Author: citizenjoe

In December 2005, the highly regarded science magazine Nature decided to test the two most authoritative sources of knowledge both offline and online. In the offline corner was Encyclopaedia Britannica. In the online corner was the newcomer Wikipedia. Nature asked a list of experts to review and report on 50 articles in each Encyclopaedia. The… Continue reading 7 habits of highly successful websites #1 My god is this thing breathing?

A library is nothing more than a large repository of content. This content is jammed inside books. The librarian’s job is to collate this content into meaningful categories (so Art is a family category under which sits Art History, Artists, etc). The librarian then presents this structure on the Library floor. This is done depending… Continue reading 7 habits of highly successful websites #2 We should all learn to love Information Architecture

I spent many years in advertising. Its role is to inform, entice and raise the interest of the potential customer in the product or service being advertised. The customer is then provided with details where they can have their desire fulfilled. Advertising does not sell. It pushes people to enquire and be excited about a… Continue reading 7 habits of highly successful websites #3 It is not advertising. Websites don’t tease, they fulfil

There is a fundamental difference between an organisation’s Public Relations and that organisation’s public website. The first is designed to control the conversation. It looks to create a monologue and shut down any public discourse. The other is about creating a dialogue, a relationship with the user. Have a look at websites that are controlled… Continue reading 7 habits of highly successful websites #4 It’s not Public Relations

What’s unique about a website? What makes it different from watching television or reading a magazine? It’s the interaction. You select a button and you are transported to a new page; click an arrow and a section of the page disappears; tick a box and items in a list are filtered to display results appropriate… Continue reading 7 Habits of highly successful websites #5 It’s about the interaction

Yes, every site has a home page. It is an entrance. But why just one? The more diverse the customer base the more doorways a site should have.

A) IT’S AN EASY WAY TO LIFT SALES It’s actually easier to open a store in a Shopping Mall and make money than it is on the internet. Neither can survive without an audience. It’s all about the numbers. For example: Department Stores – approx 6% of all traffic turns into a sale (A lot… Continue reading 7 habits of highly successful websites #7 Exposing a few ecommerce myths