Hunt - Convert! designing Web sites to increase traffic and conversion

Convert! Designing Web Sites to Increase Traffic and Conversion

Published by

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

10475 Crosspoint Boulevard

Indianapolis, IN 46256

www.wiley.com

Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-0-470-61633-8

ISBN: 978-1-118-03692-1 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-118-03693-8 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-118-03694-5 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (877) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010932422

Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

For Oliver, Madeleine, Alanna, and Henry

About the Author

Ben Hunt has been designing web sites since 1994. He rode the bubble in the late 1990s as Head of Design for Freeserve, the first mass-market free ISP. He has been a director at brand consultancy Poulter Partners and at youth marketing specialists Dubit. As principal consultant at UK web design consultancy Scratchmedia, Ben has helped corporations, government agencies, and NGOs all over the world achieve greater success through better design and usability. In Bens blog on webdesignfromscratch.com , he teaches skills to create simple and effective web design. These articles have been read by millions. As a result, Ben has been listed as one of the most influential figures in web usability. In 2007 Ben condensed his design philosophy and techniques into an ebook, Save the PixelThe Art of Simple Web Design, which has sold more than 8,000 copies.

About the Technical Editor

Todd Meister has been working in the IT industry for more than 15 years. Hes been a technical editor on more than 75 titles ranging from SQL Server to the .NET Framework. Besides technical editing titles, he is the Senior IT Architect at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He lives in central Indiana with his wife, Kimberly, and their four sharp children.

Credits

Project Editor

Brian MacDonald

Technical Editor

Todd Meister

Senior Production Editor

Debra Banninger

Copy Editor

Kim Cofer

Editorial Director

Robyn B. Siesky

Editorial Manager

Mary Beth Wakefield

Freelancer Editorial Manager

Rosemarie Graham

Associate Director of Marketing

David Mayhew

Production Manager

Tim Tate

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Associate Publisher

Jim Minatel

Project Coordinator, Cover

Katie Crocker

Compositor

Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Proofreader

Nancy Carrasco

Indexer

Robert Swanson

Cover Image

Dietmar Klement/istockphoto.com

Cover Designer

LeAndra Young

Acknowledgments

Id like to thank:

• Ken McCarthy and Drayton Bird for setting the scene for this book back in October 2008.
• All the clients of Scratchmedia who were willing to let us experiment on their web sites over the past year.
• Dan Johnson, web production wizard at Scratchmedia, for his skill and dedication in running a huge range of valuable tests.
• Scott, Brian, and the editorial team at Wiley for making it all happen.

Most of all, I would like to acknowledge my wife, Lizzie, and my kids, whose support made it possible for this book to be written.

Foreword

Just about every business organization with any sense nowadays has a web site.

Youve got to, because just about everybody with any sense goes on the Internet when they want to find out about somethingespecially if they are thinking of spending money.

Unfortunately, most websites are appallingly bad at what they are supposed to do: inform, influence or persuade as many people as possible.

But even if your site is a blessed exception, it isnt much use if hardly anybody ever visits itwhich is true of the overwhelming majority of sites. As my old boss David Ogilvy observed, You cant save souls in an empty church.

That is why this book is a tremendous bargain.

First of all it is written in plain English, unlike a great many business books which seem designed to display the writers polysyllabic dexterity rather than help the readers.

Second, it takes you logically through all the things you need to know to get more businessand more of the right kind of businessat the least cost.

Third, it is full of practical examples so you can easily relate to what the writer is talking about.

Read it once and you will learn a lot. Read it twice and you will start to think about many ways you can do better.

Then read it again and act upon what you have discovered. You will not regret it.

Drayton Bird
Drayton Bird Associates

Foreword

It wasnt that long ago that all the people who had confidence that the Internet could become a real medium fit around a small table.