Latest Thinking
e-mail marketing: ensuring your message gets delivered
e-mail marketing is often unfairly associated with spam, the unsolicited junk mail that we all seem to suffer from in varying degrees. So how can a legitimate marketer help to ensure that their legitimate e-mail - and the message it contains - gets through? read more about e-mail marketing
Web marketing: it's the little things that really count
When it comes to the Internet, traditional marketing rules often no longer apply. Techniques that focus on driving people to a product with advertising and promotions, and working to retain business with incentives and loyalty programmes don't work well on the web. In fact, a recent study has indicated that many traditional marketing techniques are found annoying by many web site visitors. read more about web marketing
Keywords a key force in online branding
One of the biggest benefits of advertising on the web is the ability to accurately measure response rates and effectiveness via page impressions and the all important percentage of click throughs, which allows marketeers to answer the age old question "I know I waste half of my advertising budget, but I don't know which half". read more about online branding
Managing your reputation online
The web and more widely, online media (e-mail, chat etc) is becoming increasingly important in raising awareness and the reputation of a brand. In fact, the web now enjoys the same media consumption as newspapers at around 14% in the UK. read more about managing your reputation online
A persuasive argument for accessibility?
experience engine is always extolling the virtues of usability and accessibility in good web site design to our clients. And now, according to US consultancy Future Now, web sites that are highly usable and accessible have a head start in the next big development in these areas: persuasion architecture. read more about persuasion architecture
Why a good search engine optimisation strategy can pay dividends
For many web sites having good search engine visibility can be a major factor in the site's traffic and success. This is particularly important for companies that do not have a widely known brand, or operate in a comparatively specialist market. read more about search engine optimisation
What's in a name?
The choice of a domain name for a web site can be a critical decision. For companies with a well-known and distinctive brand, this would sensibly be just the name of the company. However, where a company's primary name is a common one, it becomes more difficult to find an available domain name, which is both descriptive and memorable. more about choosing domain names
The hard facts about hard copy
Regardless of whether you believe that one day we'll all have PDAs that will do away with the need for paper, right now, the printed article is still of paramount importance to web users. E-commerce sites regularly tell you to print out your invoice record, cookery sites let you print recipes for use in the Kitchen (still, a largely PC-free zone in most households) and travel sites require that you print tickets and itineraries. However, printing seems almost an afterthought on most web sites, even though it may be the visitors' only permanent reminder of your company or brand. Still think print is dead? read the hard facts about hard copy
The need for speed
Every web user has experienced it, that long wait for the page to download. And we've all experienced the frustration when we find that the page consists of a single large image that you must click through to get to where we're going. So, regardless of the speed of your visitor's connection, there is still a need for speed. read more about the benefits of speedy web sites
I keep on knocking, but I can't come in!
When designing a web site you must consider all visitors, not just the majority. There are a large number of conditions, from minor to severe, which can impede a visitor from using a web site. Consideration needs to be given to those who are visually impaired, the deaf and those who have difficulty using a mouse, amongst others. read more about the importance of accessibility
Hail to the King! Why content should rule your world
There is a motto in the web industry - "content is king", and it's true. The content of your web site is what your audience visits the site for, what educates them about what you do, and satisfies their needs. Without good content, no matter how good a site looks, it will ultimately fail. find out why good content rules
How to avoid your web site becoming a giant carbuncle
Because interactive media is so different to other forms of passive media, it - like a successful building - needs to be built in such a way as to be useful to the visitor. Information architecture is both an art and a science, and hugely important if you're to provide your visitors with the best possible experience. avoid carbuncles, read more
Why good web site design is hard to find
Web site developers are often asked to add 'more design' to a web site. By this, it often means more colours, animated logos and the like. However, really good web design is quite the opposite. When you don't notice the design of a site, but you do remark on how good an experience you've had, that's good web design. more good reading about good design
So, why do you want a web site?
When creating a web site there are some important questions to be asked which will influence the final result. "Why do you want a web site?" "Who do you want to communicate with?" "What do they want?" "How can you communicate your message in the best way?" why not read some more?
Glossary of Web and Internet terms
Although at experience engine we always try to talk to our clients in English - not technobabble - you may well come across terms elsewhere that you need a definition for. Hopefully, this glossary will help. look up definitions.
