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A Well Designed Web Site Aids In Branding A Company And Draws Customers To Its Services

There's nothing more frustrating on a Web site than not being able to find or get to what you're looking for. Chances are, that frustration will lead you to abandon the site and never return.

A well-designed Web site can draw customers to your business, and, just as important, keep them coming back. While every Web site design and purpose are unique, there are some universal truths to what makes one successful.

First, a Web site should be designed with the end user in mind. Knowing who the target audience is, plus what tools they utilize, is very important when designing a Web site.

"It all depends on the end user, the end market," stated Nathan Olson, owner of Nolee-0 Web Design (www.Noleeo.com) in Lake George. "Who's going to be using the site? If it's an older crowd, use more text and more information. If you're talking about a musician, maybe it's more flashy, with lots of audio."

The site should represent the company, or individual, hut also be geared towards a specific market.

"As a designer," Olson explained, "I spend half-an-hour or more just talking to [the client]. I design from their personality, or the corporation's image."

A second important trait towards the success of a Web site is the site's navigation system. Visitors will leave the site and not return if they can't navigate it. It shouldn't be a maze that the user has to figure out. One bad navigational experience often means this user is lost to the site for good.

"I like to have what's called bread crumbs," Olson explained. "Especially on large sites, where there is more than one level [ an "About Us" page, for example, may have five sub- pages, or levels], you should be able to click back. It's like following bread crumbs back to the home page."

There is an old rule of thumb stating that users should be able to get to what they are looking for within three "clicks."

The site map is also important for search engine optimization (SEO), which refers to getting ranked in search engines such as Google and Bing. A Web designer can pull reports of what keywords people are putting in to reach your site and sites similar to yours.

Olson discusses a site map with each new client, meaning "what pages they want to be included. There should be a Home page, an About Us page. There should always be a contact form on a Contact page. People on certain email hosts can't click on 'email' and get to you, so you should always have an address listed."

Olson stated "I'm an advocate of your address and phone number being on every page of the site."

The usability is an important trait. The design needs to be clear and concise in addition to being easily navigated.

Another important aspect that leads to a successful site concerns the content. "A lot of people make the mistake of too much text." Olson said. "It's important for search engines, but paragraph after paragraph of text is too overwhelming for some people. Splitting your web site up into lots of little pages is not a bad thing. It is more of a marketing thing – you need a good tag line, good photos."

There is an art to writing good content for a Web site. If there is no one at the company able to do this, the Web designer can help. Turning to a professional to write the content is money well spent.

A great design without strong content is a typical site error. There are a few other mistakes businesses make when creating a Web site. While you may have a fantastic web site, believing that just because you've built a web site, visitors will come, is incorrect.

There needs to be someone who knows how to market the site, especially in terms of search engine. A full online marketing strategy is essential in bringing users to the Web site, and to keeping them returning.

There also needs to be someone who will manage the Web site, whether it is someone trained within the company, or a hired professional. This helps maintain a professional appearance.

Another mistake is including too many bells and whistles, or not using the ones you've added correctly. Don't put up roadblocks that will slow down the user; extras should only serve to enhance the purpose of the site.

In terms of a Web site, "sticky" is an insider's term referring to a site's ability to keep visitors and encourage them to return. A site's stickiness may not depend on the main content, but on an adjunct aspect, such as video, flash animation, or a blog.

"People have news blips, and upcoming events," Olson said. "If you have that, you have to be pretty good at keeping it up. If you're not going to keep up on it, don't do it. If you have a blog and don't update it for six months, it's not worth it."

Blogs, polls and surveys are useful ways to interact with the user. They allow the company to get insight from their target market, and the user feels like they are adding value.

If a blog is maintained and updated frequently, users will return to view the fresh content. However, don't update content on your site – such as on your Home page – if it's working. Keep in mind that the text as is may be helping you with search engine probes.

People use the Web in different ways. Some are on all day, for example; some join clubs, or search for purchases and discounts; some are merely spectators; and others are social networkers. It's imperative to study these ways to ensure repeat users to the site, and a good Web designer will know how to tackle this.

New trends in Web sites include the social media sites, such as Twitter. However, you need to use these media sites properly.

"People need to start thinking of having short video clips introducing the page, and the company," Olson stated. "Clips should reinforce the text that is on the page. Or just use audio, not necessarily video."

Again, this interaction is important to both the company and the user. If the user gets a feeling of being involved in the site, he or she will share it with friends. This is the best kind of marketing.

That is, after all, the purpose of a Web site. It is an invaluable marketing tool, but only when done properly.

After all, a brochure may be seen by a few people, but a good Web site is seen by everyone.

By: Wendy Page
Glens Falls Business Journal
October, 2009

Web Site Design Becomes A Vital Component As Companies See The Value Of The Internet

Nathan Olson of Nolee-0 Web Design says a big part of his
work is creating a recognizable image for his clients.

As businesses search for new ways to attract customers, many traditional marketing theories have been modified or even discarded, as new methods are explored and developed.

The impact of the Internet has redefined how businesses go to market, and especially how they attract clients to traditional brick-and-mortar storefronts. The era of a business existing solely on the Internet, or solely on Main Street, has changed, as business owners begin to understand the dynamic relationship between the two entities.

When traditional businesses seek the expanded capabilities of the Internet, Web developers and online marketing firms stand ready to assist.

"A lot of what I do is creating a business image," said Nathan Olson, owner of Nolee-O Web Design. "From designing the overall Web site, through its content and how its going to look, feel, and navigate. Small businesses are our core market, and especially in the tourism industry, they understand that you have to be on the Internet to survive."

Many companies that have historically felt that the Internet would not aid their business, have rethought the view as Web development and marketing has changed over time.

"Building contractors are a growing market," said Olson. "Anybody who has a portfolio is an excellent candidate for a Web site. It's a great way to get your company out there, while adding to your traditional sales tools. The more work you have in your online portfolio, the more people will browse through it and hopefully give you a call."

According to Olson, businesses should not discriminate when deciding what information to post online.

In fact, he advised Internet newcomers to develop as much content as possible for the purpose.

"The bulk of my business is simply getting information to the prospective customer," said Olson. "In general, most businesses should try to put as much online as they can. I always tell companies to post everything they can, that your Web site wants to be a hub of information, it needs to have absolutely everything related to your business."

As Web developers cater to a growing demand for innovations, and Web users respond through their online activity, the perception of a particular business has changed in relation to its Web presence.

"New business owners are understanding they need a Web presence right away to get their name out there," said Olson. "Its almost to the point, from a business perspective, that if you don't have a Web site then you're not a real business. I always tell people to not think of their Web site as selling for them. It has to be a sales tool, to help them sell."

One of the unique aspects of Web development is a trend that has defied traditional Internet logic. The concept of "local search" has grown to become a driving force behind how a brick-and-mortar storefront develops its business, finds customers, and markets itself.

"I can remember several years ago when people said that nobody would ever search for a plumber or a hair stylist on the Web," said Sara Mannix, owner of Mannix Marketing Inc. "Its the new generation, and nobody bothers with the yellow pages anymore."

"Local search is really about finding things that are local to a community or local to a region," added Mannix. "When looking for a specific product, people often want to know who's local to them. Its outpacing all other facets of where people are getting their information and businesses are really picking up on this trend.

"When you look at the traffic that a Web site generates, business promotion through the Internet is a very inexpensive brochure that tells people all about you."

"A lot of time, you don't want something shipped, you want to find out who has it locally, so you can see it first," said Mannix. "That is what local search is about and they say it's the fastest growing sector of the Internet. Especially for retailers, people want to know that they can come back after they have visited a storefront to see more online, or show a friend something they found that was exciting.

"A Web site makes an impression, its much like your reputation, and you want your Web site to be as good as you are."

By: Brett Hagadorn
Glens Falls Business Journal
October, 2007

Twenty Under Thirty
North Country portraits of young success
Nathan Olson:
Sign maker - Web site creator

Nathan Olson picked the right time to be born.

A generation ago, the term "geek" was an insult. Today, geeks rule, and a young person who combines strong knowledge of new technology with drive and creativity can carve out a good life.

Olson has combined an established family sign business with the modern craft of Web site construction to form Nolee-0 Signs and Web Design, a booming business he conducts in an office that includes a pool table, an aquarium with a large turtle, and a collection of X-wing and TIE fighters.

"I like my toys," he chuckles, but there are other toys in the office, too, and they belong to his 18-month old and five-month old sons, Aidan and Gavin.

His wife, Sarah, a librarian, is taking a year off to be with the boys, and they're often off doing things with her. But they also spend a lot of time in the office, and it is clearly a closeness he relishes.

The ability to spend time with his boys is a fringe benefit of the Web-design part of his business. "With kids, it's a whole lot easier to work on the Web sites (than signs), because I can work whenever I want to a certain degree," he says.

Signs, however, are how he got started. Olson grew up in Lake George, where his parents had a motel, a sign company and a clock repair business. He had worked on signs with his father for years, and so it was an easy move for him to take over that part of the family business five years ago.

The other half of Nolee-0 also began in childhood.

"I started with computers when the Apple II-E came out," he says. "Dad bought us one. I've always loved computers; I grew up with them."

His first Web site was designed for the family motel when he was still in high school, and he gleefully dips into some archived files to show off some of the sites he then designed for his own amusement, loaded with comical special effects or convoluted trivia.

These pages may be hilariously self-indulgent, but what was play back then gave him an ease with the medium that is clear in the clean, readily navigable sites he now maintains for some 50 clients.

Olson is largely self-taught in Web design. A top student in high school, he already had some ideas of what he wanted and they didn't require, or include, a four-year degree.

"I got my associates degree in business at ACC and that was enough for me," he says. "Growing up with my father in the sign shop, I was always into hands-on learning. I got good grades in school only because I could memorize the stuff and then forget it after the test. Unless I did it in a hands-on way, I didn't retain any of it."

He took a few years to travel and work out the specifics of what he wanted to do, and where, and he and Sarah circled around a bit, living in Saratoga and Rutland before settling down in Queensbury.

During that period, he was beginning to build web sites for businesses, but admits that he hadn't quite worked out the marketing side of things. Taking over the family sign business and getting settled in his home territory helped him over that hurdle.

There is, he notes, a direct, logical connection between the sign at the curb and the Web site, on the Internet. Often, customers who come to him for a new sign will see what else he does and decide to establish a web site or have him re-do their existing site.

"Signs are about two-thirds of my business and Web sites are one-third," he says. "I'd kind of like to flip-flop that, but they work well together."

The sign business and word-of-mouth have combined to bring him a solid number of Web design clients (visible at http://www.noleeo.com), but such connections don't happen by themselves. Olson is very active with the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerces business networking group, which has helped him make contacts in the area.

And, if it seems odd for someone with Olson's geek skills to be active in such a traditional group as the Chamber, there is much in his approach to work that defies the stereotype of the young computer expert. In the global medium of the Internet, Olson retains strong elements of the local sign-painter.

"I don't think I would ever work just with e-mail or phone calls," he says. "I want to meet clients at least once, just to meet them and sit down with them and talk to them. It's a lot easier to have an initial meeting so I can feel out what they're looking for and get a sense of what kind of design they want."

Not only does he refuse the role of the global recluse, available only in cyberspace, but he isn't interested in playing the role of the temperamental artiste, either.

"I always make sure to tell them that whatever I come back with the first time is the first draft. It's not final. Some people kind of like to say, 'You tell me what you want, I'll do it, and thats it.' I don't think it's realty fair to work that way with people."

At 26, Nathan Olson has found a successful combination of exciting new technology and old, well-tested business truths.

By: Mike Peterson

The Post-Star

Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - E1

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