Every job comes with a whole lot of jargon, and website design comes with more than most. As a website designer for more than 15 years, I’ve seen many trends come and go, and trust me, it’s even hard for me to keep up with the constant changes in vernacular.
When we discuss your website design project with you, we will mention many components of your site that we understand completely, but you may not totally comprehend on the same level. As communication is key for a strong website design process, we do hope you ask questions when you are unsure. In the meantime, if you’d like to brush up on your website design terms, here is the first half of our list of some of the more common phrases that you’ll hear.
A/B Testing
A/B testing is sometimes referred to as split testing, which is a way of comparing marketing variables in order to determine which gets a better response. Typically, A/B testing used to compare two versions of a web page, but it could also be used to test an email marketing plan. In this form of testing, the element you’re testing is called a control and the one that you think might generate a better result is called a treatment.
Analytics
Analytics are a great tool for assessing just how well your website is performing. The great thing about online marketing is that it is so measurable, with all actions performed on your site having the capability of being tracked and recorded. How many times a page is opened, how long people spend on that page, what they click on, and where they go is all information available to site owners.
Emphasize Design makes integrating analytics easy for your small business. We do all of the work “under the hood,” and provide you with easy-to-digest monthly reports on all of the key elements of your Internet marketing. We will reveal which posts, pages, and links are performing best, and which could use some improvement.
Brand
Your brand is a concept that can be nebulous at times. It’s a lot more than just your name, logo, and service. It’s really more about the feeling or experience that people get when they purchase from or work with your business.
Website usability expert Kate Kaplan of the Nielson Norman Group’s article, “Brand Is Experience in the Digital Age,” says that successful brands are composed of three fundamental parts: visuals, tone and behaviour. Your visuals are what people see, such as your logo, website design, colours, images, etc. The tone is what supports the visuals, such as the content on your website, the look and feel of your business’s storefront, your advertising, and your products. And finally, behaviour is how you act and what you do. It’s your customer relations, your public relations, and the level of respect you show the people who are supporting your business. All of these make up your brand, and it’s something you should work to protect at all times.
Call-to-Action
More commonly called a CTA, a call-to-action motivates your site visitor to take some type of action. CTAs are usually in the form of a button or text box that very clearly explains what will happen when a person clicks there. For example, it could say, “Click here to receive a free whitepaper.” If you’re working with a new prospect early in the sales funnel, the objective is to have that person enter their contact information so that you may send them what you have promised (in this case, a whitepaper), as well as additional information about special offers, etc. If your prospect is further along, you might entice them with a special offer for something they have purchased before.
CRM
CRM stands for customer relationship management, and CRM systems can be crucial for your business. They allow you to collect and organize data on your customers, right down to every purchase they have ever made, what correspondence they have received, and what promotions they have taken advantage of. You will get to know who your customer is and what they like. The data you collect will help you customize your internet marketing to the individual needs of your customers, and provide your sales team with what they need to close more deals for your Calgary business.
Contact Emphasize For All of Your Website Design Needs
Check back in a couple weeks for part two of this series, which will include definitions for the terms: landing page, logo, pay-per-click, search engine optimization, and white space.
At Emphasize Design, we provide the complete gamut of website marketing services, starting with your small business website design and taking you fully through attracting, converting and closing customers. Our expertise can even extend further, as our resources include all kinds of information, such as tips on knowing what to charge for your services and the steps to take to register and get your business started.
Contact us for an informal conversation on what we can do for you. Remember, our small business was specifically built to help yours!
