In case you hadn’t noticed, the world is going mobile. Check out these amazing statistics:

• There are 5.3 billion mobile subscribers; that’s 77% of the world’s population.
• In the US, 25% of Web users are mobile only, meaning they only they use their mobile device(s) to access the Web.
• Global tablet sales are expected to top 80 million by the end of 2012.

Which is why I think every organization needs a mobile strategy. Here are my top recommendations for getting started:

Include Mobile in All Of Your Marketing and IT Activities

Over a dozen years ago, I urged clients to be the person in the room who always said, “what about the Web?” Today, appoint yourself as the person who says, “what about mobile?” Know what tools you have available in your mobile toolbox, including mobile stylesheets, mobile sites, text messaging, and apps. Talk to your customers and ask them if, how and when they access your website and e-mails on a mobile device.

Budget for Mobile Initiatives

I believe mobile needs its own line item in your budget or it needs to added to your marketing and IT activities. For example, do you have the hardware you need to view your website on an iPad, Android phone, iPhone, iPad or Android tablet? Be sure to ask your Web partner (like Matrix Group!) to help you budget for mobile, whether it’s developing an app for your convention, designing a mobile version of your website, or using text messages to generate traffic at your exhibit hall.

Planning a Website Redesign? Plan for a Responsive Design!

Here at Matrix Group, we’re really excited about building websites that look and behave differently depending on the size, platform and orientation of the device, including widescreen monitors, standard size monitors, tablets and smartphones. Responsive Web design uses a mix of flexible grids and layouts, images and javascript to customize the experience for the device. For example, if I’m looking at a website on a smartphone, the large branding area could disappear and the horizontal navigation might turn into vertical text navigation. If your organization is thinking of redesigning your website, please consider a responsive design. You will spend more time and money on wireframes and design, but the results will be worth it. Just imagine: less pinching and squinting for smartphone users and lots of gestures and swipes on tablets.

Pay Attention To Your Mobile Stats

As always, pay attention to your usage reports. Google Analytics has a whole, new set of reports that tell you what your mobile users are doing and what devices they are on. I’m using our usage reports to figure out what functions to include in a new mobile version of our MatrixMaxx software since we don’t believe mobile users want to use ALL database function.

How about you? What’s your organization’s mobile strategy? How are you getting started? What kind of results are you seeing?

Matrix Group recently had the pleasure of helping the Outdoor Foundation launch a new website for one of its initiatives — Outdoor Nation (ON)

Here’s what I absolutely love about the ON website: it’s got a ton of attitude.

The design of the site is bold, almost brash. But the attitude really shines through in the copy. The about page starts off with:

Before the recent youth-led revolutions that are now happening around the world—there was Outdoor Nation. Okay, we probably didn’t influence those uprisings but we do share a belief in the power and passion of young people and our ability to start a revolution.

ON says they “host awesome summits” and “when the ancient Greeks invented social networking, this is what they had in mind!”

In the branding area on the home page, there’s a big pitch to GTFO (get the f*** outside) because “there’s no excuse not to get the fun outside.”

How fun to see a website just brimming with enthusiasm and passion! It’s obvious that ON is targeting a specific demographic and not every organization can get away with this type of attitude and language. But I bet more of us could and should inject our marketing campaigns with fresh design and copy that signals a certain lifestyle and brand.

How about you? What attitude does your website project? Can you name other websites that have a lot of attitude?

 Matrix Group:

• Developed a robust navigation that helps visitors navigate to specific sections based on their needs.  Visitors can navigate by audience, topic or most frequently requested information.
• Created a design that is friendly, professional but not slick, accurately echoing the image of the Fund.  The design includes prominent calls to action, e.g., Participant Sign in and Employer Sign in.
• Implemented a content management system that allows SMWNPF staff to update the entire site without knowing html skills.
• Supported the launch of the website by developing a postcard and video that showcase the new site.

View the Sheet Metal Workers – National Pension Fund Website.

Most organizations go years between redesigns. It’s a big deal to redesign a website; it takes a boatload of time, effort and money. But in between redesigns, most organizations become unhappy with their sites. We have clients come to us because they’re unhappy with everything on their site, which was last redesigned 3, 4, or 5 years ago. Does it have to be this way? I think not.

There are many, many reasons to redesign your website, including:

• Your organization’s mission, name, logo and/or brand have changed dramatically.
• Visitors complain about not being able to find what they’re looking for.
• Your products and services have changed or you’ve added new offerings and you don’t know where to put all the information.
• You are rethinking how your website fits into your company’s overall marketing strategy and want to redo all or nearly all of the content.

BUT, if you’re largely happy with the design and navigation of your site, visitors are able to find what they’re looking for, and your company branding and messaging remain the same, perhaps all you need is a website refresh. Here are some ways in which clients have refreshed their sites:

• One client changed the headers graphics throughout the site and added social media widgets.
• Another client made the entire website wider (the site had been designed for 800 x 600 pixels) and added another column on the home page for events and a featured publication.
• Yet another client revamped important landing pages and improved pages by editing the text and adding images and formatting.

If you don’t have the budget for a full redesign this year, opt for a refresh and focus on content and making calls to action more prominent.

BTW, here’s a photo of the new Matrix group home page and reasons for the refresh. I’d love to know what you think.

How about you? What’s in store for your site in 2011? Full site redesign or refresh?

The Open House was wonderful!  The office looked great, the food and drink were outstanding (loved the beef satay and blueberry mojitos!), turnout was great, and by all accounts, guests enjoyed themselves thoroughly.  The Open House made me realize that hosting an event, much like putting up a Web site, should be a collaboration between client and vendor.  When both parties do their part, the result is almost always success. Here’s what I’ve learned:

• Clients should take the lead when it comes to goals and direction. When Matrix Group is designing a Web site, we ask lots of questions and try to find out what their goals are and what a successful project looks like.  In the same way, Seana Hale from Design Cuisine wanted to know all about Matrix Group, how we interact with clients, and how the Open House would support our client and partner relationships.

• Clients should define the overall design aesthetic and values. When Matrix Group designers are working on a design project, we don’t try to change the character and image of an organization.  Instead, we strive to understand the client’s brand, represent it well via design and multimedia and enhance it through our work.  Design Cuisine understood that we wanted a nice event that showed off our creativity and our work, was modestly priced, and played up our brand color of purple without overdoing it.

• Let the experts take the lead but be prepared to give timely feedback.  Once we’re armed with good background information, our UX (user experience team) creates navigation, wireframes and designs.  It’s great when the client trusts our judgment, takes design direction AND lets us know if we’re on the wrong track by giving us specific and timely feedback.  We also love it when clients let us brainstorm and come up with out of the box ideas, knowing that most won’t fly but the creativity that comes out is good for the project.

• With the Open House, I trusted Seana and her team to come up with good displays and menus based on our discussions and my experiences with past events I’ve attended.  We provided feedback on the menu, decided where to put the different food and drink stations, requested a signature purple drink, and then let Design’s team take over.  I did NOT want to be in the business of choosing linen colors and deciding how many tables we needed.  I figured Seana is the expert, she knows events and it’s her job to make sure the event flows smoothly and the food and drink are divine.

• The User Experience should always be top of mind. Matrix Group Creative Director Alex Pineda is fond of asking about user flows and actions.   No matter what the occasion, he asks, “What’s the User Experience?”  On Web site projects, we identify the target audiences, learn what they want to do, and figure out how they should navigate to their goals.  With the Open House, staff served as tour guides so guests could learn more about our culture and work, we placed food and drinks stations around the office, and we placed signs all over the office to identify functional groups (e.g., Designers, New Biz).

• If it’s important, it should have support from the top. In my experience, if a Web project has support from the top, it will get the staff and budget support it needs, and it will get done in a timely manner.  Decisions also get made faster.  With the Open House, I knew that I had to be involved enough so that Design’s team could get fast approvals on what to serve and where to serve it.

Here are a few photos from the Open House to give you a sense of the displays and user flows.  BTW, if you’re interested, check out the Matrix Group photos from the Open House on Flickr.

Jen enjoying the amazing satay bar

The Matrix Group admins ordered an assortment of purple candy for the candy bar.
Design made everything look pretty.

This cupcake tower sure went fast!

The signature drink of the evening was a blueberry mojito. Yum!

Cat and Janna gave guests from NPRA and ASF a grand tour of the office
and introduced them to team members.

How about you?  How are Web site development and event planning the same? How are they different?  In your experience, what works?

Why do we get so upset when Facebook changes its interface?

In looking at some of the blog posts and news articles, I can understand many of the complaints. For my part, I cannot figure out the difference between News Feed and Live Feed. But I love that it’s easier to get to my Inbox and see which of my friends is currently online. I also think that Facebook generally does a great job of explaining why they have implemented specific changes.  I thought this Guide to the new Facebook Home Page was especially good.

Psychologists tell us that most humans are averse to change. With over 350M users, any change then to Facebook, no matter how small, is bound to upset some segment of the user base. And if just 1% is unhappy and vocal, that’s still 3.5M people.  If 0.1 were unhappy, that would be 350,000 people!

All of this got me thinking. Matrix Group is in the business of redesigning Web sites. We work with clients who want to redesign their sites for all kinds of reasons: name change, the navigation is not intuitive, the company’s focus has changed, yada, yada. But if Facebook users are any indication of how averse we are to change, no matter how rational, articulated or needed, there is always going to be a segment that is unhappy. This unhappy user base may be vocal about it, which I think is a good thing because then you have an opportunity to respond to the concerns.  If the user base is unhappy and silent, then you’re in trouble because you don’t know you have a problem.

If you know you need a redesign, here are my thoughts for managing the change:

• Let your user base know that change is coming and explain why.
• When the new site is live, announce the change multiple times and keep explaining it.
• Provide narratives and videos that explain how to get around the new site.
• Provide a way for your customers and members to provide feedback and suggestions for tweaking the new site to make it better.
• Log search results so you’ll get an early warning that visitors can’t find specific content and services.

How about you?  What kind of reaction did you get to your last site redesign?  What did youdo to prep your audience?

So how do you customize your Twitter profile page to maximize followers? Here are my top tips:

• Make sure you fill out your name so it’s searchable. This sounds so simple, but consider this:  The Humane Society of the United States is @humanesociety, but the profile name is listed as HSUS.  If you use the Find People search on Twitter and type Humane Society, the HSUS page does not come up because the Twitter search only searches the Name field, NOT the username.  A better name would have been Humane Society of the US.
• Fill out the Bio and Web site fields. This is a perfect opportunity to link your Twitter page to your company Web site or blog AND provide a short elevator speech.  The bio and URL add perspective and credibility.  You can be formal, you can be clever, or you can be funny in the bio field.  Check out other bios for good ideas.  I like @pmohara and @neagle.  In addition, I hear from many, many people that if someone has not provided a bio or URL, they are much less likely to follow that person.
• Upload a thumbnail photo, image or logo. If you’re tweeting as a person, your followers can associate your tweets with a photo.  If you’re tweeting as a company, you get another opportunity to display your logo on your followers’ tweet streams.
• If you are in the Web, design, marketing, tech or social media business, then I highly recommend uploading a custom background. Otherwise, use one of the backgrounds available in the Twitter gallery to make your page stand out.  The background is another opportunity to provide information about your organizaton, list your services and passions, and have a call to action/contact information.  I love @adamplitt,   @alexslemonade, and @discover_police.

How about you?   What are some of your favorite Twitter pages?  Do you agree that you are less likely to follow someone if they don’t have the name, Web site and bio fields filled in?

One camp says that clients need to have all of their content prepped and ready to go before design on a Web site even begins.  The other camp says this view is not realistic, content is always behind, and clients often need the design to inspire them to update their content.

So which view is right?  I actually think that both sides are right.  But I think the question is misdirected.  The real question is: how do we make content more important, earlier in the Web site design and development process?

Here’s something every Web design and development firm knows:  Content is often the responsibility of the client, it’s often delayed, and it’s the most common reason for delayed launches. A List Apart has a whole section on their site devoted to content strategy.  I love Bronwyn Jones’ article on how good design is not possible without good writing.  And I think Erin Kissane is on to something when she discusses content templates (not design templates) as a way to help subject matter experts put their knowledge down on paper.

Here is what I have learned about content, the importance of content to design, and coaxing good content out of clients:

• It is NOT realistic to expect that all content will be ready and done before design begins. It’s never going to happen, period, end of story.
• Putting lorem ipsum text on designs may be easy, but it doesn’t give the client a feel for how their content will fit into the design.  It’s better to use real content, no matter how dry, in the design comps. Just as some homebuyers can see beyond the blank walls and rooms, others need a home to be staged before they consider buying it.
• Even if the client doesn’t have budget for a copywriter or editor, include a few hours of copywriting in your design budget so that the text used on the designs is punchy and has clear calls to action.  Good copy will inspire clients when they work on the content themselves and will encourage them to bring in assistance.  (And outside help almost always moves the process along.)
• Designers must design all content elements that will be used throughout the site and include them in the designs.  This inspires clients to make their content interesting because they’ll aspire to the designs we present.
• We must include content discussions and reviews during the entire user experience (UX) process (content inventory, navigation development, wireframes, design).  Just as we get together to review designs, we must look at pages of content and get internal staff and client feedback.

How about you?  What content strategies have worked for your organization?  How do you get good content out of your subject matter experts?  And how do you blend your content development and design processes?

Here are some sample cards that demonstrate what we were trying to achieve.

Here’s my card.  The front is purple so it’s easy to find on a cluttered desk or stack o cards.  The corners are curved because Alex says the Matrix Group brand is curvey, node-y.  The prominent elements are my name and title and the company Web address.  You’ll also notice that my card has all the ways you can contact me:  phone, fax, e-mail, blog and Twitter.

Here’s Maki’s card.  The general format of the card is mostly the same, but Maki’s card has his PGP key ID, which is a public key encryption that allows anyone to send an encrypted e-mail to Maki; only Maki has the decryption key.  You’ll also notice that Maki has two titles: one in English and one in Japanese.  Everyone at Matrix can have a serious title, a fun title or both. Maki’s fun title is Shogun of Lunch in Japanese.  Other fun titles at the company are: Digital Cowboy, Idea Launcher, Master Juggler/Cat Herder, .NET Rock Star, Go To Guru, Server Sensei and Marketing Maven.

Here’s Sumner’s card.  Sumner’s card is most like everyone else’s card.  He’s got contact information (phone, fax, e-mail) and simply a fun title.  Because Sumner is a longtime Linux contributor and he programs in Python on a Linux system, he’s a Penguin Tamer.  Tux the penguin is the Linux mascot, fyi.

Here’s the back of our business card.  The full Matrix Group logo is displayed prominently, along with our tagline: Strategy. Execution. Results.  You’ll also notice that we list the URLs for our Twitter and Facebook pages. Finally, while the front of the business card is smooth, the back of the card is uncoated and white, so that it’s easy to write a message. I’m famous for writing notes on the backs of business cards that I give away.  I write things like “met at ZZZ conference, call about Web design RFP” or “call for lunch.”

I have to admit that the process of redesigning our cards was a bit tortuous, especially since every person had the option of adding a fun title and several of us have a different front.  However, we think the new cards are pretty snazzy and consider them to be bold, mini-brochures for the company.

How about you?  What does your business card say about you or your company? Do you think we were successful with our card redesign?

Matrix work included:

• A Web site that carries over design elements and functionality from the National Parks Web site to the Honor Flight 93 Web site.  Including, familiar navigation, imagery style and messaging.
• A “Give Now” form, encouraging public engagement and donations.
• Implementation of a user-friendly Content Management System (CMS)

Visit the Flight 93 National Memorial Web site

Our work included:

• A fresh, and engaging Web site design, promoting AOPL as the expert in fuel transportation, and an environmentally aware organization.
• Implementation of a Content Management System (CMS), allowing staff to make Web site updates with no programming background.
• A color-coded, interactive map, where visitors can scroll over each state to see the location and the type of major pipelines in the US.
• Web site integration with MatrixMaxx, Association Management System (AMS). A comprehensive web-based solution, allowing AOPL to seamlessly link their Web site to their membership databases.
• Hosting and Maintenance

Visit the Association of Oil Pipelines

I attended a wedding recently where the couple had hired a much sought after photographer.  I asked him if he gave clients their digital files and he said yes.  He said that he believed in charging clients a fair price and then letting them own all the original images.  Yes, he makes more money if clients order photos or a photo book, but if they don’t, he’s been fairly compensated and he’s happy.

Like the wedding photographer, I fundamentally disagree that design firms should own their clients’ designs.  When we at Matrix Group create a design, our contract specifies that the client owns the design and that we will deliver all source files at the completion of a project once the final invoice has been paid. This only makes sense to us because each design is unique, is created just for the specific client, and will never be re-used.

I’ve had more than one designer complain that turning over a design to a client means they can screw it up.  Yes, it’s true, clients sometimes modify designs and we don’t like the results, but clients also deserve the ability to manage their sites without having to depend on us.  Like the wedding photographer, we charge a fair price, and then deliver a CD containing all files.  And contrary to what you might think, clients don’t retain us for a design and then bolt.  On the contrary, they stick around and give us more work.

Yes, there are always going to be cases where designers and artists should retain ownership of their work.  But I suggest looking carefully at all of your design contracts to make sure ownership is clearly delineated and you don’t get nasty surprises down the road.

An analysis of traffic on Matrix Group client sites shows that IE is still the primary browser but Firefox, Safari and Chrome are gaining ground.  For nearly all clients, IE commands no more than 75% of the total audience; this is still a dominant number, but it means that 1 in 4 users is not using IE.  Sorry Microsoft, but the browser wars are far from over and any giant can be toppled (that means you, too, Firefox!).

All of this makes me thankful that my staff, many years ago, convinced me that Matrix Group should not be an IE-only shop. I still remember the staff retreat when the staff had a heated discussion about Web standards.  A few of us argued that writing standards-compliant code was expensive because the dominant browser, Internet Explorer, was mostly not compliant, which meant we had to do double html work to make sure our sites behaved properly in IE, Netscape, Mozilla, etc.  But the vast majority of the staff rightly argued that standards compliance was the right thing to do, it would give us a competitive advantage, our sites would stand the test of time better, and someday, Microsoft would come around.

Don’t get me wrong.  I still grumble when testing shows that one of our sites is behaving differently in IE vs. Firefox because I know it’s costing us and the client time and money.  But IE8 is supposed to be the most standards-compliant browser ever and it’s really great knowing that our Web sites and our association management software, MatrixMaxx, not only look great across browsers, all the functions behave consistently.

How about you?  What are your thoughts on the browser wars?  What’s your favorite browser?  And are you on the standards bandwagon?

Taxonomy today refers to more than the classification of organisms. Wikipedia calls taxonomy “the practice and science of classification.”  A taxonomy can help you organize an unstructured collection of information.  On most Web sites, information can be organized by:

• Topic – these tend to be the topics, issues and special interest of your readers, members, customers, visitors.  For example, a trade association in the auto industry might have topics related to safety, marketing, supply chain, quality.
• Type – these tend to refer to the content collections on a Web site.  For example, a think tank might have news, policy briefs, commentary, testimony and podcasts.

Why do I think every site needs a taxonomy? And how do you use a taxonomy?

• Different people navigate according to their needs and interests. On any given day, a journalist might want to see all of your company’s press releases, regardless of topic; on another day, the same journalist might want to know everything your organization has to offer in the area of food safety.  So let same journalist navigate by both content topic and type!
• Tagging content by taxonomy allows you to relate content by topic and type. So, a news item on climate change would have a sidebar containing other news items related to climate change, recent publications and meetings about climate change, and recent news items (regardless of topic).
• A taxonomy allows you to connect people with their interests.  Let your visitors sign up for news by their interest areas, let them personalize their Web experience on your site, and compare the interests of your members with the content you have online.

Here are some great examples of taxonomy in action:

• The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) tags all content by topic and type.  You can navigate reports by date, by areas of research and experts. You can also create a personal profile and personalize your experience by checking your areas of interest, indicating if and when you want to receive e-mail updates, and saving your favorite pages.
• Electrical Contractor Magazine shows related articles, based on the topics associated with an article.
• The National Association of Episcopal Schools created a library that lists Q&A’s, documents and Web resources by topics of greatest interest to members.

Want to learn more?  Here are some good articles from Tech Republic, Digital Web Magazine, and Boxes and Arrows.

Here’s why I think your CEO needs to be part of your next Web project.

The CEO can best articulate why your organization needs to exist. Earlier this year, we were kicking off a project with a professional society in the military space. The Executive Director was discussing the mission and goals of the organization when he said “our members protect the world’s waterways.” A few seconds later, a staff member said, “I’ve been working here for several years and I’ve been waiting for that explanation of why we exist and what our members do.”

The CEO often has the most nuanced understanding of target audiences. Last year, while working on a redesign for a foundation, we got amazing insight from the President. He perfectly articulated that the foundation’s main audiences are corporate, foundation and high net worth individual donors, BUT, in meeting the needs of these donors, the organization will meet the needs of the general public at the same time. The discussion allowed us to focus on the top users, create use cases to test our work against, and make the project a success.

CEO involvement makes a project important. Let’s face it. If your boss or your boss’s boss is attending a meeting, you want to be there because it’s probably really important and you want to know what’s going on.

CEO involvement means a project is more likely to get funded. Again, let’s be candid. If your CEO is interested in a project, it will be easier to get your budget approved, and you can often tap into those secret CEO slush funds that never seem to exist when your “other” projects are up for review.

The larger the organization, the more challenging it is to get CEO involvement, so any appropriate VP or C-level involvement will work. The key is to have the insight, guidance and perspective of someone who is very close to the organization’s mission and customers.

But remember that even though screen resolutions have gone up, printed pages have remained the same.  So we design all of our new sites to have a print style sheet where the printable content is no wider than 665 pixels.  And if a client wants their site to be PDA-friendly, we add a mobile style sheet where the resolution is typically set to 240 x 320.

There’s lots of discussion around the office about whether or not we should design to a higher resolution.  On the one hand, it’s likely that screen resolutions are only going to go up.  On the other hand, we notice that users with high resolution monitors tend not to maximize their browsers, but rather have multiple, overlapping windows open at once.  So for now, we’ll stick with 1024.