Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [138]
To put it in practical terms, the first step in developing or improving your online marketing effort is to identify your business goals. Second, know your customer. This is developed by implementing the tactics outlined in earlier chapters, including interviews, questionnaires, persona development, and keyword research. After those steps, apply card sorting and tree testing to better understand how your customers see and organize information and apply keywords in developing content groups.
The Business Case for Wireframing
From an investment standpoint, wireframing focuses on the development of the information flow, and the process of developing that information is a critical communication process between those developing the website and those commissioning the website, whether they are in the same business entity or not. The guesswork and interpretation of the business goals are developed with the business integrated in the entire process, rather than the old model of an agency interpreting the website and providing a product to the business.
Wireframing is a design tool that enables the design process. By clearly defining the layout, function, and textual elements for layout and communication, the time and investment for development decrease significantly. Endless iterations and edits are reduced significantly, because wireframes provide the structure and detail first, rather than structure and detail being afterthoughts added as the website is developed.
By providing the details of the layout up front, the flurry of changes and surprises that typically preclude a website launch are reduced, or maybe eliminated, as all parties involved in the process have agreed to the wireframes and all are starting with the same goal in mind. The wireframe is the design document that drives the process.
The more detailed the wireframe is developed, the faster and less expensive the site-design process becomes. Investing in the predevelopment of the website pays off large dividends in time and processes. As any developer can attest, endless iterations cost everyone in the process hours and over-budget stress. Reduce these expenses drastically by investing in development of a wireframe goal first and then developing from the wireframe. You’ll find that the process becomes smoother and streamlined as everyone understands the final product at the beginning of the project.
Start Simple
Wireframing applies all the knowledge and findings from the testing and develops structure to the knowledge. My preference is for everything to start on a whiteboard so that changes can be made quickly and easily. Using a whiteboard allows multiple pages to be outlined quickly, and many people can be part of the process, bringing needed information to the dynamic.
In the whiteboard process, I find that speed and repeated changes are essential. Perfection is not the goal; this is simply an initial method of gathering important information and ideas into the initial formation of particular pages. Typical key pages that are outlined in this manner are the home page, category page, product page, article page, search result page, and conversion process (checkout or lead generation form). The key pages are defined by the business goals for the visitors and will change based on the purposes of your website.
This process ensures that important information is included from the start such as in the calls to action, footer information,