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Having led the development of hundreds of websites, landing pages, online display ads and the like, I always find the challenge between creativity and achieving conversions to be one of the most critical elements to online success. After all, finding the optimal balance between creativity and good usability is what separates “the men from the boys” when it comes to effective web design and development. We experienced a recent example of this and here’s the story.

Studies have shown that those who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them. Maybe it's because something written down will nag at you more - keeping it top of mind. But also likely is how establishing a goal - or end objective - gives what you do a sense of purpose. Having something clearly defined and written out holds you accountable. "Are we achieving this?" Yes or No. "If we're not achieving this yet, are we doing something to get us closer to achieving it?" Yes or No. Answering "No" twice means we're failing. Failing to achieve and failing to do better.

As a fan and user of Apple products, I closely followed the introduction and launch of the iPhone 4 as well as all the problems that ensued. These problems, which I'll get to in a second, became a PR mess for Apple. When Apple came around to respond, they made an argument based almost exclusively on data. Their approach to responding fit well into our philosophy of a company about being data-driven in as many decisions as possible. Likewise, the opposing argument made against Apple was representative of a much different approach. One based more on emotion and sensationalism than actual fact.

I stopped to get coffee this morning on my drive into town, and watched with fascination as another customer stood and poured packet after packet of sugar into his coffee. He was grabbing two and three at a time, and by my estimate there were 30 or more packets in his medium sized cup by the time he finished several minutes later. He actually requested a spoon to mix the slurry, since the provided plastic stirrers simply bent double.

I was recently browsing Slate.com when I saw a link to a slide show referencing Banksy and gave it a look. The page presents you with a link that pops up a slide show (figure 1). The navigation is simple for the slide show with standard text-based navigation at the bottom of the text. I was enjoying the pictures, scrolling through (figure 2), and then got to the 4th picture (figure 3).

If there's one strategy we advocate above all else when it comes to turning a good website into a conversion machine, it's test, test, test!

David McKillen WebStrategies Inc.

We use BaseCamp from 37signals for general work time tracking, including project development. Over time there can be a large amount of data accumulated, and there is a nifty way it can be consolidated and used for project analysis. In essence, export the time data out of BaseCamp and use the power of Excel to make summaries and graphs. In this way, you can easily see items such as:

So much of our work these days is conducted by remote that it is very useful to be able to capture an image from a computer screen, make annotations, then send it to a client or colleague. TechSmith recently released Snagit in beta for the Mac. This tool is already available for those on Windows platforms, and it is quite useful in doing these tasks. Those using Macs probably are familiar with the built in screen capture using the Cmd-Shift-4 key combination, but I have found Snagit to have a couple of advantages. For one, it allows you to capture all of a window, not just what is showing on the screen. This is useful for long web pages that extend past the confines of your screen, for example. The other advantage is the variety of annotations available. You can use speech bubbles in addition to more standard fare such as lines and arrows, and easily adjust sizes, arc contours, etc. When trying to convey an idea to a client, or get markups out to a project team, the old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words is true. Perhaps even more important, it takes time to write those thousand words, so being able to convey your thoughts efficiently can result in improved project deliveries and economics.

We go to great lengths to provide products that fulfill the needs of our clients, meeting with them to understand their business models and needs before we even propose building a website or providing other Internet Marketing solutions. In fact, we won't propose something unless we truly believe it will benefit their business. Over the years, this has resulted in a high degree of client loyalty and a large proportion of new business generated through referrals.