I Like The Cut Of Your Jib

Revolutionizing The Way You Speak To Potential Clients!

If you found this article in Google and are hoping to find the newest “HOT” marketing speak, or buzz words to include on your site so that you can improve your click through rate and covert more hits to sales, improve you website RIO, or ultimately effect the bottom line then you are in the right place.  But for the wrong reasons.

The goal of improving your website’s message is a noble one, but think twice before diving into  a long-winded rant on your website or company’s intangible qualities.  There are two reasons why being straight forward is your best bet.

1. People don’t like liars.  Before you go off half cocked about how you are “innovative”, “revolutionizing” something, or “thinking outside the box”, make sure you are actually doing one or more of the before mentioned.  More often than not you will realize that while you may be on the cusp of what is new and exciting, you are probably not driving the trend.  You may be an exceptional “surfer”, but you didn’t create the wave.
2. People just want to know what you are really all about.  So often it’s easy to get lost in incoherent marketing speak and lose sight of what you are really trying to say.  Let me give you an example.  This is the opening phrase of an actual web design firm:

(Company Name) is revolutionizing the way you do business.

This has zero meaning to some people, and the rest are probably insulted that you think a new web site is somehow going to revolutionize the business that they have poured their blood sweat and tears into building up.  Most importantly it doesn’t convey the true message; “We can build you a great website.”  I would go with something more simple and direct, maybe

Looking for a new website? We can help.

It may seem obvious, but it gets the job done.  It’s conversational, it creates “yes” momentum and it demonstrates that you can fill a need that they have.  What potential client goes looking for a new website while thinking “I need someone who can revolutionize my business.”  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve fallen into this same trap.  I can remember using the phrase “We are re-thinking everything.”  Well that just sounds like we didn’t know what the hell we were doing.  It’s important to really step back and think about what you are saying.

Takeaways:

1. Be honest.  If you truly are innovating it’s ok to say that, but make sure you are.
2. Be direct.  Potential clients want to know what you do and if you can satisfy their need.

sidenote: The subtitle is intended to be ironic.

I was checking out a blog that i look in on from time to time called Smiley Cat Web Design Blog.  It’s authored by Christian Watson, an English bloke living and working right here in Austin, TX.  He wrote a really interesting post highlighting older menus from major sites such as Amazon and Apple from the past, and their current counterparts.  Here’s the link, it’s pretty cool to check out. 

Anyway, while looking at it i had a realization;  I’m not the only one who prefers the horizontal menu to the vertical.  In fact all of the sites shown in the post used the horizontal menu originally, and only two had converted over to the vertical… so why?

So i set out to create a list of reasons why the horizontal menu is superior.  Here it is:

1. page real estate - the vertical menu inevitably leaves a blank column at the bottom of it.
2. the eye naturally follows the straight line left to right.
3. for years people have been trained to use horizontal menus at the top of their computer applications (look at the browser you are in right now)
4. often not all menu options in a vertical menu are visible above the fold
5. creating a perfectly working vertical menu using a table-less design is often very difficult without CSS “hacks”

That said, two of these sites did switch to vertical menus and they aren’t newbies to the online game either. Walmart and Amazon both switched,  why? 

I think there is a very easy to understand rule for the use of a vertical menu… Quantity.  If you look at these two retail giants you understand why they use the vertical menu… they have to.  A horizontal menu for them would be a drop down nightmare, and would frustrate users to the point of no return.  This blog is another example of use of a vertical menu, knowing that it will continue to grow it is important to have the room to grow, almost requiring the vertical menu.

There are a couple things to notice as well about the menus of Walmart and Amazon, because we can’t really believe they didn’t do their homework.  First of all, if you click into a category in Amazon, they migrate to a horizontal/vertical hybrid  menu.  Pretty sneaky i know, but with the fewer option necessary it would only make sense to do so.  As for the loss of page real estate, they almost always take advantage of the unused space with ads or browsing options.  Walmart however is the king of page real estate when it comes to the vertical menu.  Once you enter into a category they fill every bit of that menu free space with every sorting option you could ever want, only enhancing the ease of use of the site, a great positive created from a negative.

In the end when it comes to your site, it’s a personal preference.  People should be able to figure it out either way, but weigh the options carefully, i think a pretty strong case has been made for horizontal menus.