While I wouldn’t always put it this way, one of the most important parts of my job is helping clients avoid doing something stupid. Or, put another way, I spend a lot of time and energy helping clients get to the point where they’re able to get past their hang ups and make the right decision for their company in their marketing investments.

In terms of printed marketing materials, one of the ways I’ve done this is by setting all of my printing prices based on full-color printing for everything from business cards to 8.5 x 11″ flyers. Most printers and designers will have one set of prices for black and white printing (technically just black since the paper is white) and then they charge more for each additional color, with full color (CMYK) being the most expensive. They do this because it reflects their cost of production, which is very convenient for the printer–though not as much so for the client.

Study after study, decade after decade, has shown that the use of color improves attention, reaction, retention, and emotional response. A few quick facts:

• The use of color in a document increases “the audience’s willingness to read it by as much as 80% and their motivation to finish it by 78%.” (source)
• “Color enhances learning and improves retention by up to 75 percent.” (source)
• Colors can significantly impact our moods and emotions, which in turn drive buying decisions. (source)

A full-color printed marketing piece is far more likely to be noticed, read, understood, and emotionally influential. In other words, it’s more likely to do the things you want it to do when a potential client or customer sees it. Offering cut rate prices on black and white printing gives the appearance of savings to the client when compared to full color, but in reality it almost always costs them more because of missed sales and opportunities.

So, I’ve done my clients a favor. I have one set of prices. I have taken away the financial incentive to print ineffective marketing materials. And they almost always thank me for it.

But what if your site is larger or more complex? While you may be able to quickly find the page you’re looking for (after all, it is your site), it may be tough for a first-time visitor to find the content they’re after. While the value of an intuitive and well thought out site structure can’t be overstated, you can do your website visitors a tremendous favor by providing a sitemap.

Let’s consider the Keating, O’Gara, Nedved & Peter website. Their site has nearly 50 static pages and an ever-increasing number of blog posts. While all of this information is valuable and serves a purpose, it is useless if visitors can’t get to it. That’s where their sitemap page comes in.

First, the page lists every page from the site in one place. If I came to their site because I need to contact Jeff Downing, I can quickly jump to his page. If I’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident, I know exactly where to go.

Second, the sitemap gives me a visual understanding of how the site is organized. I can quickly ascertain that the site has been organized into 7 parent pages, many of which have child (and even grand-child) pages beneath them. This level of detail can help a visitor know where to start, even if they don’t see a page that is exactly what they are looking for. You can “go the extra mile” by providing your visitors with a search form. Between the sitemap and the search functionality, your visitors should be able to find exactly what they are looking for.

Readability is one of the more important aspects of Web design usability. Readable text affects how users process the information in the content. Poor readability scares readers away from the content. On the other hand, done correctly, readability allows users to efficiently read and take in the information in the text. You want users to be able to read your content and absorb it easily.

A good designer will consider the following elements when designing the look and feel of a site’s text:

1. User-Friendly Headers
2. Scannable Text
3. White Space
4. Consistency
5. Density of Text
6. Emphasis of Important Elements
7. Organization of Information
8. Clean Graphical Implementation
9. Use of Separators
10. Good Margins

We’ve all seen sites where one or more of these elements is out of balance. The result can be down right painful. This is just one of many reasons why the “do it yourself” approach might not be the best idea for your small business website. If you’re ready to enlist some professional help with your site, let me know. I’d be glad to help.

You’ve heard the old saying that “less is more”. This can definitely be applied to a small business website. When you set out to create or redesign a site, you should start with one question in mind:

What do I want visitors to do when they visit my site?

Do you want them to contact you? Make your contact information highly visible and easy to find. Do you want them to tell their friends about your business? Include a “tell a friend” form on every page. Do you want them to buy your products? Maybe an online store is the solution.

If you are looking to build (or upgrade) your small business website, it might be a good idea to work with an expert. Contact me today to discuss your ideas for your site and I’ll help you get started.