Issue #4
January 2003: Good Homepages Must "Suck"

Direct Sales Colleagues,

In our present business environment, it takes more than just being "online" to accomplish the exposure and success today's companies are seeking. This month's newsletter focuses on the power of the Internet, namely effective homepages.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about how we can help you with all of you online endeavors. I hope you find the following information interesting and useful.

IDI hopes your 2003 has started successfully and is on track!

Regards,

Dave Christiansen
Sales Manager, ARRAY
david@idiglobal.com


"The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps — we must step up the stairs."
– Vance Havne

> News: Internet usage continues to rise; highest usage in United States

According to a study released by Ipsos-Reid, a global marketing research firm, the percentage of the adult population using the Internet continues to rise. The greatest level of acceptance being in the United States, where 2002 saw a significant increase in usage, rising from 59% in 2000 to 72% in 2002.

"Because it's all around us, being used in so many ways — from communications to transactions to entertainment — it's become a central way that we navigate our lives," commented the study's author, Brian Cruikshank. He also believes that decreased costs in computer hardware and Internet services, along with greater penetration of Internet availability in smaller markets, are contributing factors to the increase.

"The Internet is in advanced stages of growth in the U.S. and is becoming a necessity to many of the few adult Americans who had resisted going online before,” Cruikshank further noted.

Other countries rounding out the top five are Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom, and Japan, with the most significant increase seen in the latter three. In these markets, the numbers are similar to those seen in the United States during the late 90's. In contrast, Internet usage in Canada, while high, has seen no major change over the past few years.

Source: ipsos-reid.com

Is your company's current Internet strategy falling short? You're not the only one. That's why over a dozen major direct sales companies have turned to ARRAY to provide their sales force with a rock-solid Internet strategy.

This guide contains the information you need to understand how ARRAY can revitalize your Internet strategy. Includes client testimonials, a CD-Rom, samples of our design work, and more! Get your FREE guide now

> Tip: Good homepages must "suck"

Cameron Moll, IDI's creative director, is an expert in web usability and homepage design. He's worked with such clients as Tupperware, New Vision, and Shasta Beverage Co. Dave Christiansen recently sat down with Cameron to talk about how homepage layout techniques can benefit direct sales organizations. Here's what Cameron had to say.

DC: Many of the direct sales organizations we work with have hundreds, even thousands of new users visiting their corporate websites and distributor websites each day. What's your recommendation for these organizations as you meet with them?

The first thing I usually recommend is that organizations keep the user in mind as they develop their websites. It sounds simple, but too many organizations design more for the organization and less for the user. Organizations should be prepared to answer three important questions: Who will be visiting our website? What will these visitors be looking for? How can we draw these visitors to important areas within the site?

DC: I've overheard you say good homepages must "suck." What do you mean by that?

A man by the name of Vincent Flanders has become famous by promoting his book and website, both titled "Web Pages That Suck." Flanders is referring to bad web design. But I use the term "suck" in a more literal sense: to draw in by suction, much in the same way a vacuum sucks in dirt. A successful homepage acts like a "digital vacuum" — it sucks users in, drawing them to important areas within the rest of the site.

Think about the last time you visited an unfamiliar site. You probably clicked on most of the links without much thought before clicking. Either the link text or the image next to the link was interesting, or you thought you'd find what you were looking for by clicking on the link. In other words, certain links on the homepage were drawing you in to various pages within the site.

Most users navigate around an unfamiliar site the same way as you, clicking on links that are either interesting or that look like they'll take the user to a desired location. Web users like to be their own "directors" while on the Web. They want to feel like they're in control. But that doesn't mean you can't help guide them through your site.

DC: Guide them through a site? How?

By pulling, rather than pushing. You may have heard of the terms "pull technology" and "push technology." Pull technology refers to technology that allows users to pro-actively seek out information, whereas push technology refers to technology that delivers information to users, usually at regular intervals and without the user actively seeking the information.

I use these terms loosely to refer to the way in which a homepage can deliver content to a user. I've seen too many homepages that try to push users to other pages on the site by "feeding" them only a few simple links, when they should be trying to pull users to the important areas within the site by allowing the user to choose from a variety of links and content.

DC: In terms of drawing users in, what are some examples of websites that have successful homepages?

Some of the better ones include 1-800-Flowers.com, Handspring.com, Fool.com, EddieBauer.com, and Amazon.com just to name a few.

DC: I've seen each of those sites before, and their homepages seem "busy" visually. Doesn't that tend to confuse users?

Not necessarily. And here's why: A study by the prestigious Palo Alto Research Center, previously named Xerox PARC, found that 75 percent of web readers are in "content-gathering" mode, while only 25 percent are searching for a specific document. Apply those findings to all web users and you begin to understand why those homepages have as much content as they do. Yes, some users may be searching for specific products or information, but a larger majority may just be browsing for content.

Having a homepage that has only four links is definitely easy to navigate but does nothing for those users who are browsing in content-gathering mode. Not only that, but users are forced to choose from pre-categorized links such as Products, Opportunity, etc., when they may not even know what they're looking for.

For example, take a look at RentStinks.com, the website for a local homebuilder here in Utah. Really easy to navigate, right? Just pick a link and go. However, put yourself in the place of someone visiting the site: Suppose you're a first-time homebuyer. You're probably in content-gathering mode. Perhaps you're looking for a three-bedroom, two-story home. But is that all you're looking for? What about the location of the home? The amenities? Or perhaps you're not sure what to look for in a home, or even why you should choose one homebuilder over another.

Therefore, when you consider the user, the homepage for RentStinks.com becomes less and less helpful. It attempts to push users to Floor Plans, Communities, and so on, rather than pull them to the page that contains 20 convincing testimonials from satisfied customers or the page that talks about Category 5 network wiring being a standard feature on all homes.

DC: So then how hard is it to create a homepage that "sucks" or pulls users in?

Not that hard at all. The hardest part is changing the way you approach the development of a homepage. Most people develop from the top down, creating all of the content for the homepage first and then trying to push users to other pages on the site. To create a homepage that pulls, you need to develop from the bottom up, creating content for the secondary pages first and then determining which of these pages should be emphasized on the homepage.

For ARRAY users, setting up a homepage that "sucks" is extremely easy and takes less than 15 minutes. ARRAY provides all of the pieces a distributor would need to create a successful homepage. Because we're continually testing our systems to ensure proper functionality, I set up a test account using Tupperware's ARRAY system. You can view my demo homepage at My.Tupperware.com/cameron, created in less than 15 minutes without using any HTML.

Another easy thing to do is reword links. Instead of "About Us", try "Find out why we've been in business for nearly 50 years." Instead of "Products", try "Let us show you how Product X can improve your health." I'm not saying you get rid of the About Us or Products links. I'm simply suggesting you add other links that may point to the same page or category of pages, but that are more successful at pulling users rather than pushing them.

DC: How important is this concept for direct sales organizations?

Very important. Perhaps more important for direct sales than other industries simply because direct sales organizations live and die by the amount of people they recruit. So they constantly have new prospects visiting unfamiliar websites. Anything these organizations can do to draw these new prospects in to the important areas of their websites, the better.

DC: Thanks Cameron! Now I understand better how creating homepages that "suck" can be a good thing.

For more information on this topic, download a detailed PDF document.

** Does your company's homepage pull instead of push? If not, call us toll-free at (800) 407-9711 and we'll do a free review and consultation of your website. After the consultation, you'll receive a printed document that details the areas of improvement for your company's homepage.

> Testimonial: Newvision.net

In September, New Vision International upgraded their distributor website system (nvionline.com) to the latest ARRAY Technology. Re-launched as newvision.net, this complete online business management system was received with much excitement by the NVI sales force:

"I LOVE the new site! Thank you for making it an easy transition from my nvionline site to newvision.net. The site looks professional, has pleasing layout and design. Seems to be easy to use, I am VERY happy!"

– Starr L.
Rohnert Park, CA

New Vision's ARRAY distributor website system: http://www.newvision.net

Copyright © 2002 Internet Development Inc (IDI).