Designs on Success: Creating Retail Sites That Sizzle and Sell

Online retailers have only a few seconds to entice shoppers into their web stores. Whether shoppers arrive at a home page or land on a product page after conducting a Google or Yahoo search, retailers have to make that instantaneous connection or lose the shopper to another site. As a result, much of the success of retail web sites depends on site design. But holding the shopper on a landing page isn't nearly enough to ensure success—retailers also have to make sure that consumers can browse other products and navigate a site smoothly.

Design and usability have thus become two of the most important initiatives that web site executives focus on. But there is no roadmap to creating the outstanding site. In fact, apart from a few general best practices—logo on top left, nav bar on left alongside the page—there are as many ideas of what makes good design as there are web sites. But not all are successful and many are way more successful than others.

This conference will explore what makes an outstanding design, what generally accepted practices retailers should follow and which they should ignore, how they can use customer input to create a site that sells, how to create a vision for a web site and prioritize the elements of a redesign, then how to choose a designer that can deliver on the vision. The conference will also look at what happens after the redesign: How to ensure a site's navigability, how to make sure that all the elements and features of a web site work together, and how to ensure that the site is available and performing at its peak. Finally, it will examine the coming trends that will affect site design and usability, especially Web 2.0 and m-commerce.

Web Design '08 Keynote Speakers

Day One - January 31 The first day of the main conference will be keynoted by Debbie Kristofferson, Vice President, User Experience, Walmart.com. Day One will focus on site design issues and include targeted sessions on current and emerging design requirements; which generally-accepted design principles are essential and which should be ignored; how to conceive and execute a visually stunning web site; how to leverage customer input to enhance site design; how to ensure an effective site redesign; how to optimize your use of rich media; how to ensure that your design stays fresh over time; how to evaluate and select the ideal web designer for your needs; and more. Plus, you'll receive the results of Internet Retailer's proprietary survey on web site design and content. Finally, you'll have a great opportunity to unwind and do some casual networking at our Pool Party BBQ.

Day Two - February 1 The second day of the main conference will begin with Featured Speaker Darrell Porcher Director, Web Development of Sony Electronics' SonyStyle.com. Day Two will focus on usability issues and include targeted sessions on how the migration to Web 2.0 will affect web site design and content; how to ensure that your web site is ready for the explosion in m-commerce; how to pinpoint and eradicate common obstacles to easy site navigation; how to use real-time data to enhance usability; how to maximize site availability; how to make a site accessible to consumers with vision impairment and other disabilities; how to provide content that your customers find valuable; how to leverage site search; and more.

Web Design '08 Conference Agenda Outline

Listed below are the exact times for each event in the Internet Retailer Web Design '08 Conference. To view the description of an individual session click on the "Session Description" buttons. Or, to view this list with all session descriptions visible please click the radio button below.

Day Before: Jan. 30, 2008

1:30 - 5:30 p.m. Design and Usability Consultations Attendees at the Internet Retailer Web Design '08 conference have the opportunity to submit their web sites to experts in web site design and usability for a free consultation. From 10:00 to 12:00p.m. and 1:00 to 5:30 p.m., web site design and usability companies will operate private consultation rooms with Internet access. Retailers attending the show can choose up to three appointments per attending company for one-on-one, half-hour consultations on the design, navigation, organization and usability of their web sites. Participating consultants will provide analysis specific to each site, with suggestions for improvements and commentary on what results a retailer can expect from making such changes. These sessions will not be sales pitches for a vendor's products—any participating company that engages in selling during the consultations will not be invited to return the following year. Retailers who wish to participate in the consultations must sign up when they register to attend the conference. Appointments will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis.

5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Welcome Reception A Champagne Reception will be held in the Exhibit Hall on Wednesday evening, Jan. 30. Please join us and your e-retailing colleagues for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres.

Day One: Jan. 31, 2008

7:00 - 7:45 a.m. Conference Registration & Breakfast

7:45 - 8:00 a.m. Welcome Kurt Peters, Conference Chair and Editor-in-Chief, Internet Retailer

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. KEYNOTE: Wal-Mart: Setting the pace on site design Debbie Kristofferson, Vice President of Creative and User Experience, Walmart.com

8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Overview: What's important today? What will be mandatory tomorrow? Lauren Freedman, President, the e-tailing group, Inc.

9:00 - 9:30 a.m. IR survey on web site design and content Mark Brohan, Director of Research, Internet Retailer

9:30 - 10:15 a.m. Principles of site design: When to follow the rules, when to break them Jennifer Bailey, Usability Services Manager, ForeSee Results Troy Lawson, CTO, BestKiteBoarding.com

10:15 - 11:00 a.m. BREAK

11:00 - 11:30 a.m. Creating the beautiful site Jamie Dihiansan, Senior Art Director, Internet, Crate and Barrel

11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Creating the customer-centered design Jeff Schueler, President, Usability Sciences Corporation John Moser, Manager of User Experience, J.C. Penney Direct

12:15 - 1:45 p.m. Lunch & Dessert in Exhibit Hall

1:45 - 2:30 p.m. How to get feedback to help with your redesign Mayer Gniwisch, President & Co-Founder, Ice.com / Diamond.com Kevin Ertell, Vice President, E-business, Borders Group Inc.

2:30 - 3:00 p.m. Eye-tracking: The eyes have it Johanna Murphy, Senior Director of User Experience and Design, GSI Interactive Craig Gillan, E-Commerce Business Manager, Charlotte Russe

3:00 - 3:30 p.m. Rich media - How to make it work Shari Thurow, Founder & SEO Director, Omni Marketing Interactive Bart Patterson, Founder and President, GolfLocker.com

3:30 - 4:15 p.m. BREAK

4:15 - 4:45 p.m. How to keep a design fresh Dan Miller, Vice President, Product Management, American Greetings

4:45 - 5:30 p.m. How to get started: Thinking of design and what it will cost Betsy Emery, CEO, Tellus Tracy Schneider, Vice President, Marketing & Operations, Children's Wear Digest Inc.

5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Reception in Exhibit Hall

Day Two: Feb. 1, 2008

6:45 - 8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast in Grand Ballroom Foyer

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. FEATURED SPEAKER: The Sony Story: Designing the total package for a successful site Darrell Porcher, Director, Web Development, SonyStyle.com

8:30 - 9:15 a.m. The Future: Web 2.0: What it will mean to site design and content Neil Clemmons, Senior Vice President of Strategy, Critical Mass Beth Ferreira, Vice President, Operations, Etsy.com

9:15 - 10:00 a.m. Designing for m-commerce David Sikora, CEO, Digby Kim Land, Vice President, Godiva Direct

10:00 - 10:45 a.m. BREAK and Guide to Retail Web Site Design & Usability Giveaway (Exhibit Hall - Internet Retailer Booth)

10:45 - 11:30 a.m. Overcoming obstacles to navigation: The most common obstacles and how to get rid of them Dawn Wayt, Vice President of Online Marketing, The Guild Inc. David Flinn, Director of Professional Services, Gomez Inc.

11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. The role of real time data in better site design and usability Greg Robinson, Senior Systems Support Specialist, Quixtar Geoff Galat, Vice President, Marketing & Product Strategy, Tealeaf Technology

12:15 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch / Exhibits

1:30 - 2:15 p.m. Are your doors open and lights on? Jeremy Dalnes, Vice President of e-Business, Panasonic North America John Lovett, Senior Analyst, JupiterResearch

2:15 - 3:00 p.m. Making web sites accessible to people with disabilities Lynne Brown, Business Development Specialist, IBM Human Ability & Accessibility Center Pina D'Intino, Sr. Manager, SMR & Accessibility, ScotiaBank

3:00 - 3:30 p.m. Creating content that customers want Peter Moreo, Vice President/General Manager, Imaginova Corp.

3:30 - 4:00 p.m. Making site search do more than just return results Glenn Edelman, Senior Director of Online Marketing & Merchandising, Wine Enthusiast Larry Becker, Vice President, Website Effectiveness, The Rimm-Kaufman Group