Simple User Experience

A website is a business tool, a means to achieving ends including lead generation, new product launches, and providing support to end users. Therefore the primary goal is not a “pretty” site, but a “useful” site. Design elements like colors, textures, and fonts should support the business goals, not detract from them. Navigation should mimic how your target audience interacts with your products or service, and should funnel them towards taking the action you desire (purchasing a product, filling out a request for proposal, etc).

Let’s compare and contrast the user experience of two electronics manufacturers: Hitron and Himax.

“The Do’s of Simple UI”

The “Dont’s” of UI

Blue Riot Labs are a gaggle of WordPress Web Designers who build creative WordPress Web Development solutions for Ecommerce, Local Marketing, and Mobile.

1. Let’s Get Personal
The days of the faceless figurehead with no personality are over. These days people want to know that they’re getting their products and services from an actual person. With video chat becoming more popular, your audience is soon going to expect an actual face-to-face conversation.

How You Can Change: Start using your personality more on social networks and start making use of all the technologies at your disposal to engage. Blogs, Facebook posts and tweets are great, but video chats and webinars will always be more effective.

2. You Don’t Have To Be Huge
The major publications used to control the media, but not anymore. These days a simple blogger can influence hundreds or even thousands of people. Readers of a blog actually care about what that person thinks. So if you have a loyal following and you start recommending products and services that your die-hard audience is interested in, you can have much more influence than a generic ad in a newspaper or major magazine.

How You Can Change: Pay attention to your blog and social media comments and take the time to engage your audience. When your followers, friends and readers see that you actually care, they’ll begin to pay attention to everything you publish online.

3. Don’t Lag Behind
The old way of doing business was to be cool, calm and calculated. Before a marketing campaign could be launched it had to be tested and approved, the legal department had to get involved and lots of red tape had to be navigated through before the campaign saw the light of day. By this time, your competitors could have already launched their campaign to trump yours. Your audience isn’t going to wait for your next message. They want information and they want it now.

How You Can Change: Update your content often and outsource your content creation and social media postings if you’re able to. The faster you post your content, the more your audience will pay attention and the more information they’ll crave. Post quickly and with calculation and your competitors will begin to wonder what you’re doing to gather such a loyal following.

4. Do You Care?
When writing content, posting on social media or engaging in voice or video chat, you must care. You can’t pretend to care. Unless you’re a great actor, your audience will take notice and your boredom or lack of empathy is going to come through in your writings/voice/mannerisms.

How You Can Change: Ask questions of your audience and take an interest in what they’re going through. When you take the time to actually get to know your prospects and customers, online business will become much more fulfilling and you’ll deliver the personal touch that savvy consumers truly respond to.

5. The Pitch Is Dead
The Internet is full of sales pitches at every turn. People are sick of it and your audience may turn on you if you become aggressive with your intentions. If your product or service is good, your audience will find it eventually. Your job is to educate your audience and entertain with all of your content and all of your social media posts. If you provide value, you’ll attract your audience to you instead of having to pitch them at every corner.

How You Can Change: Try to get influential people to discuss your products and services. This way you are taken out of the equation entirely, at least as far as pitching your product is concerned. If you can get blogs and your followers and friends to hype up your brand, people will start paying attention in droves.

The Internet is constantly changing. Are you stuck in your old online marketing ways? Let us know what you’ve done to change to prepare for the future of online business.

New Fully Customizable Header
The new Twitter brand pages feature an expanded header image area that allows you to display your logo and tagline much more prominently. The current layout causes the logo to look cramped and sometimes it’s hard to make out words or designs. With the new layout, there’s no mistaking what company the brand page belongs to.

Featured Tweets
If you want to highlight a specific tweet, you can cause it to stick at the top. Usually, a tweet is buried within minutes. But now, you can extend the shelf life of your individual tweets. What’s more, featured tweets will auto-expand, which allows you to embed a video or a photo from YouTube or Flickr.

Streamlined Responses
The new brand pages allow you to separate @replies from @mentions, which makes all the ‘Twitter noise’ much more manageable.

The new Twitter brand pages aren’t available for everyone yet. They’re still being rolled out, but if you want to see them in action you can look at several big name brand names that are using them. The Coca-Cola Twitter page is a good example, or you can check out the Nike and Disney Twitter pages, just to name a few.

New Layout For Easier Navigation
Besides brand pages, Twitter is also unveiling a new layout for regular users and businesses alike. This new layout is designed to help beginners who may not be familiar with Twitter lingo navigate the platform more easily.

So will Twitter’s new brand pages be used heavily by online marketers who may already have Facebook and Google+ brand pages? That remains to be seen. Twitter seems a little late to the party and the platform is still way behind Facebook in the numbers. But these are exciting features. For one, multimedia is taking a much more front-and-center approach, which means that Twitter is paying attention to the content that is being shared heavily on its platform. And for marketers this is especially important. With sticky videos and photos on your brand page, your promotions, campaigns and multimedia will be seen by more people than ever.

What do you think about the new Twitter brand pages? Do you plan to use the new brand page layout in your marketing campaigns when the feature becomes available to you, or do you have so much going on already that social marketing fatigue starting to set in? Let us hear from you in the comments section below.

Frequency
Out of all smartphone users surveyed in the ClickFox survey, almost half reported using an app on their smartphone or mobile device more than 10 times per day, more frequently than they spend grooming or eating. This essentially means that, by having a mobile app, you have more chances to engage your audience throughout the day. To put a number on it, apps account for over 600 minutes of face time with smartphone users.

Buying Decisions
According to the survey, 73% of all those surveyed have used a mobile app to make a purchase or to assist with a buying decision. With many businesses now using mobile apps to make their products easier to search for and buy, this one’s a no brainer. With mobile apps, you can make the transition to the mobile web and increase conversion rates in one fell swoop.

Customer Service
The ClickFox survey revealed an interesting trend. 78% of those surveyed preferred mobile apps for customer service purposes and 72% would replace some traditional channels with mobile apps for customer service purposes if given the option. 21% of those surveyed would replace all channels completely with mobile apps. Customer service is one of the key elements when it comes to keeping your customers happy. Let your mobile app do most of the work for you and let your customers’ voices be heard.

If your business has yet to enter the world of mobile apps, don’t worry. There is still time. But the time to get in on this innovative technology is now.

Do you need an idea for a mobile app? Or maybe you have an idea and need someone to help put that idea into motion. Let Blue Riot Labs create the perfect mobile app for your business. Increase conversion rates, customer service and be everywhere your customers are, possibly more than 10 times per day!

Do you have an idea for a mobile app that you’d like to share or do you have examples of cool business apps that have really showed off what this technology can do? Let us know. And if you already use mobile apps for your business, we’d love to hear your stories also.

FirstBank QR Codes Help Unprepared Travelers
Around October of last year, FirstBank ran with a marketing campaign at Denver International Airport that used QR codes in a rather innovative way. During the campaign, several FirstBank posters were placed throughout the airport with various QR codes printed on them along with instructions on how to scan them. When these posters were scanned, unprepared travelers with smartphones and other devices with readers were able to download free content in the form of free Sudoku puzzles, books and crosswords. As you can imagine, the campaign was a resounding success.

This is just one great idea on how you can use QR codes in your own marketing campaigns. As long as you provide quality content that your customers want, your campaigns will surely succeed. And to help you get even more out of your QR code campaigns, here are a few top tips you may find helpful.

Stick To Offline Marketing
QR codes are best used on business cards, posters, menus and other objects that people can physically touch with their hands. The QR code shouldn’t just rehash your offline content. Instead, it should provide extra, hidden content that is only for QR code users. Make your audience feel special, like they’re part of the club.

Make Them Readable
Smartphone users must be able to scan your QR codes with their phones. This means they must be large enough and clear enough for devices to read. Furthermore, you should give a thought as to where smartphone users will be scanning the QR code. For instance, if you place a poster in an elevator, are your users going to be able to have the service to scan the QR code with their smartphones?

Let Users Know Where The QR Code Leads
Let your users know what they’re getting into. This will not only entice them into scanning the code, but it will decrease the bounce rate that always comes when you try to take your audience by surprise.
Test Them Thoroughly Before Sending Them Out
Before you publish your QR codes, test them thoroughly with various devices and using several different browsers. There are many different types of smartphones out there. Don’t alienate your audience that uses a specific type or browser.

Mobile Friendly Experience
When a smartphone user scans your QR code, the landing page that user is taken to must be mobile-friendly. Don’t take your audience to your regular site. Instead, have a mobile site prepared with all unique content. This may be extra information that wouldn’t fit on your business card, it could be ‘exclusive items’ for sale or it may be a video that teaches a trick, tip or technique. But that information must be optimized for the small screen and smartphone capabilities if you hope for your audience to stick around.

QR Code Awareness Is Spreading
QR codes aren’t used by all smartphone users just yet. But the technology is growing and awareness is spreading, which means your business should get in on the ground floor now. Before you know it, QR codes will be mainstream. Don’t let your business get left behind.

Are you using QR codes in your marketing campaigns? Have you found a unique and exciting way to use them? Leave a comment and let us know.

Simple Navigation: Your mobile website design should only have a few navigation buttons and they should be easy to click even with a small screen. With touch screen phones, it is really annoying when you have to zoom in because your big finger hits two navigation buttons at once. Keep this in mind and make sure they are spaced far enough apart to avoid frustrating users. Also, if your mobile site is making use of drop down menus, drop them. They don’t work so well on smartphones.

Limit Your Images and Graphics: If your site is loaded with images, it can take a long time for your page to load, especially on a smartphone. Just keep to one or two images to keep things simple and fast.

Say No To Flash: Adobe just killed flash for the mobile device, finally. Don’t do it. Flash on the average mobile phone just leaves a big empty space on the screen.

Prominent Contact Information: Your business’s phone number and/or contact information should be at the very top or very bottom of your mobile site and easy to read.

Keep It Simple: When it comes to copy, videos, images, everything, just keep it simple. Give users what they came for and nothing more. They will appreciate the simplicity.

With these five tips, your customers will easily find you no matter where they are. They will be able to find your location and they will be able to navigate from the home page to the very depths of your mobile site quickly and easily with any sized device.

Does Your Website Have a Mobile Version?

If your website doesn’t have a mobile version, you may be missing out on a prime opportunity to capture more business. How many times have customers tried to access your website from their smartphones only to give up after the navigation doesn’t work so well? And how many of those customers have switched to your competitors because they did in fact have a mobile site? Your customers may be searching for you right now on their Androids, iPhones and iPads. Can they find you? Ask our Denver mobile web design team if a mobile website is the perfect fit for your business.
Does your company use a mobile website? We would love to hear some of your successes or anything else you’d like to add. Let us know in the comments section below.

Colors and Behavior
The following information comes from countless studies on the subject. And web designers everywhere are beginning to learn that certain colors can cause visitors and customers to act and feel in certain ways.

The most popular colors for impacting human behavior include:

Orange: The color that shares the name with the citrus fruit is associated with energetic warmth and ambition. Because orange is such a vibrant color, it is often thought to denote new beginnings, creativity and enthusiasm. (Hint: Pair orange with cooler blue colors to really catch the eye.)

Red: Considered the most emotionally intense of colors, red is often associated with boldness, love and life. Red can also be a sign of warning.

Green: Green is the color of nature and organic materials and it is considered the easiest color on the eyes. Green is often associated with safety, growth, harmony, stress-relief, wealth, luck and optimism.

Blue: One of the most commonly used colors, blue is the color of the sky and is often associated with honor, trust, tranquility and productivity. Blue is also thought to suppress the appetite.

Pink: The color of femininity, love and romance is also thought to produce a calming effect.

Purple: Throughout history, purple has been connected to royalty, power and wealth, but the color can also be associated with spirituality. But be careful. Some people think that purple appears artificial, due to its rarity in nature.

Brown: Considered conventional and sophisticated, brown is the color of dependability and confidence.

Black: The color of power and authority, black is also considered a color of sophistication and elegance. The color is mysterious and can be associated with evil, taboo and gloom.

Grey: Considered more of a conservative color, grey is the color of tradition and seriousness. Shades of the color can also act as a base for bolder colors, such as red and orange.

White: The color of purity, cleanliness and sterility, white is also considered the color of youth. White is perfect for spaces in design, as it is meant to project the absence of color.

While there may be opponents to the research, there is no doubt that marketing and advertising companies have been using strategic colors for many years. So which colors should you use in your web design? Who are my customers? How do you want them to act or feel? Do you want them to trust you and buy from you? Use the right colors in all the right places on the page and you’ll have a much better response from your audience.

What Is Magento Go?
Put simply, Magento Go is the easiest and fastest way to create your very own online store. There are no servers to worry about, no software and Magento Go will handle everything for you. And with Blue Riot Labs coordinating everything behind the scenes, you’ll have the best looking, best performing and best selling online store out of all of your competitors. But how does it work?

Magento Go’s API
Blue Riot Labs will create Add-Ons for your Magento Go marketplace. Using Magento Go’s Application Programming Interface (API), Blue Riot Labs will have your online store stocked and ready to go in record time. Our designers, coders and SEO specialists will work with you to determine the best look and feel for the store you have in mind, and you’ll then have full-access from that point on using Magento Go’s user-friendly control panel.

Why Is the Hosted Plan So Great?
Why did Blue Riot Labs partner with Magento Go? Mainly, it’s because we wanted to provide an easy way for our clients to see their products without any coding or technical knowledge required. Magento Go is also safe and secure. The platform is hosted on a premium infrastructure in top-tier US datacenters and uses free shared SSL certification. This provides a risk-free shopping experience for every one of your prospects and customers.

PCI Compliant
Magento Go is PCI compliant. The service supports a large number of credit card processing providers, as well as payment processors, such as PayPal, Authorize.net, OGone and more.

How Much Does Magento Go Cost?
Magento Go is completely affordable! There are several low-cost hosted plans to choose from and you may even qualify for the $1 Million stimulus program, where you will receive credit to your account each month for a specified period of time. And all you have to pay is a low premium each month. There are no processing fees or other hidden costs, which means that you get to keep more of the money you make.

The bottom line is that Magento Go is budget-friendly, safe and secure and it’s incredibly easy to get your online store up and running. And with Blue Riot Labs behind it all, you know that your store will always turn heads and a hefty profit.

We are very excited about this partnership and we look forward to all the great things to come. If you have products to sell and you’re confused about how to get started, Magento Go and Blue Riot Labs are here to help. With our expert design, coding and search engine optimization combined with Magento Go’s security, customization and ease-of-use, it won’t be long before your products are flying off of virtual shelves.

The Initial Instructions
The worst thing you can do as a web design client is tell your designer to just do what he does. And in fact, you’ll find that most web designers won’t just go ahead with a project blindly. Instead, you will probably be given a questionnaire, or at the very least asked a ton of questions. This is where you need to speak up and make your voice heard.

The Website Details
The time to go into detail about what you’re looking for in the perfect website is before the design process even starts. You should talk about the colors you like, any images, you should discuss how you want your navigation to be, and everything else that will go into the working design of your new website.

But you must also give your designer details like:

• The intended target audience
• The website’s goals
• Examples of site designs you may have liked
• Examples of site designs you want to stay away from
• And anything else you can think of

At this stage of the game, the more ideas you throw at your web designer, the better. This will at least get the process started. But your job as a client isn’t over the moment the designer goes to work. Chances are that the web designer is going to have questions as the project progresses. And you may even see proofs as the designer completes certain benchmarks in the design process.
It’s very important to note that if you don’t like anything about the design, speak up when you see the problem. The designer/developer needs to spend a lot of time and effort getting your website exactly how you like it. You should never let the designer do work that you know you’re not going to like.

So if you want to be the best web design client possible, you’ll remember to speak up, provide plenty of details and you’ll want to remain a participating member of the design process from the beginning all the way to the end.
As a client, you are the one who dictates where the design and development process goes and you’re the one who is going to proof the final copy. So if you are not instrumental in the design process, the designer may have no idea what you really want. So the best thing you can do is work with your designer, ask plenty of questions of your own and you’ll find that your website comes out exactly how you envisioned it, or possibly even better.

Step 1: Planning and Research
Our Denver web design team will sit down with you so that a solid plan can be formed. Our team needs to know what goals you have for your site, who your primary audience is, what the purpose of your site is going to be, and so on. Your organization, your industry, your prospective customers and even your competition will be studied so that the ideal website can be planned from the ground up.

If you already have a website and you’ve hired our Denver web design team to give it an overhaul, don’t be surprised if we recommend that you start completely from scratch. Remember, the search engine optimization process begins at the planning and research stage. If your site isn’t optimized and you’ve already established a web presence, our team will transform that presence into one that builds instant authority and relevancy in your market. But this can only happen once the proper research and planning have been conducted. This is when our team will work closely with you to make sure that we adhere to your vision for the ideal site as much as possible.

Step 2: The Design Process
Once the research data has been tabulated, our Denver web design team will get to work building a site that your prospects will love to visit. But getting unique visitors to your site is only part of what you’re trying to accomplish. You must entice your visitors to stick around. That’s where our design team excels.

Our Denver web design team knows that first impressions are everything and so each design is created so that it captures each visitor and holds them in place. The site will then be easy to navigate, so that visitors can find whatever they need immediately. Whatever they can’t find, they can search for, and our design team will make it easy for visitors to do that, too.
If you’re selling inventory, we’ll make it easy for shoppers to fill up their shopping carts and click the buy button. If you’re offering services, we’ll make sure those services are as enticing as possible and that they always seem better than the ones competitors are offering.

Step 3: Authoritative Content
Once your site is designed, it will be filled with relevant and high-quality content that readers and search engines will love equally as well. The result is a website that dominates the search results for your chosen keywords, and that means you should prepare for lots of traffic and new customers.

Step 4: WordPress Set-Up
Our Denver web design team will manufacture your site from the ground up using the open-source and user-friendly CMS WordPress. Then, using fully-customizable plug-ins our team will make it so that your site does everything you need it to.
What’s really great about WordPress is that it’s free and easy to use, so you’ll have no problem maintaining the site once our Denver web design team has finished your project.

And that’s it. But wait, you may be wondering where number five is. The truth is, our job is never finished. We’re not interested in just designing your site and then walking away. We want to make sure your site performs as it should and that it succeeds. So our fifth step is essentially superior customer service, as we will always make sure you go far in all that you do, as long as you’re using a site researched, planned and designed by our Denver web design team.

Hopefully this answers any questions you may have regarding what we can do for your business. If your competition is ranking higher than you in the SERPs and you can’t seem to get visitors to stay on your site, contact us. Our Denver web design team will make sure you gain the authority and relevancy you need to dominate your target online market.