Folio: Plus

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Jan, 2002 by Bob Moseley

Develop an Online Style Guide

Most magazines have editorial stylebooks, but what about an online styleguide? It will alleviate confusion and bring consistency to your Web site. Along with editorial guidelines, an online styleguide sets standards for such components as navigational bars, color palates, column widths and the number of clicks allowable to access different links. Says Richard Cross, president of Cross World Network, which includes Web content management in its consulting duties, "Styleguides are an absolute necessity. I know people who have suffered for a long time without them. Then when they do get one, it opens up a whole new world." Not only are styleguides valuable tools for new Web employees, they reduce miscommunication between the technical people and the editorial people. says Cross. Improved communication between the two departments means friction is reduced and counterproductive efforts avoided. With an online styleguide, says Cross, "instead of arguing over content, you're arguing over the standards." When devisin g the styleguide, keep two questions in mind: Who is your online audience? What are you trying to do with your Web site? Cross points out that when print editors and new media people get together there can be a power struggle. But, Cross cautions, "Designers and IT can't rule in this medium." Therefore, he suggests hiring a Web czar who would be parallel to a publisher in authority. And follow the styleguide. That helps eliminate arguments before they begin.

Test the Usability of Your Web Site

What seems clear to you on your Web site may not be obvious to someone else. And with the wide range of choices available to Net users today, surfers will be quick to seek another experience if your Web site is confusing or difficult to navigate. That's why usability testing should be conducted from time to time. Pat McParland, vice president of product development and support for IndustryClick, recommends testing people in person with the "think-out-loud" method of research. A user is typically asked to perform five tasks on the site, such as subscribing to a magazine or accessing a link. Trends are then noted. "The focus is on what they're doing, not what they're saying," said McParland at a recent MPA seminar titled "Managing Web Content." Some Web masters may argue that market research and surveys are enough, but McParland said they're not: "Surveys and focus groups are about what somebody tells you; they don't show you what people actually do, like usability testing." The big difference is that sometimes users may say they know how to navigate a site-but when tested, they can't do it smoothly. Plus, "In focus groups the loudest person often takes over and makes the most comments," McParland said. "You get a group dynamic going, which is good, but not what you get one-on-one." Usability testing doesn't have to be difficult or expensive, either. "Usability studies show that you get to 85 percent of your problems in about five people," McParland said. The best approach is to test people who are representative of the type of audience you are seeking, but in a pinch you can test people from your own company, although that's not as effective, he said. Or, you could pull people off the floor at your trade show and ask them for 10 minutes of their time to perform a single online task. For in-depth testing, McParland said she typically pays users $150 for an hour of their time. If you don't have the time to test or are totally relaunching a site, there are many usability consultants in the industry. McParland suggest ed accessing usableweb.com for a directory of resources.

Beware of Red Flags When Negotiating Online Partnerships

Internet partnerships that don't live up to expectations not only waste time and money, but also taint your magazine's reputation. Andrew Smith, founder and president of DietSmart, an online health portal, says there are some red flags publishers should look out for when negotiating partnerships with online companies. (1) Vagueness about the nature of their traffic: "If an Internet company is unwilling to talk about its audience and what's going on at its sites, be suspicious," says Smith. "Very often you'll find the traffic is highly concentrated in a couple of narrow areas within their site, like community message boards, that are of less value to advertisers and partners than the content areas." (2) No performance guarantees: "When a company can't guarantee some level back to you-financial or traffic-be suspicious," says Smith. "The largest companies-the Yahoos, America Onlines and Amazons-have enough leverage that they can resist making guarantees, but almost everyone else, given what's going on in capita l markets and the softness of Internet advertising today, will be flexible in a way that they haven't been in the last couple of years." (3) No chance for renegotiation: "I don't buy the idea that partnerships last five years," Smith says. "A lot happens in six months. When a company resists talking to you about renegotiations, that's a major red flag." (4) Overemphasis on brand: "This is probably a way of avoiding a discussion about return on investment, of avoiding the harder issues of getting your interests truly aligned." (5) A disparate privacy policy: Privacy policies must be similar because shared e-mail addresses is one of the properties being bartered. Says Smith, "We had a chance recently to buy a database of three million names for very little money, so we checked into it to see why it was so cheap. It was because they had no privacy policy."