Choose your words carefully

It is very easy to get distracted by deploying more and more technology, but most websites are unusable or unengaging because of copy and design issues, not lack of features. The web is a crowded place and most people only give their attention to things they really need. The reputation of a site or author, or the usefulness of a tool, can get you attention, but the easiest way is to write clear, engaging copy that your target users will recognise and understand.

First you must understand the language of your community, which can only really be done by listening and getting feedback (see Getting into the conversation above). Community sites in particular are all about creating a sense of ownership by the community, and the language you use is far and away the most important part of creating that. Get the tone and language right and people are much more likely to come; get it wrong and you can alienate people very, very quickly. If you write it in someone else’s language, or use loaded terms or alienating jargon, people will assume it’s not for them.

Writing copy for a user-generated content platform isn’t like writing a book, or even a corporate website. It lies somewhere between writing an after-dinner speech and labelling the buttons on a microwave: a mixture of warm humanity and transparent utility. Think about the words you’re using to describe the things you have in the platform, and also how you refer to yourselves, your users and the overall project. Is it ‘our site’ or ‘your site’? Are they ‘members’ or ‘users’? Do they ‘post’, ‘add’ or ‘create’ content? Do you use the same words to describe the same things everywhere, consistently? Your language is a key part of the software, and it shapes and defines your community.

One final point: dummy copy is for dummies, so use real copy in your design mock-ups. Many designers have a bad habit of creating holding copy that fits their designs perfectly; good project managers and creative directors break these designs (and the technical team’s code) by filling them with real content. Unless you can see the real words on the screen, in context, and preferably show them to potential users for feedback before you build anything, you have no idea whether your pages will work. User-generated content sites should never look like a glossy brochure: they should be messy and engaging, like the guest book of a hotel. Don’t aim for perfection; you can’t control what people write, so design around that.

How to design a homepage

by Colin Tate

Colin Tate (www.colintate.com) advises companies across several industries on how to improve their web-based businesses, and provides organisational and strategic consultancy to the commercial and non-profit sectors.

A homepage establishes the identity of your site, explains your principal message and draws the user into the path(s) you want them to pursue. It usually needs to serve the objectives of several different individuals, so the key to homepage design lies in resolving these competing priorities and delivering a coherent experience to the user.

  1. List out a small number of core, measurable goals you want the homepage to fulfil, decide on their relative importance, and work solely to these goals. If you overload your page with too many goals, none of them can easily be reached.
  2. Plan out use-case scenarios for each of the goals of the site. How does the page work for each case? Does the page need to change in certain conditions to target new goals after the primary goal has been achieved?
  3. Consider the types of users you want on your site - their characters, backgrounds, needs and curiosities - and tailor your content and design to suit them. For example, less content is usually better, but for an older age bracket – say 55+ – depth of content improves user conversion.
  4. Keep it simple. A homepage isn’t a place to convince people of your argument or explain complex concepts, it’s about helping the users do what they came here to do. Keep the options clear. Homepage visitors should know within a split second what their next action is, and how to do it.
  5. If you need to ‘sell’ something to a user, do it indirectly. For example, colours and diagrams can explain complex ideas and draw users to the next action quickly. Group reinforcement can also be really effective, so try to show new users examples of other people doing the actions you want to encourage.
  6. Use the space wisely. Define an internal process for resolving internal conflicts during the design process and afterwards, and manage the decisionmaking process carefully. It’s also good to build in criteria for what would trigger a re-design of the page.
  7. Keep your meetings on homepage design short. Hours can be lost discussing whether a button should be curved or not. Yes, this can have an impact, but it’s not worth navel-gazing. Don’t be afraid to call time and move on.
  8. People in a meeting room can guess what will work, but it’s much better to let your visitors tell you what works and what doesn’t. Use free tools such as Google Optimizer, or if you have the budget, bring in a fully-fledged MultiVariate Testing solution to analyse how people respond to different versions of the homepage.
  9. Don’t be afraid to change your goals, and your page. Managing internal politics may come to play here, but changing your homepage helps to engage returning visitors and potentially re-attract users who did not ‘convert’ initially. A static homepage that changes infrequently loses its value over time.

see also

  • Social Source Commons is a place to share lists of software tools that you already use, gain knowledge and support, and discover new tools. It’s a place to meet people with similar needs and interests and answer the question: what tools do they use?
  • The Non-profit Matrix is an online directory and guide to Application Service Providers (ASPs) and portals offering web-based services for non-profits and charities.
  • Idealware, a 501(c)3 non-profit, provides candid Consumer-Reports-style reviews and articles about software of interest to non-profits. Through product comparisons, recommendations, case studies, and software news, Idealware allows non-profits to make the software decisions that will help them be more effective.
  • Study: 68 percent of IT projects fail. According to US research in 2008, success in 68% of technology projects is ‘improbable.’ Poor requirements analysis causes many of these failures, meaning projects are doomed right from the start.