Brick by Brick

A 404 error page is that annoying page you get when you try to access a web page that has moved or been deleted.  A couple of months back I wrote a dorky blog post about how web developers should use  404 pages as branding opportunities instead of just throwing the page away and spitting out an error.  You can read the post here if you are interested.

We recently launched a new website for the Orianne Society, and our Bivings design team put together another stellar 404 page (screengrab below).

Update (3/7/2011): Here is another example from another TBG client, the Entomological Society of America.

Smashing Magazine has other great examples.

I love a good infographic as much as the next guy.  I really do.  An infographic done right can make a point much more effectively than straight text.  See this example.  Or this one or this one.

But the last few months things have gotten out of hand.  In an effort to create viral, easily-digestible content, many publishers seem to have abandoned writing altogether and gone to an all-infographic, all-the-time format. 

Sometimes the resulting infographics are simply window dressing that don’t add anything to the data presented (via @dostrower).  In other cases they are so complicated that they actually get in the way of understanding the information that is being conveyed.  And sometimes they are so badly done they are misleading or incomprehensible.

I think we all need to take a step back, and think through if value is being added before we decorate our content with stick figure men, maps, and concentric circle graphs.  Not everything needs to be an infographic.

Check out the great Think Brilliant parody of infographics below.

As part of the launch process, new tech startups typically run a closed beta testing phase where a limited group of users can kick the tires of their new site.   This period allows for startups to get discreet feedback from impartial users, while also testing how the product scales without launching to the whole world.   As someone who likes to try out the latest shiny new thing, the last few years I’ve become pretty familiar with the methods tech startups use to dole out these beta invites, which many of us treasure. 

Typically start ups will launch a one page placeholder homepage where users can enter an email address to get on the beta tester waiting list.  Over time, the site owners will slowly start sending invites to the beta testers they have recuited.  Typically, in addition to access themselves the initial beta testers are also given a limited number of invites (usually 5) that they can give to their friends.  This process causes the test group to grow in an organic and manageable manner. This is the method sites like Gmail and Rockmelt have used to roll out their beta test phases. 

Beyond making sure the site is functional and stable, these beta periods are also critical opportunities for start ups to build buzz about their new product.  By severely limiting the number of people who have access to their product during this closed beta period, start ups create a false shortage as a way of increasing demand.  The initial people with access feel special, and people without access want in.  People want  things they can’t have.  

The invites that a beta tester receives along with access to the site are equally cherished.  Again, this is basic psychology at work.  Beta testers not only have the keys to the kingdom themselves, but they have the ability to give keys to the kingdom to others.  For many, the invites are actually more important than getting access to the site itself.  I myself am guilty of getting access to beta sites and quickly giving away my invites without actually testing the site myself in any depth. 

Over the last few days, I’ve noticed a number of people post about a new startup called Yobonga on Twitter and Facebook.  After seeing multiple posts, I clicked through and checked out the site to see what all the fuss was about.  I learned that Yobonga appears to be some sort of mobile, location-based chat service with an exceedingly clever way to dispensing beta invites. 

Yobongo’s homepage is pretty typical – featuring a few sentences about the product, a video and a form you fill out to get on the invite list.  After signing up for the beta list I understood what the fuss was about.  Yobongo is giving early access to their product to people who not only sign up themselves, but get three other additional people to sign up as well.   It is basically a giant, and sustainable, pyramid scheme, designed to build buzz about the product.  Below is a screenshot of the invite page.

So the buzz I was seeing on Twitter and Facebook wasn’t from people who tried and loved Yobongo, but instead from folks trying to recruit others to join the email list so they could get early access to the product.  While I must admit to being a little annoyed by all the buzz I saw online, I have to acknowledge the cleverness of what Yobongo is doing.  I hope the product is as good as the marketing behind it.

A big message we try to deliver to our clients is that the launch of your new website is the beginning of the project, not the end.  Your web program is an ongoing campaign, not a finite process like the production of a print brochure.  For your web program to reach its potential, you should enter into a cycle of experimentation and optimization based on results. 

An important tool in improving your website after it is launched is A/B testing, which involves changing variables on a web page in an effort to measure the impact on response rates.  Let me give you a real world example. The Barack Obama website has a landing page (screenshot below) that encourages folks to sign up for their email list.  You see this page the first time you visit www.barackobama.com and if you click on a link to the site from online ads.  From visiting the site often over the last few years, I can tell you that they are constantly optimizing the page to improve response rates.

To A/B test this page, you first need to identify the variables that are in play.  The variables are generally a combination of message (photos, wording) and geekier stuff like the physical placement of elements on the page.  Here are the important variables I can identify on the page above.  

• The picture that is used. 
• The placement of the sign up box.
• The language used to encourage you to sign up – “Join the President”.
• The language used on the sign up bottom – “Get Started.”

To maximize the number of sign ups this page attracts, you would create a variety of versions  with different variable combinations.  Use different photos.  Move the location of the sign up.  Change the language on the button from “Get Started” to “Join Us.” Experiment with the “Join the President” text.   You would be shocked at how much all these little variables can change the percentage of people that fill out the form to give you their email. 

After experimenting for a a few weeks with a few different options, commit to the version of the page that has the highest conversion rates (in this case it would be the percentage of users who give you their email).  Revisit in a few months to see if things have changed. All of this is made pretty simple using Google Optimizer. 

The great thing about the web is that concrete metrics are readily available.  You should use that data to constantly improve your website.  By using tactics like A/B testing to continually optimize, you can go a long ways toward insuring that you get the most out of your investment in your web program.

Last night I was on Yelp checking out reviews of Spike Mendelsohn’ new Capital Hill pizza joint We, The Pizza (not good).  I have a Yelp account but wasn’t logged in, so noticed a clever way they are using Facebook’s API.  If you are not logged in to Yelp, you’ll see a note at the bottom of the page telling you how many of your Facebook friends are on Yelp and encouraging you to sign up. 

This is really smart.  Yelp is essentially a social network, so people are more likely to join and be active if their friends are already using the service.  Well done Yelp.