Time Magazine posted its list of the 50 Best Websites 2008, and as evidenced by the string of suggested sites that visitors left, there are thousands more out there that people are passionate about.

Aside from some handy resources and cool features, what does the average business owner have to learn from Time’s list? Plenty. These sites have been designed not just to be cool, but to have the user’s experience as the site’s primary focus. It’s this attention to the user that has prompted over 150,000 people to visit Time and vote for their favorite site.

When planning for your site, take a cue from the creative ones that made Time’s list this year.

• Keep the navigation simple. While you may be tempted to try out funky link graphics or titles, remember that most of your users will be new to the site and if they find it difficult to get around the first time, they probably won’t be back for more. The easier it is for a user to navigate, the better they’ll feel about the experience. The better the experience, the more likely they’ll be to take action - whether it’s as simple as signing up for a mailing list or a full-out e-commerce transaction.
• Make your products interactive. Not all sites need to be as extensive as Lookybook.com, but one visit to Lookybook’s library makes it easy to understand why the site made the 50 best list. The flip-through technology takes the guess work out of picking out a children’s book for your favorite little one. Not all e-commerce sites need to offer such extensive detail. Depending on what you’re selling, simple features such as alternate views, 360° rotation, or just a solid, creative description will be enough to move the user to action. However you choose to do it, make your products come alive. It’s the best way to move the user from a shopper to a buyer.
• Instant gratification. Internet users are a fickle bunch, so don’t make them jump through hoops. Offer up the most pertinent information early in their visit, like the search engine SearchMe.com. One visit to this innovative, graphic-driven site and you’ll see how users don’t even have to bother clicking to visit a site to make sure it’s the right one. When developing your site, brainstorm with your programmers about ways to give your users an easy feeling of accomplishment.
• Make your site a place to hangout. You don’t need to create the next Myspace or Facebook, but in today’s internetland, people like to make their presence known. Sites like iliketotallyloveit.com let users lead the way. On this site, guests get to submit products for review by fellow visitors as well as comment on items posted by friends or strangers. As Time notes, it’s a good way to watch trends “bubble” up to the top of the shopping charts, but by allowing the user to track his or her product responses, you’ve also created incentive for users to visit more frequently.

Time’s list is far from exhaustive, but strolling through it will offer up more than a few creative ideas for designing a site of your own. Once you’ve got a list of features that interest you, talk to your web designer about the best way to incorporate these ideas. Working with a designer that has your site’s best interest at heart will help ensure that your site is as functional and intriguing as it is informative.

It can be difficult to find the right fit for your company’s marketing plan, but that doesn’t mean you should succumb to a one-size-fits all mentality. Marketing your product or service requires a certain amount of finesse – especially when branching out to a new segment of consumers. Give your plan some wiggle room for testing and experimenting. These are a few guidelines we follow when tweaking marketing plans:

• Always keep your goals at the forefront of the plan. If you’re moving in the direction of your ultimate goal (increasing sales, response rates, awareness, etc.) then you’ve got the right momentum – you may just arrive at it a differently than anticipated. When you keep your goals in mind, it’s much easier to hone in on what’s effective. Sometimes the most creative (and effective) marketing comes by taking a roundabout path… just don’t get too distracted by the new territory, always keep an eye on the final destination.

• Nuances can make a world of difference. If your email marketing campaign isn’t producing the results you want, don’t scrap email marketing. Instead, look at your message. Is your tone appropriate? Are these customers looking to you for a light-hearted message or do they want a just-business rundown? If the tone’s right, consider calls to action. Does the customer know what to do? Subtle changes and guiding directions can make any tool more effective.

• Try new techniques, but know when to move on. There’s a careful balance to strike when testing new methods. You don’t want to bail too early before giving the process a chance to eek out results, but also you don’t want to be caught stubbornly pushing along an effort that’s not gonna budge. When you’re not seeing results, use your best judgment and don’t be afraid to redirect your efforts.

• Have realistic expectations. While you may be primed and ready for customers to start knocking down your door within 24 hours of implementing a new marketing tool, recognize that most plans work on a slow-build concept. While things may start out slow at first, committing to a plan that’s producing results is likely develop into a steady, long-lived stream of business.

Keep adjusting your plan until you find the combination that maximizes your marketing dollar’s impact. Testing new methods and refining messages can be frustrating, but it’s essential for creating the right marketing mix.

The concern of a recession is beginning to become a reality as businesses look to cut spending, decrease overhead and bunker down during the possible economic turbulence. Despite the old adage that it is best to spend your way out of a recession, many business owners are preparing to freeze their marketing budgets.

The good news is that cutting marketing budget doesn’t have to negatively affect the your bottom line. By diverting deflated budgets to more cost-effective mediums, companies can boost their marketing power while reducing advertising expense. There are low-cost solutions to fit a variety of marketing budgets, including email marketing, search engine optimization, PR, professional web presence, pay-per-click and mobile marketing, not to mention the value of ensuring good relationships with existing customers.

For most companies that weren’t open during the last recession, the impact of a struggling economy may be more difficult to handle. This is why it’s important for a company to have its marketing forces armed and ready, so if the recession hits they can immediately take charge and begin generating new sales. Preparedness is key to competitive advantage.”

The Direct Marketing Association estimates that email marketing ROI will hit $45.65 for every dollar spent this year. When compared with traditional direct mail marketing, email marketing allows a company to reduce the production costs and focus more of their advertising budget directly on the consumer. Starting a direct mail campaign will incur significant costs and the response ratio is usually much lower than with online campaigns.

Moving your marketing budget online offers great advantages. With online marketing, a company can view detailed statistics about their campaign including how many people have opened their email, geographic distribution, click-thru-rates, ad effectiveness and conversions. Traditional marketing including television and print doesn’t offer this advantage. Close observation of these metrics help ensure the company receives premium ROI.

Developing a strong online marketing program allows companies direct interaction with potential customers and powerful marketing at a fraction of traditional advertising costs. Interactive marketing as an extension of a company’s current advertising efforts has proven invaluable in both strong and difficult economic times. Interactive marketing should be considered when business owners find economic impact is impeding their marketing budget.

The economy’s trajectory has been far from smooth over these last few months. Shaky confidence in the future is causing many businesses to scale back on marketing budgets, which while it may ease the immediate cash flow concerns of some in management, developing too much of a bunker mentality will make it difficult to bounce back once things get rolling again. Take a minute to review Scott Shane’s post about Four Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in a Recession. It’s good food for economically-weary thought.

Sometimes we’re asked about the need of a site for some of our smallest clients, especially ones who don’t see e-commerce in their future.  Many of our clients are small businesses owners.  These are some of our favorite web design projects because creating a site for a small business can make a tremendous impact on the dynamics of their business.

Perhaps even more than established corporations, small businesses need a quality website.  Corporations have a distinct advantage over their smaller competitors – chiefly established reputations.  The Internet acts as a balancing force, though.  A well-designed site that is both visually appealing and packed with useful content can level a the playing field between small businesses and their corporate competitors.

Even if your small business doesn’t sell Internet-ready products or services, a site is critical.  With so many people heading online to comparison shop before heading out to the store, a good website can “prove” the validity of your small business.  The public needs to see that while your business may be rooted in bricks and mortar, your business is geared to even meet the cyber needs of its customers.  Even if your offices hours are from 10 – 2, a website gives your customers 24/7 access to your business.  Google has a number of Local Search features that feed users information about your business.  If you don’t have a site presence or haven’t registered your business with Google, you’re missing out on customers who are searching for your services.