Creating Powerful Websites that Engage Audiences

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1 Creating Powerful Websites that Engage Audiences Michael Slater, CEO

2 Aspects of Website Creation Visual design Interaction design Content structure Ticket purchasing Donations Social media Search engine optimization 2

3 Technology and User Expectations Have Changed In the past few years, the web has become much more sophisticated Visitors expect easy-to-use, engaging sites They expect them to work on phones and tablets Most 5-year-old designs look dated Underlying technology has changed Flash no longer recommended, primarily due to ipad New opportunities with the latest web technology 3

4 Visual and Interaction Design Visual design How it looks Adapting to changing, diverse content Interaction design Navigation and browsing interfaces Photo and video galleries and slideshows Hiding and showing content (tabs, accordions, etc.) Ticket purchasing and donations Social media and commenting 4

5 Content Structure Information architecture How you structure and organize your content How users find what they want (nav, browse, search) Design the structure of your content independently of the pages you will present it on Performances Events Performers Blog Posts 5

6 Building Simple Websites Create each page using a web authoring tool Software you install, such as dreamweaver Hosted service with browser-based tools, such as SquareSpace or Weebly Problems with this approach Time-consuming to add pages Doesn t provide features like blog, calendar, database Hard to maintain consistency and preserve design integrity 6

7 A Better Way: DB-Driven A single performance page can serve for all performances The database stores all the details about each performance Your staff enters the information into a form No need for technical skills No concern for page layout or styling when entering information Layout and styling determined by the single template page Painless consistency 7

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13 Many Ways to Connect With Your Audience Website Admin Database of performances Mobile Site Mobile App Social Media 13

14 Media Photos Easy to include throughout site Display as banners, slideshows, galleries Associate with artists, performances, facilities Videos Host on YouTube or Vimeo Embed on your site Organize using the database Audio Can be hosted on your site, with embedded player 14

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16 Ticket Purchasing Use a service focused on this function AudienceView, Veritix provide features needed for reserved seating, etc. Brown Paper Tickets, EventBrite for low cost A link to purchase tickets is stored in the site s database and turned into a button on your site Ticketing service will style its pages (more or less) to look like your website 16

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19 Taking Donations May be handled by ticket purchasing system Can easily accept donations via PayPal One-time Monthly (subscription) Consider how you are going to do follow-ups to donors Customer relationship management (CRM) system Ticketing special offers 19

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21 Integrating Social Media Link to your Facebook and Twitter pages Make it easy for people to share your pages with share buttons Include Facebook Like widget to make it easy for them to like you on Facebook Blog posts can be automatically posted to Facebook and Twitter 21

22 Search Engine Optimization You want to show up prominently in search results The art and science of getting there is called SEO On-page optimization Build the site using best-practice technology, coding, writing Off-page optimization (link building and social media) Get lots of links from well-ranked sites covering related topics Achieving a great SEO position takes an investment and some time (commit to a 6-12 month plan) Once you get there, your site gets lots of free traffic 22

23 Choosing a Content Management System Lots of choices, so focus on type first Software you maintain, on a server you rent space on Open Source, such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal Commercial, such as ExpressionEngine Hosted services provide CMS as a managed service Provider handles all the software maintenance, server admin, backups, etc. Fewer hassles and lower cost in the long run Simple sites: WordPress.com, SquareSpace, Weebly, Wix, LightCMS Sophisticated sites: Webvanta, Agility, Limelight, Vae Platform 23

24 Project Management The heart of a website project is the content Be sure you have the resources to collect, manage, and maintain it all Consider outsourcing the writing and collecting of images, videos, etc. Make sure staff is trained in how to add and change website content 24

25 Don t Neglect Mobile! Web access from smartphones is exploding Restaurants seeing 30% mobile traffic Tipping points are close, within 1-2 years: More than half of all phones sold in U.S. will be smartphones More than half of web traffic for entertainment and hospitality sites will come from mobile devices Requires modest additional investment 25

26 Tablets Are Semi-Mobile Tablets use mobile browsers and touch-based interfaces But are more often used at home 10 tablets have desktop-like screen size Minor adjustments to desktop site 7 tablets are small for desktop site May do better with mobile site 26

27 Do You Need a Mobile App? Your own mobile app is a great way to connect with your most dedicated fans Provides a semi-permanent place on user s phone Can use the same content as the website Multiple platforms to consider supporting iphone/ipad, Android, Windows Mobile Phones and tablets 27

28 Getting Your Site Built Two major services: design and development May come from the same or different suppliers A quality site is a team effort Overall project management is also critical Freelancers are least expensive and can be great if you find the right person Web agencies bring a team, and typically a higher level of sophistication and experience 28

29 Getting Started Unless you have an expert as part of your team, find a consultant to work with you to define needs Once you have a document that clearly describes what you need, get proposals Be sure you are getting the level of strategy, technology, and project management you need, in addition to design 29

30 We d Be Glad to Help! Webvanta offers strategy, specification, and sitebuilding services We ve partnered with Athena Web Design to provide visual and interaction design for performing arts sites Call Justin at ext. 4 Or sales@webvanta.com 30