This fall, Azavar Technologies welcomed a crucial new member to our ever-growing staff: Sherrie Lee Hablitzel, the new Creative Director. Hablitzel’s diverse background in web and interactive multimedia development, graphic design, marketing, and print production add immeasurable value to Azavar’s creative work. Her eye for design, coupled with an extensive knowledge of technology, helps turn our clients’ visions into reality.
Alongside of the rest of our team, Hablitzel now works with Azavar clients to develop online strategies, identifying not only where they need to be today, but also where they should be headed in the future.
“I'm always excited to see our clients’ ideas come to life through creative design. I love hearing from them how our work improved their bottom line,” she says.
Her experience ranges from implementing comprehensive web marketing initiatives for Cunard and Seabourn Cruise Lines to designing and producing marketing materials for companies like Kraft, Procter & Gamble, Motorola, Allstate, Discover Card, GM, AT&T, Trump Towers, and Capital One.
Everyone at Azavar is incredibly happy to have her as a member of the team.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
First Step Toward Becoming an Amazon
Amazon.com recently reported a 31% surge in the third quarter quarters – despite the tough economy. How do they do it? With the right mix of design and usability on the world’s largest retail web site. How can you be an Amazon?
Start by attending Internet Retailer’s 2nd Annual Web Design '09 Conference, which will be held at the totally rebuilt Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach on Jan. 19-22. Web Design '09 will provide e-retailers web design tips proven to skyrocket online sales. Check out the agenda.
We think this conference is a great opportunity to sharpen existing web design skills while learning new ones. We’re pretty excited about this upcoming conference and wanted to provide a sample of some of the things you will learn:
1. How do you know when it’s time for a site redesign?
Learn basic steps to determine whether a redesign is warranted, including how to calculate your site’s web experience rating compared to that of your competition, how to measure the amount of clutter on the site that can be removed, and how to sift through customer feedback to find the gem buried under the rubble. You will learn when to make design changes and how extensive they need to be for your site to remain competitive.
2. How can you keep your site on the leading edge without going broke?
Learn how to bypass the nice-to-haves and focus on the must-haves. Then figure out how to achieve major design improvements with a relatively minor investment. Hear the CEO of FatBrainToys.com explain how he started his retail web business from home six years ago and became a Top 500 e-retailer by taking the biggest competitors head-on with an award-winning web site design that didn’t cost a king’s ransom.
3. How can you incorporate compelling videos on your sites cheaply?
Retailers can produce short videos with a tight focus in house for a surprisingly small amount of money. Attendees will learn how Shoeline.com achieved a 44% lift in conversion rates on videos that were little more than 15 seconds of a model’s feet walking around in shoes.
4. Where can you get free advice about your site from web design pros?
And what can you do with it? All attendees to the Internet Retailer Web Design '09 Conference are entitled to two free private consultations from top web designers. Two of last year’s participants will talk about what they learned in their consultations at Web Design ’08 and how they turned that knowledge to higher sales – immediately.
5. How can you add unique web design features to appeal to your particular market without violating the design standards all retail web sites must meet?
Executives of Anthropologie and Scholastic will examine how a merchant’s target market defines a web site design, how to create a design that will meet the needs of a particular market without falling too far outside the bounds of standard retail site design and how to know what your audience expects.
6. How can your high-tech web programmers learn to speak the language of retail shoppers?
In “Programmers are from Mars, customers are from Venus,” a retail consultant and web merchant will explain how to communicate customer-friendly design needs to a programming team of techies who think like Vulcans.
7. Which page is more important than your home page?
All your product pages. Most shoppers come to web sites via search engines that bypass the stunning home page that consumed most of your design dollars. Here e-retailers will learn how to create product landing pages that engage the shoppers, establish trust and create brand identity.
8. What can e-retailers learn from a very tough 2008 holiday shopping season that they can apply throughout 2009?
Lauren Freedman, one of the most popular speakers at Internet Retailer conferences, will analyze the hits and misses of online merchandising this holiday season and provide details as to how retailers should address such issues in 2009.
9. True or False: E-retailers no longer have to be concerned about the weight of their pages since everything loads fast with broadband connections.
False. Broadband made sites load faster, but consumers now want even more speed. And Google is now scoring web ads based in part on how fast pages load. This session will tell you how to make a site beautiful and engaging—and still faster loading.
10. Does your site really need a social meeting place?
Blogs, product reviews, and other social architecture can improve search engine rankings, provide merchants insights into new merchandise opportunities, and help online retailers determine the most effective merchandising techniques. Learn how beneficial and easy it is to design social networking into your site.
Start by attending Internet Retailer’s 2nd Annual Web Design '09 Conference, which will be held at the totally rebuilt Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach on Jan. 19-22. Web Design '09 will provide e-retailers web design tips proven to skyrocket online sales. Check out the agenda.
We think this conference is a great opportunity to sharpen existing web design skills while learning new ones. We’re pretty excited about this upcoming conference and wanted to provide a sample of some of the things you will learn:
1. How do you know when it’s time for a site redesign?
Learn basic steps to determine whether a redesign is warranted, including how to calculate your site’s web experience rating compared to that of your competition, how to measure the amount of clutter on the site that can be removed, and how to sift through customer feedback to find the gem buried under the rubble. You will learn when to make design changes and how extensive they need to be for your site to remain competitive.
2. How can you keep your site on the leading edge without going broke?
Learn how to bypass the nice-to-haves and focus on the must-haves. Then figure out how to achieve major design improvements with a relatively minor investment. Hear the CEO of FatBrainToys.com explain how he started his retail web business from home six years ago and became a Top 500 e-retailer by taking the biggest competitors head-on with an award-winning web site design that didn’t cost a king’s ransom.
3. How can you incorporate compelling videos on your sites cheaply?
Retailers can produce short videos with a tight focus in house for a surprisingly small amount of money. Attendees will learn how Shoeline.com achieved a 44% lift in conversion rates on videos that were little more than 15 seconds of a model’s feet walking around in shoes.
4. Where can you get free advice about your site from web design pros?
And what can you do with it? All attendees to the Internet Retailer Web Design '09 Conference are entitled to two free private consultations from top web designers. Two of last year’s participants will talk about what they learned in their consultations at Web Design ’08 and how they turned that knowledge to higher sales – immediately.
5. How can you add unique web design features to appeal to your particular market without violating the design standards all retail web sites must meet?
Executives of Anthropologie and Scholastic will examine how a merchant’s target market defines a web site design, how to create a design that will meet the needs of a particular market without falling too far outside the bounds of standard retail site design and how to know what your audience expects.
6. How can your high-tech web programmers learn to speak the language of retail shoppers?
In “Programmers are from Mars, customers are from Venus,” a retail consultant and web merchant will explain how to communicate customer-friendly design needs to a programming team of techies who think like Vulcans.
7. Which page is more important than your home page?
All your product pages. Most shoppers come to web sites via search engines that bypass the stunning home page that consumed most of your design dollars. Here e-retailers will learn how to create product landing pages that engage the shoppers, establish trust and create brand identity.
8. What can e-retailers learn from a very tough 2008 holiday shopping season that they can apply throughout 2009?
Lauren Freedman, one of the most popular speakers at Internet Retailer conferences, will analyze the hits and misses of online merchandising this holiday season and provide details as to how retailers should address such issues in 2009.
9. True or False: E-retailers no longer have to be concerned about the weight of their pages since everything loads fast with broadband connections.
False. Broadband made sites load faster, but consumers now want even more speed. And Google is now scoring web ads based in part on how fast pages load. This session will tell you how to make a site beautiful and engaging—and still faster loading.
10. Does your site really need a social meeting place?
Blogs, product reviews, and other social architecture can improve search engine rankings, provide merchants insights into new merchandise opportunities, and help online retailers determine the most effective merchandising techniques. Learn how beneficial and easy it is to design social networking into your site.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Five Simple Rules for Website Design
When it comes to web design, you often only get one chance to keep visitors from clicking the back button on their web browser. Web design is a lot like going to an interview: you get just a few seconds to make your first impression on site visitors. Depending on that impression, you could convert a lot of paying customers or lose visitors forever.
Here are five simple rules for designing a website if you want to make your first impression a good one.
Rule #1. Avoid using flash banners and advertisements on your homepage. There are few things more annoying than clicking on a website to see cartoon characters and advertisements for other products flashing in front of your face.
Rule #2. Use clear navigation. It’s absolutely critical to make it easy for site visitors to find what they are looking for. As a rule of thumb, place your navigation on the left side of your web page because the majority of people read from left to right.
Rule #3. Develop intuitive information architecture. When visitors are browsing your site, have a clear indication for the visitor of where they are within your website and how to get to other relevant sections.
Rule #4. Pay close attention to loading time. You can reduce loading time by reducing the amount of graphics on each page. A good website design should load under twenty seconds.
Rule #5. Use a font that is common to all web browsers and easy to read. You have to think of your market. If you are selling a product or service that is used by older individuals you may want to increase the font.
Bonus Rule. Make sure the information on your website is up to date and relevant to what you are offering. Current info keeps visitors coming back to your site and builds credibility.
When designing your website look at it from the customers' or visitors' standpoint. Would you want to visit this website? Would you want to purchase a product from this website? If you answer "no" then you have some work to do.
Here are five simple rules for designing a website if you want to make your first impression a good one.
Rule #1. Avoid using flash banners and advertisements on your homepage. There are few things more annoying than clicking on a website to see cartoon characters and advertisements for other products flashing in front of your face.
Rule #2. Use clear navigation. It’s absolutely critical to make it easy for site visitors to find what they are looking for. As a rule of thumb, place your navigation on the left side of your web page because the majority of people read from left to right.
Rule #3. Develop intuitive information architecture. When visitors are browsing your site, have a clear indication for the visitor of where they are within your website and how to get to other relevant sections.
Rule #4. Pay close attention to loading time. You can reduce loading time by reducing the amount of graphics on each page. A good website design should load under twenty seconds.
Rule #5. Use a font that is common to all web browsers and easy to read. You have to think of your market. If you are selling a product or service that is used by older individuals you may want to increase the font.
Bonus Rule. Make sure the information on your website is up to date and relevant to what you are offering. Current info keeps visitors coming back to your site and builds credibility.
When designing your website look at it from the customers' or visitors' standpoint. Would you want to visit this website? Would you want to purchase a product from this website? If you answer "no" then you have some work to do.
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