WDTalk

CSS

• http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp  CSS Tutorial
• http://www.htmldog.com/guides/cssbeginner/  CSS Beginner Tutorial | HTML Dog
• http://www.webchicklet.com/css/taking-the-plunge-learning-css/  Taking The Plunge: Learning CSS
• http://css.maxdesign.com.au/selectutorial/tutorial_intro.htm  Selectutorial: Tutorial introduction

Flash

• http://www.w3schools.com/flash/default.asp  Flash Tutorial
• http://www.entheosweb.com/Flash/default.asp  Flash Tutorials
• http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/  Learn Flash | Adobe Flash Developer Center

HTML

• http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp  HTML Tutorial
• http://www.htmldog.com/guides/htmlbeginner/  HTML Beginner Tutorial | HTML Dog
• http://functionx.com/html/index.htm  HTML Tutorial – FunctionX

Java

• http://www.codetoad.com/java/  Java Source Code, Java Applets, Java JSP and Servlets, Java Applications.
• http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Java/1  Java Tutorials – Tutorialized
• http://www.developer.com/java/  Your Source for Java Information – Developer.com’s

Javascript

• http://www.w3schools.com/js/default.asp  JavaScript Tutorial – FunctionX
• http://www.tizag.com/javascriptT/  XHTML Introduction
• http://functionx.com/javascript/index.htm  XHTML Tutorials, XHTML W3C Recommendations, Editors, Tools, Resources, Books – Web Site Resources, Website Tips – WebsiteTips.com

As you search the Internet for squeeze page strategies, remember that the rules (Google algorithms) were changed recently, and many once successful one page squeeze pages fell by the wayside. But before I get ahead of myself, what exactly are squeeze pages?

By definition – Once upon a time, squeeze pages were defined as a single web page with the sole purpose of capturing information for follow-up marketing. The ultimate goal of the page was to obtain the visitor’s email address. Why? To build a list of highly targeted prospects (seems fairly simple).

Times have changed – To avoid penalties and drops in SERPS (search engine results pages), squeeze pages are now being designed across multiple pages, each with relevant content. The goal however remains the same – to build a list that affords you the opportunity to present visitors with multiple sales messages over time, develop relationships, and cross-sell other products.

Conversion Strategies – will vary depending on your goal. The best conversion strategies focus on benefits and solutions. These can be either short or long term. Success stories work well, as do freebies – but we need to backtrack again. With the onslaught of spam, convincing anyone to give up their email address means your sales copy has to be compelling and you have to convey trust.

The Trust Factor – is huge, and I contend it’s the most important element of your site. Prospects buy from sales reps, businesses and organizations they know, like and TRUST. So how can you demonstrate trust online?

• Add Your Picture
• Add Your Signature
• Proofread your copy for spelling and grammatical structure
• Have a Privacy Policy
• Use Color Psychology

Successful Squeeze Pages – often use a short video and opt in form at the very top of the home page for visitors who want to sign up immediately, followed by content that essentially explains benefits and solutions in greater detail – with another opt in form at the bottom.

Colors affect your mood – mentally and physically, and this varies by geographic location and culture, and even time. When you’re designing your website, what mood are you looking to portray – a call to action, a sense of loyalty, something safe or very professional?

As designers – we need to understand both color theory and the psychology of color, especially with ecommerce applications. Red has always been perceived as a mood stimulus invoking aggression or a call-to-action, but it can also be perceived as STOP. In China, it symbolizes celebration and luck.

Orange is actually the preferred color for increased click-through “ADD to Cart” or “Order Here” images. For an online business, combinations in shades of red, blue and brown work well. Blue lends a perception of loyalty, while brown provides overall balance. For professional sites, white is normally a great choice, but in eastern cultures, white symbolizes coldness and sterility.  

One of my favorite colors – is purple (very exotic), but purple doesn’t fit everywhere. Why do Kings, Queens and even priests wear purple robes – because purple implies royalty and sophistication. One place it does fit is in sites about interior design, accentuating wealth.

Everyone Is Going Green – because it represents nature. Its cool quality soothes, calms and has great healing powers, which is why it’s often worn in operating rooms by surgeons. If your target audience is China or France, green is not a great choice for packaging solutions. In China, green hats mean a man’s wife is cheating on him. In India, green is the color of Islam.

In business, there are moments that are definitely memorable, like your Grand Opening, hanging up your business sign, hiring your first employee, filing your first tax return or closing your first big deal.

Another would be your website going live. It says to the world, here I am – on an entirely different level. I remember the original website for our Salon was through Sam’s Club Business Member Plus option. It was free, as I remember, but their design options were proprietary and I moved on to FrontPage for more design control. Yes, I know some of you are saying, yipes! Hey, it’s what I knew at the time.

That website has changed over the years and I’ve moved beyond FrontPage to Dreamweaver and Expression Web. With the latest releases of software, your design options are virtually unlimited.

Where am I going with this? Your website, which represents the face of your business online, need not just one memorable moment. Give your website a facelift to trend with the time – make TODAY memorable.

To your success

- Steve

Have you ever wondered why that beautifully designed site you created looks fabulous on your PC, but not on others – aside from differences in browsers? Why does that bold font that screams BUY ME on my PC display as Times Roman on my wife’s computer?

The answer is that fonts are operating system resources, meaning you can see that font only when it’s installed on the specific PC that is viewing your site. Default fonts rarely resemble the font you intended.

Is that font a must have?
If you absolutely need that font on your website, it is possible to set up your site so that others can view it as you do on your computer, but that comes at a price, not in money, but …

Embedded Fonts
It is possible to embed fonts on your website, so when your wife or another visitor views your site, that beautiful font will embed itself on their computer, enabling them to see what you see at your PC. The downside is that this adds another layer to your site. That layer is download time, sometimes as much as 20 to 25k per font.

Who is Your Target Audience?
If your target audience is rural Illinois, then download speed is critically important, as much of the rural Midwest is still locked into dial-up. On the other hand, if your target audience is urban America, broadband will help.

Which Font to Use?
I recently did a query for free fonts which returned nearly 12 million results. The possibilities are virtually endless. So, first you find the font you want and use it on your site, then create an embedded font file and finally, attach that font to your style sheet.

The Designer’s Dilemma
As a designer, you can’t control an individual browser’s display, but by embedding that font in the site’s Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), you can cause your font to download with the website page. A word of caution – not all designers allow their fonts to be embedded. Hmm .. An alternative solution could be to use a commercial package, such as TypeKit, a subscription-based service for linking to high-quality Open Type fonts from some of the worlds best type foundries. Their fonts are served from a global network on redundant servers, offering bulletproof service and incredible speed.