Design | Internet Marketing Blog

Is the blog sidebar dead?

Thord Daniel Hedengren has written a series of posts that argue blog sidebars are being rendered useless by widget clutter.

He takes a look at things bloggers should and should not be doing with this valuable but often "wasted" inventory.

Here are Thord's tips...

by Graham Charlton 26 November 2007 15:03pm 0 comments

Mindmeister makes mind-mapping easy

Mindmeister is an excellent online mind-mapping tool which allows users to brainstorm and organise plans and ideas.

Mindmeister homepage

by Graham Charlton 14 November 2007 12:28pm 2 comments

Q&A: Bruce Tognazzini on human-computer interaction

Bruce Tognazzini was Apple's 66th employee, developing the company's first usability guidelines and founding its Human Interface team.

Almost thirty years later, he's a principal at Nielsen Norman Group and still making his feelings known when companies commit design errors.

Here, 'Tog' gives us a variety of thoughts on interface design, freedom, the future of computing, the iPhone's place in world history and why he travels around in a 400 sq ft motorhome while towing a 4x4 and two Segways.

by Richard Maven 06 November 2007 15:11pm 0 comments

Innocent maybe, but highly effective

After working on email marketing for many years, I have certainly seen many examples of the good, the bad and the ugly, with many unfortunately falling into the latter two.

However, one brand is leading the way with an email newsletter that has kept me hooked for nearly two years with fresh and engaging content.

by Matthew Finch 06 November 2007 08:00am 1 comment

Men dominate web design jobs - survey

A survey of 33,000 web professionals by A List Apart has come up with some interesting findings on the make-up and morale of the web design industry.

Unsurprisingly, the research reveals that the average web designer is white, aged between 25 and 32 and likely to be male.

Among the respondents, only 14.3% of creative directors or art directors and 12.6% of web directors were female.

by Graham Charlton 23 October 2007 10:20am 1 comment

10 tips on 'product page' design in time for Christmas

Product page design is vitally important to the success of an e-commerce operation, and with the Christmas season imminent we thought we'd take a deeper look at how retailers can improve their performance by finessing their product pages.

It doesn't really matter how consumers find your website - if your product pages suck then they'll be unlikely to buy from you. These pages play a huge role in determining whether visitors convert into customers.

Yet a surprising number of product pages lack relevant information and do a poor job of selling the product in question.

So we'll list ten tips for product pages after the jump, to help you convert more people more of the time....

by Graham Charlton 18 October 2007 15:17pm 2 comments

Steve Jobs, Blue Peter and usability

Two news stories caught my attention recently – the UK launch of the iPhone and the scandal at the BBC over naming Blue Peter’s kitten.

You might not think they are related, or related to usability - but I beg to differ.

by Tom Stewart 08 October 2007 09:43am 2 comments

Interview with persuasion expert Bryan Eisenberg

Bryan Eisenberg is the co-founder of Future Now and the creator of some devilishly clever techniques to help web businesses improve their conversion rates.

Along with his brother Jeffrey, Bryan co-authored the bestsellers 'Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?' and 'Call to Action'. He also publishes the GrokDotCom blog and was voted one of the world’s top 10 usability gurus in our recent User Experience Report.

Here, he talks about the ancient Greek philosophy behind persuasion and suggests why the roots of web design can be traced back to the fifth century BC. Oh yes...

by Richard Maven 18 September 2007 10:59am 4 comments

Interview: Steve Nicholas, assistant director of e-commerce at Guess

Steve talks about the challenges of multi-channel retailing, especially for a well-known brand in the fashion sector and one that has both wholesale and retail businesses to think about.

by Richard Maven 12 September 2007 12:18pm 3 comments

Over 50% abandon financial service applications - study

More than half the people that apply online for various financial services abandon the process before completion, according to a new survey.

The study, by comScore, suggests many of these abandonments occur because consumers want to find out details about the services on offer, but that information is hidden behind the application process.

by Graham Charlton 11 September 2007 16:53pm 0 comments