Web Design for ROI: Turning Browsers into Buyers & Prospects into Leads (Paperback)

~ (Author), Sandra Niehaus (Author)
Key Phrases: page abandonment rate, landing page, site metrics, First Name, United States, List Price (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Most design books are about making your web site pretty. Others are about understanding the technical aspects. Web Design for ROI is the rare book that focuses on your web site doing what you want it to: make you money."
--  Bryan Eisenberg, bestselling author of Call to Action

"Filled with practical design tips proven to increase conversion rates and improve your online results."
-- Jeff Hackett, SVP, Online Sales, Wachovia

"The techniques are practical and easy to understand, and the strategic, ROI-based approach has won over senior management."
-- Janin Kompor, Director of Marketing, Decimal, Inc.

Product Description

Your web site is a business--design it like one. Billions of dollars in spending decisions are influenced by web sites. So why aren't businesses laser-focused on designing their sites to maximize their Return on Investment (ROI)?

Web design can do more than make a site look good--it can be a powerful strategic weapon that enhances financial returns and creates competitive advantage.

It's time to make web sites accountable. It's time to make design decisions based on metrics and business goals. It's time for Web Design for ROI.

In this book you'll learn:

Why so many organizations think about web design the wrong way
How small design changes can have a big impact on your bottom line
Simple tips to increase web sales/leads by 10% - 50% (or more)
Concrete design guidelines for:
Landing pages
Home pages
Category pages
Detail pages
Forms
Checkout processes
Packed with helpful examples from a wide variety of sites!

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press (October 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321489829
• ISBN-13: 978-0321489821
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,755 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to Consume Web Strategy Knowledge, April 29, 2008

By	Kayden Kelly "Blast Advanced Media" (Roseville, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Did you like "Don't Make Me Think?" If so, this is a must-have addition to your core web strategy, design, and marketing knowledge library.

Who wrote this book and why does it matter?
Luckily, I had the opportunity to see the authors, Lance and Sandra, present at a recent web conference and I was blown away by their insight into lead generation and how effectively they could communicate it.

Lance and Sandra are well respected thought leaders in the web industry who speak regularly at conferences and have now delivered a practical guide to help business leaders, web marketers, web designers and everyone else understand the value of proper web design and how to improve a web site to achieve an impressive ROI.

What is the best thing about this book?
I greatly appreciated the investment they made in the elegant organization and design of this book since it makes it so easy to consume. Most books try to do too much and over complicate the information they are looking to pass on to others. When I came across this book I greatly appreciated that I could quickly absorb it and then easily refer back to key information when needed.

Why do you need this book?
The design guidelines Lance and Sandra provide will help you optimize your website conversion to deliver a clear ROI and, more importantly in our case, they help you better understand and communicate the business case for doing so.

We have a great library of web design, strategy and marketing books but only "Don't Make Me Think" and "Web Design for ROI" are used all the time as quick reference books when we want to help a client understand why we are making the decisions we are or to help remind us what the proper way to approach web design is from a usability and conversion stand point.

Who do we recommend this book for?
Anyone who has any influence on web design whatsoever even if it is just approving the budget.

If you work for a web design agency, we highly recommend sending this book to your clients so they better understand the value of experienced web designers and the direct potential it has to drive revenues when done following the guidelines in this book. Also, get a copy (like we did) for everyone on your web design/development team so they will understand key web design principles and how they help you focus on and exceed your clients' business goals.

Lance and Sandra, thanks for the great book of web knowledge and please write more books on web design, strategy, and marketing topics!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You MUST absolutely read this one if you want to build an ecommerce site or if you are having one built for you!, April 5, 2008

By	F. Shayan (West Palm Beach, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this wonderful book so that I know what to ask for when I have a site built for me. However, after finishing the book, I think that I must design the whole site myself since I want each and every page to incorporate and comply with all the advice of this book. The book will not take long to read; about four to five nights with pauses to think and look at examples. It will really open your eyes to a great deal of what at first feels like common sense stuff, yet you come to realize that you would have made all the mistakes possible and your conversion rates would have seriously suffered without the benefit of its advice. The book is not just for ecommerce. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about their conversion rate, whatever form their conversion might take. Thank you Lance and Sandra and please please please do not stop here. I will read anything else you will ever write. [e-mail]

31 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very light on content - a lot of screenshots, February 7, 2008

By	J. Myers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't agree with many of the other reviews written here. Everyone keeps mentioning how strategic this book is. I found it to be very tactical. It dissects a lot of specific landing pages and recommends fixes for them, but most of the advice does not necessarily apply in general. You are often told what to do, but not whay you should do it. There is not nearly enough information on background principles.

The book is very pretty. But given that there are only 187 pages, and there are a ton of screenshots and wide page margins, there is not a lot of substance. The so-called "Chapter 10" is a bunch of book covers and other recommended reading.

I expected a lot more.