Corporate websites... the ongoing omen

Every single time I entered a company in the past 10 years, one of the hottest objectives I was assigned to was the corporate website.

And there you go with the profound, definitive, thoroughly thought-over briefings:
"We need to have it evolve"
"I want it to look like XYZ's"
"It should should be updated"
"We've to think it over upside down"

:-)

Basically anything ranging from correcting typos to brand new corporate identity and messaging.

Every single time in the most urgent ways.

So here are some random observations, point of views and ideas gathered along this digital road.

Let's start with the 3 first tools one must add to its marketing emergency kit:

• Mock-up
• Dare
• Measure & Iterate

Mock-up: sketch you needs before trying to design them; sketch your present and foreseeable resources - Are you sure you'll be able to handle and have evolve this funky breath-catching features your bold e-agency is so thrilled about?

Dare: say yes and say no :-) And dare be humble. Don't reinvent the wheel. Browse the web, grab ideas, trends, look & feel. Check-out what's going on on the competition's sites: you want their visitors' to become yours. Don't confuse them with a brand new design approach. This is your product's job. Not your site's.

Measure & Iterate: Go online. Measure. Correct, reinforce, enrich. I'm pretty sure the smartest combination can't be found at once. There are tons of amazing tools available to measure your site's efficiency, beginning with Google Analytics, which by itself would require an entire post. There are tools to engage with your visitors (and therefore measure their acceptance of your site's design, content etc.) such as Get Satisfaction, there are tons of online surveys tools as well (check these). Basically, name your need, and you'll find the tool on the Internet. And the best part is, not only they are powerful tools, but most are free.

The history of any company's websites are rather insightful in that respect. I'll demonstrate this in a series of posts called "time warp".

These are the very first things that stroke me. I can think of many more. Don't hesitate to share your opinion and comment :-)

Keep posted.