Not everyone has the budget or the time for a complete web site redesign these days. But there are several relatively inexpensive ways online retailers can refresh their web sites, says Bridget Fahrland, director, creative strategy, of web design firm Fry Inc.
One problem many online retailers face is that they create animated online billboards or banner ads using Flash technology, but don’t change them often because producing a new one means drawing on busy creative and technical personnel, Fahrland says. The solution: Create templates that can be changed by anyone, even staffers without technical or creative skills.
For instance, she points to the home page of mass merchandiser Meijer, where a central window on the home page site this week is devoted to an animated display that first shows Adirondack chairs, and then drops down text about them. The display then fades into an image of barbecue grills, and again promotional text drops into the image. Because it’s built on a template, the images and the text can be changed easily, Fahrland says. For instance, if Meijer wants to show a dorm room during back-to-school season it could just replace the picture of the chairs with a dorm room image and insert relevant text into the text areas. Text color and fonts can also be changed easily.
“The timing of the animation and if things are sliding in, that doesn’t change,” she says. “But what things say and the color they are and the font, they would be updateable by a non-technical person.” Meijer, a Fry client, is No. 489 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.
Fresh photos are another way to give a site a new look, she says. Often, online retailers wait for other channels to shoot photos, whether for a catalog or marketing or advertising materials, and then use those photos for the web site. “For a couple of thousand dollars one can do a web-specific shoot just to refresh some key pages, such as the home page and a few key landing pages,” Fahrland says.
A third area where e-retailers can make quick improvements is by reviewing copy to make sure it presents the distinct voice of the brand. The e-commerce team often focuses on technology, and sometimes loses sight of the brand, she says. As an example of an online retail site with a clear voice, she points to cb2.com, a brand of Crate and Barrel. “It’s quippy, young and fun,” she says. “The copy is related to the merchandise, but it’s got some personality.” Crate and Barrel, another Fry client, is No. 55 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.
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