earlier and I probably will do an entire post on this at some point, but at least provide photos of YOU. Showing your employees, your company, your vehicles, your office or anything else builds familiarity and trust. You can obviously take things to a different level in using a professional photographer or web company to shoot them or producing a video. Lastly list out your past customers, clients or even add a few testimonials. If you do put out some testimonials, I suggest adding a photo of the client or project, not just having the same boring 2 or 3 sentences everyone provides on their website.

There you have some simple ways to write and produce content on your website that builds trust and business. Put them to use or maybe share how you have already had success online by leveraging similar items to my pyramid or examples.