It has been a week since my last post, but we have just been so heads down in projects accompanied by a few snow showers that are acting as a large distraction.

I have received a significant amount of feedback from last month’s article on What is Web 2.0? In particular, discussions have centred around the issue of who owns the data and it’s relevancy in the determination of a value or success of a Web 2.0 web project.

For example, in the world of mash-ups a website can be developed completely from other sources of information to achieve a users goal better than the original source of the data. In this case, which is the greater asset; the owner of the determining data or the website that produces the desirable user experience?

We think it is most definitely the website that owns the user experience. To put an argument forward that brand loyalty is surely at an all time low on the Internet and that the site that can attract and retain the greatest number of users through providing the most desirable experience in surely the most valuable. How about the theory sometimes put forward that the Internet will in fact shrink in the coming years as the larger sites buy up the smaller ones and simultaneously the larger sites tighten their grip on the search engine rankings making it therefore nearly impossible to launch new domains names with the regularity we see now. In this scenario the sites that can use the available data from many sources to capture and satisfy their audience will continue to build themselves up as an authority on a particular subject (read keywords) and therefore continue to dominate and in fact grow the distance in search engine ranking over competitors.

Clearly, although really promoted as a concept by search engine marketing companies, search engine rankings are relative - that is, relative to the other websites competing for a particular search term. The sites that build up the greatest customer base (reflecting in the depth of content and obviously the number of inbound links) will increase the relative gap between themselves and their competitors making it more difficult for competitors to rise up the rankings.

Therefore, the most important asset in a web project is to identify the needs of a user and how these will be met through either your own proprietary data or data that you can mash-up to create a rich experience.

Thanks for all the feedback on the months’ article - it makes it worthwhile producing when you get such positive response.

I can’t emphasise enough the need to improve travel websites. Without a doubt as web marketing becomes increasingly competitive and marketers increasingly savy, websites ease of use will become a way to stand out from the crowd. Statistics vary from 27% to 66% of users abandon their shopping carts (US Online) - that is, they have built up products to purchase and then don’t at the last minute - to 50% of potential sales are lost from a site because people can’t find stuff (Juipiter Research)! Quite simply, websites have to to improve usability!

Similarily, thorough planning and strategy are paramount. No matter how much of an expert you think you are - your not! I took on a project last Christmas that is still ongoing! The client declined to go through a strategy phase saying “we have been to the seminars and understand all this Web 2.0 stuff and know what we want”. 4 months later the site is still too’ing and fro’ing with the designers as the client wasn’t clear in their own head of their direction and strategy.

Planning saves money! It is 40 - 100 times more expensive to make changes to your sites functionality and look and feel in the production and maintenance phase than in the design phase!!

A different theme this month, moving away from Internet marketing for a break and focussing on some important points in undertaking a successful website redesign project.

2007 is the year in which most tourism companies will undertake their first major capital intensive overhaul of their websites. This paper examines some of the critical factors to justifying the investment and ensuring measurable success. In this document I emphasise the importance of focusing first on the basics of web design, and the need for concrete measurables, including a simple return on investment model example.

Good luck!

Successful Website Redesign

I have justed looked at the almost finalised design of a large web project I am involved in and all of a sudden a stylised map has been introduced as a means of navigation. In this particular site, the map probably works - except that I hate stylised maps on websites that are meaningless. You see so many website maps, say of where a hostel or hotel or even office is, that show the building on a map with a couple of streets around it - but they are completely meaningless. A traveller simply can not make head or toe of where the property is in relation to the city, public transport etc.

I believe that everyone should consider using something like the Google API if they are going to put a map on their website, unless of course your design can create a good looking map that is useable. Maps should be able to be zoomed, at least a relative perspective of the location.

This little rant is no less applicable to maps of countries. Say you have a couple of locations in Australia and a couple of locations in NZ. If you draw the stylised maps in scale a traveller will get the misbelief that Franz Josef and Queenstown are only a short hop - after all they are so close together on the map relative to Sydney and Brisbane (no regard for the bloody great mountains in between). Alternatively, if you don’t draw them in scale you get the reverse perception - Sydney to Cairns looks about the same distance as Wellington to Auckland.

It is not a case of under estimating the intelligence of the traveller - simply recognising that they have no comprehension of the sheer size of Australia (or in the case of local maps, the fact that Auckland is not some small flat city easily walked around) or winding and undulating nature of New Zealand roads. Maps on websites should reflect this vital travel information.