Ideas Needed

[Ray]

Hi All,

I'm hoping you can provide me with some input...

I met with a prospective client yesterday who is looking for a re-design on his site, which is a 'Computer & IT Information Portal' serving the Canadian marketplace: he was vague as to what exactly he wanted, but he did say that he wanted the site to be 'Attractive' and 'Sticky', in addition to growing and monetizing the re-designed sites traffic.

I'm curious to know what features/functions and other stuff the esteemed membership of this forum would find useful, make you want to join and perhaps even stay on the site for a few minutes - keep it clean ;)

Any and all input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Ray

[JPnyc]

Well I'm sure you already know the things I'm gonna say, but what the heck. The quality of the images is the biggest determining factor in the avg. user's perception of a site's overall quality.

Now, as to how I would organize such a thing, in addition to making it searchable (a tall order, i know), I would put very visible broad categories on the main page. Is this site going to be aimed at I.T. pros or average users?

[Ray]

Hi JP,

Good question, which is also part of the conundrum...

The company has 2 print publications, one dealing with non-techies searching for consumer electronics - lots of graphics ala Maxim - and the other being very technical, geared towards IT Managers and the like. The website will marry up these 2 markets and ideally, should appeal to both. He wants 30,000 unique visitors monthly, among other things.

I like the broad categories approach on the Home Page, which his current site lacks.

Thanks,

Ray

[JPnyc]

Yes I think that's crucial. Progressively smaller and more focused herding of viewers. Start with clear broad categories such as "Consumer electronics" and "I.T. implementation" or something along those lines. Then when a user clicks the Consumer link you can break it down for them on the next page, or, you could have submenu flyout.

[roban]

I believe you have to know what the client knows about his business and how they want to project it. Who are their clients and who are their competitors. A site has to be designed for the audience it serves, so, who are they?

In my SEO business I have my clients fill out a form that makes them think and give me valuable information about who they are and more importantly, who they THINK they are. You can view the questionnaire Here (http://www.roban.net/seo.htm)

[JPnyc]

I'm wondering how you can target a site to both IT pros and end users.

[Ray]

Hi Roban,

I like your survey - very complete...

The client covered off on a few competitors and his audience; which is a combination of IT Managers (he has a print publication serving this audience) and a publication for non technically oriented people interested in Consumer Electronic products: although he has 2 separate print offerings, he wants to offer one site serving both audiences. I suppose the site can be separated into 2 parts, one for each unique audience with the splash page directing them to their area of interest.

Anyways, we don't have the account yet - he's calling in a few different firms and we're one of them.

Thanks for the feedback!

Ray

[Ray]

Hi JP,

You hit the nail on the head - it would be a challenge appealing to both audiences and keeping them interested. I may suggest he consider 2 separate sites that link up, targeting each individual audience.

Thanks for the input - I'll let you know if we get it.

Ray

[JPnyc]

I think challenge is putting it mildly, Ray. I would do whatever I could to talk em out of that. IT pros can get annoyed with a site that is also aimed at the end user, and the end user gets confused with things aimed at the IT pro

[Ray]

Hi JP,

You're right - there's no avoiding or dancing around the issue: I'll be recommending 2 separate web properties/sites; one for each audience.

Thanks Again,

Ray

[JPnyc]

1 think I s'pose you could suggest, and I'm dubious about it's effectiveness, is a common portal with clearly marked choices, IT pro, home user, or something, but I kind of see that as a wasted step that will annoy users.

[Ray]

It's a tough one - the client did mention www.cnet.com as a site he admired and which seems to speak to both audiences. It's a fairly sophisticated site. What's your opinion of CNET?

Thanks,

Ray

[JPnyc]

Well I don't see that as an IT pro site. Savvy end users yes, but pros? To be honest, the only time I've ever been on it was to download something.

[Ray]

Hi JP,

I met with the client today and it looks like we just might get the project...

Out of curiosity, Which site(s) would you recommend to IT Pros?

Also, the client wants to monetize the site and the idea of Google Adsense was discussed: what are your thoughts on AdSense for this type of web property and audience?

Thanks in advance,

Ray

[JPnyc]

I have no experience with adsense. Well for I.T. Pros I would recommend our sites :D. Datamation.com for IT managers, this site for small biz/e-commerce, webdeveloper.com is the best web source forum. Phpbuilder.com for php, codeGuru for high level OOL programming, Databasejournal.com and DBAsupport.com for databases. We have 30 of em so I can't list em all

[Ray]

Thanks JP!

I'll check them out...

And as it turns out, we won the job :)