This is the last entry I’ll cross-post from the new “Websites that Work” series at my new site Heart of the Matter Design. Unfortunately, search engines penalize you for posting identical content in more than one place. So the Inspired Raw Design site will stay in place for awhile, but the blog won’t continue. I hope you’ll check out this series and follow the new Heart of the Matter Design blog.

Who’s Your Heart’s Desire?

No, not your dream date. Rather, the type of person you’d most like to work with. This could be your ideal client, the most important target for your nonprofit program or that dream funder. The purpose of defining your Heart’s Desire is so that your website speaks directly to her or him (I’ll use “her” going forward) and provides appealing information, features and visuals.

That helps you make the connection that starts a relationship. The better you address your Heart’s Desire’s needs, wants and wishes, the more enthusiastic she’ll be about taking action with you.

Not Everyone is Your Type

It can be hard to define your Heart’s Desire if you’re worried your excluding people. Don’t you want everyone to make the positive change you’re advocating, buy from your business or fund your nonprofit?

It isn’t likely to happen anyway. You may have heard the saying that you can’t be all things to all people. Guerilla marketing expert Jay Conrad Levinson says that defining who you’re going to reach out to means you’ll be “saying something to somebody instead of saying nothing to everybody.”

Make it Personal

Write about one person. That will help you understand and empathize with her more. You may need to write several Heart’s Desire profiles and then see what’s common and different across them.

Nonprofit pros, you’ll likely want profiles for the people you’re trying to reach with key programs, for funders and maybe even volunteers. You might need different profiles for a few key services or programs you offer if they serve very different people. Businesses may want more than one as well. If you’re a life coach for teens, for example, you’d have a profile for the teen and one for a parent.

You’ll look at what’s common across the profiles to help develop the shared areas of your website and then use the differences to really hone pages that speak to just one audience. And the good news is that defining your Heart’s Desire will strengthen the impact of all your communications and even your programs and services.

The point is to craft a story about people in a way that brings them to life for you… so you can bring your writing and site design to life for them. You might consider doing visualization, looking at photos, drawing or other creative means. If you’re part of an organization, who else might join you in this activity?

What to Include

Describe your Heart’s Desire across the areas below. Think through all the questions. If you get stuck on any question, come back to it or skip it.

Continue reading For Effective Web Design, Begin with Your Heart’s Desire

The Inspired Raw Design is becoming Heart of the Matter Design.  I’ll cross-post the next entry here, but then you’ll need to read or subscribe at the new site. (Apparently search engines penalize you for posting identical content in multiple places.)

You’ll get the high impact information you expect at Heart of the Matter Design, but with a new focus on the straight scoop on creating effective web sites that help you reach more people and attract more money.

This article is the first in my new free series where you can follow the transition between the two sites and learn how to design your own powerful site.

Welcome to Websites that Work: Your Step-by-Step Design Guide to Bring Your Passion to Pages that Move People. Over the next 6 weeks, you’ll get step-by-step help to (re)design your website for success. And you’ll see Heart of the Matter Design go from a plain Jane to something wonderful.

If you’ve read my free ebook How to Avoid Costly Design Mistakes: 10 Questions You Must Answer BEFORE You Get Creative, you may remember the story of the bank board of directors that wanted a website up right away, even with just the bank’s logo. They didn’t get that it takes a lot more to have a website produce any results. (If you don’t have a site and you’ve just got to put up something… you can check out these “Coming Soon” page design examples.)

So what does it take? It takes a thoughtful process. Here are the steps we’ll cover.

1. Strategy – determine which people you’re trying to reach and why they’ll engage with you
2. Site objectives – identify what people want from your site and what you want it to do
3. Story – define the key message you’re trying to communicate
4. Survey – validate your assumptions before you build
5. System – decide what platform will be used to build the site
6. Search engines – optimize your site so that people are more likely to find it
7. Structure – organize the site so it’s easy to use
8. Substance – create the written and functional content
9. Style – choose layout, images, colors and fonts
10. Screening – test the site

“Style”, which people often think of as web design, is step 9! That’s because it’s only a small part of  a site that gets results. You can end up with a stunning site that doesn’t move people or to bring in money. And that can happen whether you do it yourself, get free or low cost help or even spend thousands of dollars.

Continue reading 10 Steps to Websites that Work

In 2010, I’ve got some exciting changes coming. You can expect more to-the-point information on how to get your Website to support what you care about. And that begins next week when you can follow my Website transformation process in a FREE blog series to learn how to design a more effective site for yourself.

Join me as I redo / replace the Inspired Raw Design website. I’ve decided to blog on the process, so you can see how it works. Whether you’re doing your own site or planning to work with a designer, you’ll get an introduction to the step-by-step process it takes to create a Website that gets results.

I’ll post an invitation next week with more details. I’ll be using some of the information to create paid products and group programs later in the year, so don’t miss your opportunity to get the scoop for free now. The blog series will start next week and continue for 4-6 weeks.

What could be better than starting 2010 with a Website that does more to support what you care about?

A key element of an effective Website is conveying a compelling brand to the people you’re trying to reach. Jeff Bezos of Amazon likens a brand for a company (or nonprofit) to a reputation for a person. It’s what people think and say about you. Consider brands like Target, Nordstrom, Virgin, Southwest, ASPCA, PETA, MySpace, Facebook or other companies and nonprofits you know. What impressions make you feel favorable or unfavorable toward engaging with them? What’s different about how you perceive each of them and why?

The entire customer experience you deliver creates your brand. If an organization provides poor quality programs or products, for example, no amount of communications creativity or strategy is likely to overcome that. But your name, logo, Website and other communications play a critical role in supporting your brand. Making the right choices can set you apart and attract people to you and what you do. That lets you do more good in the world and prosper financially.Let’s take a look at an example and at the end of this post, I’ll tell you about a new FREE opportunity to follow along with me to learn more about the process and how you can do it.

Branding in Website Design – Case Study
Michelle Master has a gourmet raw desserts business. Her goal is not only to serve raw foodies looking for fabulous treats but also to invite people not following this way of eating to experience the sweet potential. In her entry to my Inspired Response Web Design Giveaway, she emphasized that these are premium products, offering every bit of indulgence you would find in traditional high-end desserts. So what’s the recipe for a suitably delicious site?

Continue reading What’s Your Brand URL?

As red flashes from an ambulance’s siren light, you immediately slow down to give way. You step on the brake at an intersection or railroad crossing when you see red. These signals are designed to draw immediate attention.

Red is also a color of attraction. Think of a red dress, red lipstick or red nail polish. More than just sexy or passionate, though, red can exude power, dynamism and energy. Honda, Lego, Toshiba, Canon and CNN all feature red in their brands.

Many food companies use red because it stimulates appetite. You see it all over McDonald’s, in signage, interiors, and as you reach into a carton of fries. KFC, Coca Cola, Nestle, and Kellogg’s also whet the appetite with red.

In fact, red is one of the most commonly used colors in branding, advertising and in many Websites because of these connotations.

Designing Your Website with Red

Red also creates the visual illusion of expanding and moving toward you, evoking a sensation of warmth that encourages people to linger. It also creates a sense of urgency. This makes the color red especially useful in advertisements or Websites to move the audience to take action, to click on a link or to buy. Think about how often in stores you see the word “SALE” in red against a white background.

While widely used in many advertisements and brand logos, red may appear aggressive or jarring in Websites meant to connote serenity, freshness, or cleanliness, like those for spa and health facilities. These sites benefit from cooler colors such as blue and green to convey their message.

Many sites that use red combine it with neutral colors, especially white, to make it easy on the eyes. Check out http://www.Target.com as an example. If not used as a brand color, red is often included in Websites to give emphasis.

The key to determining the suitability of red in your Website is its congruence to your theme or product. If your main message is conveyed by the symbolism of red, then, then heat up your Website and your results with this bold color.