Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. is the largest staff-based provider of civil legal services for low-income Wisconsin persons. They strive to provide justice for low-income people by providing free legal services. With such an important mission, Legal Action needed their website to direct and inform people of their mission and services.

Seeking Answers
Before approaching Legal Action’s redesign, it was crucial to evaluate the performance of their current website and determine objectives. To find in-depth answers, Starkmedia organized a series of interviews with Legal Action personnel as well as their clients. Through these dialogues, we were able to gain insight into the organization, understand navigation issues, decide what should be communicated, settle on the content placement, and discover the new direction of the website. Below are some of the questions asked:

• What are the goals for the website?

• Is the current website communicating to our target audience(s)?

• Is our mission communicated clearly on the website?

• Are clients effectively navigated to the contact information?

• Are we communicating the impact of our work?

• Does the website provide a resource for our audience?

• What impression does the website give of the organization?

Producing Results
After evaluating the feedback, we tackled the overload of information housed on the site by organizing the content and applying intuitive navigation that would lead the visitor to their content of  interest. The design was based on a desire to appear both inviting and professional. Additionally, by incorporating ‘Success Stories’ into the design, we were able to showcase the impact of Legal Action’s work. Through the redesign, we also added maps and tools that would give users the ability to easily discover the exact location of the nearest Legal Action office. Since Legal Action is a not-for-profit organization, we made a conscious effort to maintain a cost-effective budget throughout the design and programming. By supplying a custom content management system, we’ve given Legal Action the ability to manage the entire website’s content on their own, which provides them with a long-term, low cost solution. With all the pieces in place, Legal Action has a website that supports the greatness of their mission.

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Starkmedia has been a resident in Milwaukee’s Third Ward since 1996. The company originally began servicing Milwaukee’s film and printing needs, but when president and owner Ken Stark saw an opportunity in the web design industry in 1998, he changed the direction of the company and dove into digital productions. With a solid foundation in the print industry, the transition into web design was a natural fit.

Over the course of the past 12 years, Starkmedia has developed a full range of web development services. Our solutions include: application development, web development, interactive marketing, search marketing, and social media. It’s through these offerings that we provide the means to create a complete and successful web presence.

Looking to the future, we foresee new opportunities to grow and build upon our services as well as continuing to serve our current client’s needs. In celebration of our 12th year, take a look at some of the websites we designed in 2010:

• We have considerable experience in health care web design. This past year we worked with Meriter hospital to redesign their website.
• Legal Action’s redesigned was born this year and features custom content management system, ‘Success Stories’, and intuitive navigation.

In addition to our work with Non-Profits and Healthcare, take a look at our portfolio to see a few of the many websites we have developed over the past twelve years.

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The most common updates posted to one’s social network usually revolve around their own life and/or something they plan on doing. The hyper-usage and gross popularity of Facebook and Twitter also revolves around its users’ ability to write up to the second status updates. Foursquare has taken notice of Facebook and Twitter users’ slight narcissism and added features to make up-to-the-minute status updates easier, more compelling, rich, contextual, and locationally relevant. Below are some convincing reasons to latch onto Foursquare and the opportunities of this platform.

RELEVANCE.
The cornerstone of Foursquare is locational relevance, which is provided by using geolocation technology built into many modern cellphones. When a user is logged into Foursquare, businesses that are in the area and have a profile through Foursquare appear as the user enters their vicinity. By offering promotions to nearby users it substantially increases the relevance, and lowers the barriers to user participation, making them more likely to take advantage of the promotion, thus increasing your customer base.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE.
Are any of your competitors in the neighborhood? Offer an incentive on Foursquare to entice users into your place of business rather than theirs. In addition to adding an incentive, Foursquare also allows users to leave comments and tips about a business. This feedback is yet another way to attract the user to your business, as word-of-mouth remains a very strong marketing tool. After all, people are most likely to listen to the people they’ve already chosen to listen to.

POTENTIAL.
Since the platform is still developing, there is an immense opportunity for growth. Foursquare has opened their API to developers, which increases the potential for new features, increased relevancy and usefulness.

REFERRALS.
When a user checks into a location they have the option to post to Facebook, Twitter, or both. Posting a ‘check in’ to your social networks will broadcast a recommendation to your social-sphere. Research shows that individuals are more likely to visit a place of business that was recommended by a friend, making Foursquare an excellent outlet for referrals.

Using Foursquare is cost effective and (in most cases) free. The potential reward for a business far outweighs the time and capital commitment necessary to get started and stay up-to-date. Our recommendation is to start using the application for personal use, recognize the potential and then register your business and discover the opportunity.

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Facebook wants to make the web more social by allowing you to connect with your Facebook friends and see their recommendations while surfing other websites. Facebook is hoping other sites will implement the “like” button, which enables users to leave a trail of where they have been and what they recommend. Businesses are excited over the potential traffic that could be gained through this new feature, but that’s just the surface: this should also help highlight the interests of their customer base to allow for better targeted, more effective marketing.

Still Confused?
How you implement this feature is up to you. You can start small by adding a “like” button to the top of your blog that, when activated, will feed the visitor’s “likes” onto their friends’ news feeds and will also be stored in their preferences. OR you can dive in by not only inserting the button, but also by adding a widget that will allow the visitor to see other friends activities and likes.

Opinions and Information
CNN discusses the changes in detail.
Business Insider praises Facebook’s ambition, while considering future implications.
LikeButton allows you to explore the feature described above by giving you a sneak peek into what your friends have done online.

What to do?
If you are already involved in social media, keep it going! Continue maintaining interaction and building a base of friends. If social media brings bouts of anxiety, now is the time to reach for the Valium and begin getting social. Even if you are a firm believer in Facebook’s eventual demise, something else social will rise and take its place. See what people are saying about you and talk to others who have experimented with social media.

Enjoy the journey and BE CREATIVE!

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Located in the south-central region of Wisconsin, Meriter is one of the state’s largest community hospitals. Utilizing its size and wide variety of health services offered, Meriter’s focus continues to remain on delivering the highest quality health care to their patients. In 2010, Meriter launched their redesigned website – a testament to their commitment towards providing quality resources for the public.

The Basis for Redesign

The redesign was necessary in order to transition every aspect of business into Meriter’s new branding efforts.  Their continued growth was not evident in the current website, and updating and maintenance were difficult due to the amount of content acquired since the last design. In addition to content concerns, they also wanted to ensure customers were not lost amidst crowded pages and would be able connect with Meriter online.

Project Objectives:

• Create a content management system that enables frequent updating throughout multiples pages of the website
• Match print materials with web design to create continuity among marketing pieces
• Offer a simple and streamlined design that would lend itself to intuitive navigation
• Provide visibility on the home page for connecting with Meriter
• Incorporate a design and message that would appeal to the target audience

The Outcome

With many objectives to consider, work began on a content management system and design framework. Originally, the website was created statically and was designed in tables; therefore, restricting their capabilities. To conquer this issue, cascading style sheets were used to work in alignment with the custom CMS.  On the home page a designated area includes ways to connect with Meriter directly.   Additionally, Facebook and Twitter are highlighted to showcase different channels of communication.   When applying images and background, the target audience’s opinions came into consideration.  A serene background is used to complement the warm and friendly images throughout the site. All aspects of the site are based on the look-and-feel of Meriter’s marketing campaigns in order to present a consistent message.

The Response

“The new Meriter.com makes it easy for me to find what I’m looking for.”

“Great physician directory! Patients really like getting to know their doctor before they have an appointment. The physician videos are awesome, too!”

“I love the new look — it’s so warm and inviting.”

“The new site looks good and is easy to maneuver.”

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Google’s Internet dominance is looming as Google Buzz settles within the market. In my previous post, I share Google’s recent acquisitions which often lead to tools worth adopting. In the case of Buzz, they are jumping into an already hot market-the social web-and are providing evidence against the argument that social media is fleeting. The platforms may come and go, but the social experience is here to stay.

I have just begun to experience Google Buzz, but below I have collected some interesting perspectives on this newly released tool.

How Google Buzz could benefit business.

A short video on how Twitter is the driving force behind Buzz.

A downside to all the Buzz.

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