Case Study: Suggestions for a Website Strategy
A reader named Dr. Ed wrote in about his site, saying he added a slideshow, but he didn’t see any addition to his “rankings” (maybe he means traffic? or his Google rankings?). I took a look at his site, and I decided it would make a nice case study on website strategy. So, Dr. Ed, I hope you find this helpful!
Make Sure the Header is Legible
Below is the top of the home page for http://www.mobile-festival-stores.co.uk/ – you can click on the image to see the entire home page.
My first reaction is that I cannot read his header. He acknowledged in a comment that it is hard to read. I would suggest even the simplest of headers instead of something that one can’t read. I decided to do a basic header with a fancy font that I thought might work a little better for him:
I used Illustrator, and I created two shapes to contain the text. The word mobile is done with the type path tool, so you can get all sorts of interesting displays of text. The font is called rosewood std – seems like one that is fun for a festival atmosphere. One could certainly put some color into this as well as define the shapes in some way, but too much color often ruins a design. Simple is the easiest and usually does the trick!
State What Your Business About – Clearly and Concisely
I am not quite sure how Dr. Ed’s business operates – does he sell these? rent them? offer them as a franchise? Or offer himself with the mobile unit at a festival? Whatever it is, I would like that stated in big, bold words very concisely on the home page.
Here’s an example of my own home page, in which I advertise my web building skills:
I believe I make it clear that I am offering website help – I state some of my most important web skills offered right there on the home page.
He would also do well to eliminate the extraneous stuff on the home page; for example, there is no need for the date/time on the home page. Also, if he has no Latest Events, he might as well eliminate that plugin from the right side of his home page. He is using Joomla!, and usually it is one click to un-publish a plugin, but one has to know where in the back end to click. If he were starting from scratch, I would suggest using WordPress – less clutter.
Study Social Media for Your Niche
Dr. Ed made it clear that his market is exclusively in the UK. He should be concentrating his social media skills on building connections in those networks. I did some investigating, and I found these links might be useful:
- http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/ – UK Business Forums
- @socialmbossuk
- About Barry Wells – Barry Wells writes in general about internet traffic, but since he is in the UK, I bet he would be a good resource!
I found the top two links by using the Twitter search service Tweepz.com – I just typed in “social media UK” and “small business UK” to find some accounts that are active on Twitter. Twitter accounts list websites, so there is plenty to explore.
Your Turn, Please
Do you have any suggestions for Dr. Ed and his business? If you have a business background, perhaps you can suggest ways he can market his business. If you know design, how would you design his page? Maybe you know someone who knows someone who knows the business market in the UK…
Hi Leora. Excellent points, Here is something is is pertaining to ranking on search engines. Google takes about three months to really start ranking your blog or website content. Unless otherwise you have built authority within days.
Eddie, what I tell people who are new to the web is that if they give me something to write about regarding their business, blog or organization, I’ll get them into Google right away. Instant ranking.
Hi Leora, Happy New Year :)
Thank you for linking to my blog and including me in your post.
I totally agree with you regarding the header, it’s hard to read and will put people off straight away. Rather than try to create one himself I would suggest that he get a header created by a professional. They’re cheap enough and if he were to send them a photo of his trailer header board they would be able to create a header very close to it.
I would also suggest that Dr Ed install an SEO plugin. I use the all in one SEO as it allows me to enter details of what my blog is about. When landing on the home page of his site the tab and meta tag simple read HOME which isn’t doing him any favours.
I also agree that the Latest Events box should not be displayed when it’s empty as it sends out the wrong message.
Some areas of the site are difficult to read and will have people close the page before attempting to read his content. For example: “Possible Festivals for the shop to appear in” is just a mass of text and difficult to read. It would be better if it was in a list format. People will then be able to see what festivals are available and will be engaged with his content.
I also had a look at the blog and again found it difficult to read due to the lack of white space between paragraphs.
I also followed their link to Twitter and see that they have only tweeted a few times (28) and in the majority they only supply a link.
When we use Social Media networks we have to be social and reach out to our audience. Nobody will click on a tweet that only contains a link unless they know the person very well.
While i understand he’s trying to please the search engines he also has to understand that we need to please our readers and make our sites reader friendly.
I hope that is of some help to Dr Ed and wish him well with his venture ;)
Thanks again Leora,
Take care, Barry
Barry Wells´s last [type] ..Ending 2011 With A Smile and The Sunshine Award
Barry, these are all great tips. As he is using Joomla! and not WordPress, I can’t recommend an SEO plugin in particular. He will have to do his own investigating. One can add meta descriptions to every post on a site in Joomla!, so that will certainly be a plus.
I should add, I also design blog headers – I have done this for several satisfied customers.
I hope Dr. Ed finds all this useful for his business.
Best wishes,
Leora
Barry and Leora, many thanks for the article and comments, i feel very chuffed you bothered to use my site for this :)
Firstly the header problem…
The template i used has a very low depth 36 pixels if i remember rightly, so i was very limited and hoped that the images underneath the header showing the sign in full size ( easily readable i think ? ) would be ok. I shall however make a new one now :)
I shall try and find how to remove that time and date as i agree looks wrong also.
As for twitter, it was a plugin i installed to see how it went, but to be honest i don’t have the time for twitter, so that is to be removed too.
The site is still a work in progress until the festival season kicks off in the spring, so don’t be too hard on me ;)
I am grateful for all the comments and look forward to some more.
Many thanks once again
It’s good you are working on this before the festival season starts. Joomla can be complicated in the back end – I’m often asking questions when I use it, and then sometimes the person I ask needs to ask …
As I said in the article, if you were starting from scratch, I would definitely have gone with WordPress instead.
I did look at WP, but the interface didn’t seem to do what i wanted re: making it look pretty :)
It may just be my newness to all this, but i went for Joomla and now here we are.
Lets hope lots of lovely people read this article and help me with tips n tricks and maybe a link or two to help it show us off nicely before the season starts :D
You can do just about anything with WordPress – if you find a theme that you like (some paid ones are especially good and not too pricey), it can look gorgeous with the right graphics.
Also, since more people are on WordPress, you will get more support. I don’t know of a single blogger who uses Joomla.
Then i am happy at being unique, but….
The site was not about blogs to start with as it happens ;)
It started as an advert based site for the stores, then over xmas i started playing and thought would be nice to have a blog page so people could follow us on our travels around the festivals and so that page happened as a consequence you see.
If it was a blog ONLY site then of course WP would have been my choice.
Dr Ed ( festival stores )´s last [type] ..Festival Stores | General Stores | Mobile Stores
You misunderstand me, Ed. WordPress is perfectly capable of being a website or a store; it is certainly not just for blogging. But if you are doing this on your own instead of hiring someone, you will need to ask questions. There are more WordPress users, so more can answer your questions.
I would suggest getting acquainted with the Joomla forum (link below, in another comment) and ask detailed questions there.
Barry
Try as i might, i cannot find in the Joomla back end how to get rid of the “Home” and change it to make it show anything else.
I am very new to Joomla and finding it all a bit boggling, but will get there i am sure :)
Dr. Ed,
To get rid of the Latest Events in Joomla!, try this:
1) log into the back end of Joomla.
2) Pick extensions, then pick module manager.
3) For select position, pick right.
4) hopefully, the latest events will be on the list. You can hit ‘unpublish’ to make them disappear from the right.
Good luck.
thanks Leora, will have a look at that
any idea where i may find the part to change the “HOME” tag as mentioned above please ?
Ed, try Global Configuration in the back end of Joomla. It’s under the Site menu. You can edit title and meta description – be sure to stuff with keywords.
you can only change description and keywords in that section
been there done that as they say :)
Ah, this sounds familiar. Try this:
This is changed from the menu. So (for 1.5) go to Menus > Main Menu > Click on the HOME > then on the right side “Parameters – System” and there change the Page Title and if you like to show it or not.
I am using 1.7 Leora, that must be the confusion :)
There is defiantly not a Title tag changer on that page you mention
Dr. Ed, if you can’t do it via the menus, I’m sure there is a way.
Here’s the Joomla 1.7 forum:
http://forum.joomla.org/viewforum.php?f=615
Hi Leora,
The header is hard to read and I too was trying to figure out exactly what he is selling. Good luck with this one.
Justin Mazza´s last [type] ..Getting to a Higher Perspective About Your Life
Dr. Ed seems to be grateful for getting responses to his website! Thanks for the note, Justin. I’m hoping he figures out at least how to change the header so it fits the spot.
Hi Leora,
You made some great suggestions and I read through Barry’s comment and totally agreed with everything he mentioned. But then you also let us know that this isn’t a WordPress site so the plug-ins are out.
I also read Ed’s reply and see that he’s on the hunt for other ways to improve his site so I don’t want to really point anything else out since it sounds like he’s on the right road.
The only comment I would say is that Ed, you are really missing out if you don’t include Twitter in your social media strategy. Everything takes time but trust me, it’s worth it!
Great case study Leora, you did a fabulous job.
~Adrienne
Adrienne´s last [type] ..My Secret To Blogging Success
Adrienne,
Thanks so much for taking the time to read through the post, including Barry’s insightful comments. I hope Ed will report back on his progress. Joomla has its own plugins, but he will have to experiment on his own with those (or make some friends on the Joomla! forum).
Thanks again, Adrienne.
To me, it looks as if he took the logo from his food cart and just expanded it to cover the header for his page, when in reality he should have just made it simple and clear. I also have no idea what it says at the top!
As far as the content on the site, he needs to write more than 1-liners. So, instead of writing “some of the biggest UK festivals go on sale this week.” He needs to elaborate on that. What are the festivals and why would someone want to attend.
Festival List doesn’t include what he wrote on a different page- was that the main page? Capitalize the first letter of every word and where the festivals are located, not just the names.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. As far as getting traffic, get on facebook and look for those in the areas where you frequent. Hand out business cards with your food or products that has the URL for your fan page and twitter account. Use word of mouth to get the word out. Of course keeping up with both these accounts is just as important. Letting people where you will be next…and why they should attend.
I wish Dr. Ed the best of luck in 2012!
Linda
Linda´s last [type] ..Happy 2012 – My Goals for the Year
Linda,
These are all wonderful ideas. I love how you suggest writing 1-liners. Clear and to the point, that’s my motto!
Thanks so much for commenting.
Best,
Leora
I am redoing the header logo for definite after all these comments ! :)
Twitter i do not have time for, seriously and i do not see how it would help our site, if people want to talk about us on their own twit accounts then they can, but we are not wanting to use it, i have my own reasons, no offense people.
@ Linda, would love to see a suggestion or two of your One Liners for the titles please ?
Dr Ed ( festival stores )´s last [type] ..English festivals, Scottish festivals, Welsh festivals and Irish festivals too
Hi Dr Ed, I’m really pleased to see that you’re taking in the tips being given ;)
Adrienne is right when she says that Twitter takes time and is worth it. twitter is my number one traffic source and only take me about 15-30 minutes a day. Most of it I have automated and have created a video showing people how to do that, but i won’t link to it here as that’s not fair on Leora.
If you’d like to get in touch I’m more than happy to point you to the video mate.
I see you’re from Reading, I’m about 30 (ish) mile from you in Aylesbury.
I wish you the best of luck Dr Ed ;)
Barry
Barry Wells´s last [type] ..Innovate Take The Road Not Taken And Try Something New
Barry
Well how could i resist such charming comments and not do something about them ? :)
Feel free to contact me via the email address on the website for that vid bless you ;)
The feed box is going too so as you all know !
Ahhh almost local then.
You have all been lots of help and i hope i can make you all happy with the changes i shall make, but do feel free to keep tipping away and i shall do my best to make the site as funky as possible.
Cheers All
Dr Ed ( festival stores )´s last [type] ..Festival Stores | General Stores | Mobile Stores
Dr. Ed, you have been so patient with all the many suggestions!
Regarding the 1-liners, why don’t you put 2-3 sentences about your business in a comment, and then we can try to come up with some 1-liners for you.
Best wishes,
Leora
Well then
The new header should be up by the end of today.
The Latest Events module has been removed until there is stuff to be put in it.
Time stamp removed from the Main title.
2-3 sentences hmmm, ok then here goes….
The General stores is a large festival mobile shop that carries some 200+ lines of stock and is green and eco friendly with it’s Wind Turbine and Solar PV panels to be added this year.
It is a very friendly shop that not only sells great quality products, but also offers a great service to both the festival visitor and the site organisers.
look forward to seeing what you come up with, learning all the time and loving it :)
Dr Ed ( festival stores )´s last [type] ..Festival Stores | General Stores | Mobile Stores
“The General Store is a large festival mobile shop that carries some 200+ lines of stock and is green and eco friendly with its Wind Turbine and Solar PV panels to be added this year.
It is a very friendly shop that not only sells great quality products but also offers a great service to both the festival visitor and the site organisers.”
Great paragraph. Why not just use that, unless someone else comes up with something even shorter (and then you can add the rest in paragraph). Just be sure to check grammar (it’s means it is – you meant its; and no comma after quality products because ‘also offers a great service to both the festival visitor and the site organisers’ is not a complete sentence).
ahhhhh now i see the confusion of you guys on here :)
the titles you are quoting are not mine, they are from the RSS feeds of OTHER sites !
i think the ones i have put are stating exactly what they are about and hence why i am getting traffic from them :)
but thanks for the input ;)
Dr Ed ( festival stores )´s last [type] ..Festival Stores | General Stores | Mobile Stores