March 18, 2009 @ 12:05 am by Audrey Rasizer
Times are tough, but don’t lose hope! Here are three quick and easy tips for optimizing your site during the recession:
- 1. Keep the font simple and easy to read. The other day, a colleague of mine passed around an interesting article from Scientific American. In a study at the University of Michigan, all students were given the same instructions for a regular exercise routine. In one group, they used this simple font (Arial font). In the other group, they used this fancy font (Brush font). Those who were given the instructions in the easy to read font were much more open to the prospect of exercising, and were more willing to make exercise part of their day. Moral of the story: use simple font. People will be more likely to do what you want them to do because they will think it’s less effortful
- 2. Emphasize price cuts, sales, free shipping, etc. This is a no-brainer, but a lot of times websites have so much information and details about the product that the excellent price or free shipping deals are being overshadowed. In fact, during a recent experiment on a product page, markedly more people were adding items to their basket when the info links and the ‘read reviews’ links were removed from the product description.
- 3. Use familiar concepts. There’s a reason why chocolate manufacturers have reported (sugar) high profits during the recession. People turn to familiar vices in times of stress. Center headline messaging about something that hits home. Don’t throw extraneous and often confusing language at potential customers. Rather, just present the familiar offer and make the call-to-action button prominent.
