News To Use
Welcome to the January 2007 edition of ChamberExpress™ News to Use. Our goal: provide ideas, information and news to help chambers of commerce succeed online.
In This Edition
- Best Practice: FAQs
- Tools of the Trade: Small Steps, Better User Experience
- News from ChamberExpress™: More Chambers Signing On
1. Best Practices: FAQs
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) pages are great for many reasons – they help clear up visitor confusion, they allow a visitor to grab key information quickly, and they save you time by answering questions immediately so you have fewer visitors asking the same questions over and over. Below are some tips on writing an effective FAQ page:
- Do some research before you write a FAQ page. Visit several different websites and review their FAQ pages. Note how they categorize questions and how they structure the answers. This research should help you begin to compile a “do & don’t” list for your FAQ.
- Ask colleagues and customers to provide feedback on your products or services – what questions pop into their minds when they visit your website? Then, incorporate this feedback into your FAQ.
- As you begin to formulate your FAQ, assemble the questions and group by category. Make sure the most important categories appear near the top of the page and the most important questions appear at the top of each category.
- It seems simple, but make sure your actually write your FAQ in a question & answer format!
- Keep your questions and answers concise – no more than one paragraph. If the question requires a long, detailed answer, have a link to a separate page.
- Keep your FAQ updated. Review it monthly and make sure the answers are still relevant.
- Don't create your FAQ as a file that must be downloaded to be read – most people won't bother.
- Include information and links at the bottom of each FAQ page so visitors can contact you if they still have unanswered questions.
* Excerpted from a web article David Coyne.
2. Tools of the Trade: Small Steps, Better User Experience
In today’s technologically advanced world, most businesses either have, or are considering establishing, a web site as a way to communicate with customers and increase sales. Here are five easy tips to help create two desirable results – help visitors easily find their way around your site and help draw more repeat visitors!
- Make Your Website Browser-Friendly. While definitely the most popular, Internet Explorer is not the only web browser available. Several other browsers - such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Konqueror - are currently competing with IE; however, various browsers can present websites differently. Ensure there are no problems when your site is viewed in competing browsers.
- Avoid Requiring Plug-ins to View Your Site. Some sites require visitors to download extra software or plug-ins to view the site, causing many visitors to simply leave the site and search elsewhere. Give visitors an alternative, such as viewing a plain HTML website, in case they do not want to take this extra step.
- Avoid Excessive Graphics. Keep graphics minimal and relevant. Excessive graphics such as blinking buttons, swiveling photos or blinding backgrounds, are distracting and often annoying.
- Save Time With a FAQ Page. A “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) usually lists questions and answers regarding your service or product and, for most visitors, can provide the information they need quickly and efficiently. (see Best Practices above for more information on writing an effective FAQ page)
- Show Them Who You Are. If you have a business site, you should have a page dedicated to informing your visitors about your company and/or the people who run your company. Adding photographs is a great way to “humanize” your site and increase credibility, but make sure to use “real people” photos, not stock photos of models!
* Excerpted from a web article by Nic Sims.
3. News from ChamberExpress™: More Chambers Signing On
Two more chambers on opposite sides of the country now have something in common: they are both tapping into the speed and efficiency of ChamberExpress™ in order to run their online operations. The Largo/Mid-Pinellas (FL) Chamber of Commerce and the Claremont (CA) Chamber of Commerce are two of the latest customers to join the constantly expanding list of clients.
“We recognize that every chamber’s needs are unique but they still share some common requirements,” said Joanne Taylor, chief executive officer for Advanced Computing Technologies, the parent company of ChamberExpress™. “Both of these chambers need user friendly, easy-to-manage sites that are cost-efficient to operate. They want to spend their time delivering valuable information and services to their members, not grappling with technology. ChamberExpress™ lets them stay focused on what’s truly important.
For Claremont, they are relying on ChamberExpress’™ industry experience. Maureen Aldridge, CEO for the Claremont Chamber of Commerce in Claremont, California, said that after it became clear that their site needed a total overhaul, it was obvious that ChamberExpress™ had the knowledge and skill to create a new site to fit their parameters.
Tom Morrisette, president of the Largo/Mid-Pinellas Chamber on Florida’s Gulf Coast, is using ChamberExpress™ to fulfill larger organizational goals and mission. He said he recruited ChamberExpress™ to help them redesign their web site with a fresh new look that “… would compliment our ongoing public relations and branding campaign. We hope to make this a site that our members and the community will find easy to navigate, pleasing to the eye, and full of useful community and regional information.”
Welcome to the ChamberExpress™ community!
