How Not To Handle Mobile Redirects
Wednesday, 30th November , 2011
This isn’t a technical post on how to redirect users to a mobile version of your website. There are numerous articles that cover that topic in great detail. Rather, this post will cover the user experience implications of mobile redirects and what not to do if you want to keep visitors happy.
Mobile Redirect Options:
- Redirect to mobile version of website and provide an opt-out to full version of site
- No redirect and provide an opt-in to mobile version of site
- Provide an interstitial page asking the visitor what version of the website they want to see
Cookie duration can provide additional customization options.
My Preference for Mobile Redirects
In most cases, I’m a fan of automatically redirecting visitors to the mobile version of the site and providing an opt-out to the full website. I think this provides the best experience (assuming your mobile site has the same functionality as your main website) as it doesn’t force the user to think. Obviously, there may be situations where this isn’t the correct method, but I think for most websites it works best.
The second option (not redirecting users to the mobile site and providing an opt-in) usually gets lost in the details. Often the design of the website causes the opt-in link to be small enough to go unnoticed. And if it does get noticed, the user is forced to reload the page.
The third option (interstitial page) is my least favorite option. It places too much pressure on the user; how should they know what version of your website to use, they haven’t even seen it yet!
Even though I believe one method is better than the rest, any of the three options can provide a good experience if implemented correctly. Unfortunately, since all websites are different, selecting the wrong method for your site can destroy the user experience.
Examples of what not to do
See With Your Eyes, Not With Your Tools
Friday, 14th October , 2011
At Radium, we perform a ton of SEO audits. Some are simply a cursory overview of a website while others are much more detailed and in-depth. For the latter, we use a mix of marketing tools to analyze current metrics and provide feedback based on actual website data.
These tools provide a wealth of information but we also use another great tool. One that’s often overlooked in the SEO world…our eyes.
Usability, Design and Interaction
These 3 items are rarely talked about in search circles since they’re not necessary to have a properly optimized website (or at least they weren’t). However, investing in these elements can deliver tremendous value to the overall site and can actually help strengthen more traditional search metrics.
A Redesign Fit For A Nestlette
Thursday, 12th May , 2011
Our client, Nestlette, recently went live with a brand new website and logo and we just couldn’t keep the news to ourselves! We are very excited for the team at Nestlette and anticipate the new design and functionality of the website will bring them closer to reaching their marketing goals.
The goal of the new design was to increase content consumption, encourage social sharing and maximize profitability of the site through increased ad exposure and affiliate click through rates.
Usability and Wireframing:
To facilitate a smooth design process, Radium developed wireframes for key pages on the website. Click the images below for full size versions of the completed wireframes.
Website Design
The wireframes were brought to life beautifully by the design team at Southern Media. Coding and development was handled by WP Coder.
Homepage Design
The Big List of Internet Marketing Tools
Tuesday, 22nd March , 2011
No matter what your internet marketing goals, there is a tool to help you achieve them. But selecting the right tool from so many choices can seem overwhelming. To help you find the right software for the job, we have compiled a list of some of the best tools available to help you manage, optimize and guide your internet marketing strategies!
The list contains tools for SEO management, paid search (PPC) optimization, usability testing, analytics, email marketing and social media management.
Calculating website redesign ROI
Friday, 28th January , 2011
Calculating projected ROI (return on investment) for a website redesign is both a science and an art. The science piece relies on historical averages and known variables while the art piece is a best guesstimate of the redesigns impact on these metrics.
Most of the time, this sort of calculation is not done. Either because people believe it is too difficult to accurately calculate or they don’t want to be held accountable for their projections.
Why you should perform ROI calculations
Agency side: This sort of calculation can be extremely valuable during the new business stage. Quantifying the positive return of a website redesign will position your agency as much more than a creative shop.
Client side: Establishing estimates will give you a baseline for the new design and will let you know if the new site is performing better or worse than the existing site design. Not to mention it will get you thinking about additional tweaks and changes to the site post-redesign.
Calculating ROI
The easiest place to start is with actual data. Hopefully, you are accurately tracking website analytics and gathering this information is only a couple clicks away.
