How can marketers and advertisers gain the benefits of artificial intelligence and machine-learning while avoiding the pitfalls? By finding the right balance between the explore vs. exploit dynamic. Find out what that means. Read the full article at MarketingProfs
When I started in the web development industry, media queries were limited — screen and print were the two media queries I was most often using. More than a decade later, media queries have advanced to various screen units, feature checking, and even color scheme preference. I’ve been so happy to see CSS evolve beyond incredibly generic settings.
One of the CSS media queries I’ve recently discovered is prefers-reduced-motion, a media query for users sensitive to excessive motion.
Let’s use prefers-reduced-motion to show motion to all users but none to sensitive users:
.animation
animation: vibrate 0.2s;
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)
.animation
animation: none;
The example above illustrates how we can cater to sensitive users by not animating elements for those who have said they don’t want them.
It’s amazing how media queries like this can really show users that you care. Sure, we love the fancy razzle-dazzle but not everyone can handle that motion.
The post CSS prefers-reduced-motion Media Query appeared first on David Walsh Blog.
As marketers, we love to use fancy words to describe the things we do (and we also like to change ‘em up a lot). Content isn’t long-lasting, it’s evergreen. You don’t need a marketing funnel, you need a flywheel. And don’t even get us started on growth hacking.
But as buzzwords come and go, you’re likely to come across an outdated or unusual phrase like “squeeze pages” for the first time and wonder—hey, what the heck does that even mean?
It doesn’t help that everyone seems to have their own definition of what a squeeze page actually is. Some people say it’s a type of landing page. Others say it’s an overlay, like a popup or splash page.
Well, we’re here to set the record straight.
A squeeze page is a type of landing page marketers use to collect just email addresses from visitors. You persuade or “squeeze” visitors to provide this info by presenting a special offer, gating valuable content, or restricting access in some way.
Squeeze pages are usually quite short, but they almost always include:
And the thing is, squeeze pages sound like they’re a lot more annoying than they actually are. (Nobody wants to be squeezed … that just sounds uncomfortable.) You shouldn’t coerce visitors into doing anything they don’t want to do—the best squeeze pages offer up something really valuable in exchange for that email address. It’s a worthwhile, non-spammy trade.
More like a gentle hug than a squeeze, actually. (But I guess a “gentle hug page” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?)
Editor’s Note: While they can also capture first names and emails, popups and sticky bars aren’t technically squeeze pages. The difference is that you direct traffic specifically to squeeze pages for lead generation, whereas popups and sticky bars typically convert traffic that’s already going to a website page for another reason.
A squeeze page is a type of landing page—one that is specifically designed to capture visitor email addresses (versus other types of information). So this comparison isn’t so much like apples and oranges … it’s more like comparing apples to a very specific type of apple.
Both landing pages and squeeze pages pack everything you need onto a single page. They’re both great for targeted campaigns when you’re trying to get visitors to take a certain action. And they both usually only have one main CTA, so you can easily track conversions.
That being said, there are a few key differences between landing pages and squeeze pages:
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| Landing Pages | Squeeze Pages |
| May contain multiple form fields, to gather as much info as possible from leads | Contain only one or two form fields: name and email address |
| Vary in length | Often much shorter and to-the-point |
| Can be click-through (via a button) | Always contain at least two form fields (for lead generation) |
| Often feature elaborate graphics, details, and social proof | Often feature the bare minimum to keep visitors from overthinking |
| Can be used at any point in the buyer journey | Typically used near the start of the buyer journey |
| May receive traffic from multiple sources, including email | Typically do not receive traffic from email sources |
Editor’s Note: Despite their differences, you can easily build both landing pages and squeeze pages using the drag-and-drop Unbounce Builder. Check out some high-converting templates to get started on yours today.
For this, the first thing you need to do is create a great lead magnet. After all, you’re asking somebody to give up their email address—one of the most important and private pieces of contact information they have. You better be able to offer up somethin’ real good to them in exchange.
Here are some of the most common lead magnets marketers use to attract leads on squeeze pages:
Editor’s Note: Looking for something a bit more outside-the-box for lead gen? Be sure to check out our other article, 10 Creative Lead Gen Examples Sources from Marketing Legends.
Here’s an example of a classic squeeze page, courtesy of the fine SaaS marketers over at Officevibe. In this case, they’re using an Unbounce-built squeeze page to capture email addresses in exchange for a free ebook on leadership.
A page like this has just enough content to get visitors interested in the ebook, and no distractions for them to click away. They smartly call out the main benefit of the ebook right in the headline (“learn how to be a good leader”), and highlight the three big topics covered in the guide for people who are still on the fence. They can experiment with this amount of copy to see how it converts and try variants to see if more copy really does equal more downloads.
But just because the goal of the page is simple doesn’t mean you can’t personalize it for your customers. Officevibe carries over its signature illustrative style to bring forward some of their playful brand personality.
The result? This squeeze page has a conversion rate of over 35%.
Oh, and one other thing: notice the disclaimer underneath the download button? “By clicking, you consent to receive culture and engagement communications from Officevibe.” This isn’t just there as a legal requirement—it’s also a smart way to set expectations for visitors. Now, they won’t be surprised when your follow-up emails start showing up in their inbox.
Looking to take a different approach? You could always try something more like what Healthy Spot has done here. Rather than gate their free coupon behind an email form, they’ve made the coupon readily available at the top of the page for visitors—no strings attached.
The optional squeeze comes after the fact, with a simple one-field email form to sign up for their newsletter.
What’s clever about this approach is that Healthy Spot has already demonstrated the value they provide with the coupon. When visitors see the form right underneath, it makes them wonder what other dog haircut deals they might unlock by signing up.
There’s nothing wrong with a quick squeeze, but sometimes adding a little length to your page can make it even more persuasive. Check out this example from Bariatric Eating, promoting their “Ultimate WLS Thanksgiving ebook.” It’s converting at a rate of over 41%!
This beautiful example is full of recipes, coupons, and tips for bariatric eaters around the turkey holiday. But whereas most other squeeze pages would end here, you can actually scroll down to discover a whole second half to this page.
What’s great about this approach is how everything you need is packed in above the fold, but then expanded on underneath. The recipe section is sure to tempt hungry visitors into giving up their email address (that cranberry sauce sounds mighty tasty), while the “About the Author” section builds more credibility.
And of course, the page keeps squeezing you towards the free ebook, right up until the end.
Now, here’s a squeeze page that looks completely different from all the other examples we’ve featured so far.
To help promote their “Wellness Collection” of herbal teas, the team over at Herbaly created this powerful lead generation quiz. The goal is to help visitors self-identify whether they might be at risk of diabetes through a series of dietary, fitness, and health-related questions.
Not only does this interactive squeeze page line up perfectly with the Herbaly target audience, but it also converts at a fantastic rate of over 40%. By the time visitors get to the end of the 13 questions, they’re primed and ready to give up their email address in exchange for the results.
If your squeeze page is successful, you’ll soon have a ton of new email addresses. These are leads that have expressed some interest in a topic related to your business, so it’s in your best interest to follow up with them ASAP.
Here are some steps you’ll want to take after your page is finished squeezing:
Squeeze pages typically see some of the highest conversion rates out of all the different types of landing pages. Visitors have already expressed their interest by clicking on the page—so really, you just want to make it as easy and seamless as possible for them to enter their email address and get what they came for.
And while “squeeze page” might be an uncommon phrase these days, marketers still love to use them for lead generation campaigns. They’re powerful because they’re so easy to create and duplicate, which means you can spend more time testing different elements on them, figuring out what works for your audience, and optimizing them for conversions.
In this case, the juice really is worth the squeeze.
Keeping up with the latest design trends is a challenge. It’s always been that way. But these days, changes come more frequently. This is thanks to the rapid pace of digital design technological advancements.
If it weren’t for the tools that allow us to keep pace, it would probably be a hopeless situation. The problem is, you still have to find those tools. The fact that they’re constantly flooding the market doesn’t make it easy. Most web designers don’t have the time or inclination to test out every new tool that appears over the horizon.
We’ve found 15 we consider the tops in their respective classes, and we’d like to share our findings with you. One or two of these top tools and resources should help you keep pace. You can also deliver better products than you ever thought possible.
We’ll start with:
1. Elementor
Elementor is the industry’s best website builder. Simple, Powerful & Flexible. Now you can customize every detail without code. With over 2 million active installs and over 4,500 5-star reviews on WordPress, it is by far the most popular page editor out there. What Elementor does for you is to give you a solid website-building foundation on which you can create virtually anything, and do so without complications, limitations, or constraints thanks to its super-clean code.
Elementor works with any theme and with any plugin. As such it gives you virtually unlimited design flexibility. It won’t slow down your site – a characteristic of all too many page builders. And, it’s powerful drag and drop editor enables you to quickly create pages and websites without ever having to resort to code.
You can dig into Elementor’s library of super useful widgets to build pages from scratch, or if you prefer, start with one of the 100+ pre-designed Elementor templates.
You’ll find a few nice surprises as well; like the Pop Up Builder, the Advanced Forms feature, and Scroll and Hover animations.
In short, with Elementor you can create pages and websites easily and in ways you never could before.
There are many software applications you can use for creating invoices, but few if any do as much of the work for you as AND CO from Fiverr. AND CO creates invoices for you automatically based on your project terms, contracts, and time tracking—all of which are available in the one app.
AND CO’s invoicing feature integrates perfectly with your project management workflow, enabling it to automatically create invoices when a project is completed or a milestone has been reached.
You’ll be alerted when clients view your invoices and when they’re paid, or when the system thinks it’s time for you to invoice again. Plus, you can set up an online ‘PayMe’ page to allow clients to pay you via credit card, ACH, and PayPal, and deposit the payments into your bank account. You can also set up recurring invoices so that clients who are on a subscription plan have their credit card charged automatically on a recurring basis.
AND CO is an invoicing software that lets you spend less time on invoicing and more time on doing the work you love.
3. Houzez
Its ease of use and wealth of popular features has made Houzez is a long-time favorite with realtors and real estate agencies. Features like listings options, advanced property search capabilities, and a property management system have given its users virtually anything and everything needed to go about their business.
Not quite ready to rest on their laurels, the Houzez team has added a host of new features making this specialty theme more powerful and flexible than ever. In addition to giving users the ability to display property listings in different formats, the listings can now be sorted and displayed in a variety of ways, and extra emphasis can be given to the presentation of featured listings.
Luxury home showings can also be scheduled, custom search fields can be added with the new Customs Fields Builder, different currencies can be used, and an Energy Class designation field has been added for EU properties.
4. TheGem – Creative Multi-Purpose High-Performance WordPress Theme
TheGem has been featured on ThemeForest for a variety of reasons. In the opinion of many of its customers, and of Envato, this incredible website-building toolbox features the most beautiful and creative designs on the market. Page load and speed times are especially impressive, TheGem is 100% flexible, 100% easy to use, and provides 100% customer satisfaction.
When compared against the other premium themes, TheGems 5-star rating tops them all.
5. Amelia
Amelia provides service businesses love; especially those that rely heavily on booking appointments for their clients and customers. Amelia automates the entire process. Customers can make appointments 24/7. Amelia will match the appointments
with employee availability, manage cancellations or changes, and collect payments online.
This award-winning tool with its 4.8+star user rating creates happier clients and customers and allows businesses to use the time saved on other pursuits.
6. Uncode
With Uncode in your design toolbox it will take but a few short hours to build a breathtaking portfolio. All the functionality you need is there, and there’s no need for coding. Uncode’s showcase of user-created sites gives visual proof of what you will be able to accomplish.
This powerful, user-friendly theme is one of ThemeForest’s all-time best sellers having realized more than 50,000 sales to date.
7. Round Icons Bundle – 38,000 icons and illustrations
Purchase the Roundicon’s Bundle, and you’ll never have to search for a special icons or illustration again. For a one-time fee you can download the entire bundle consisting of more than 38,000 premium, royalty-free icons and illustrations, and add more as they are released.
The bundle comes with a commercial use license, and you can currently purchase it at a discount when you use coupon code “GETBIG”.
8. Logic Hop – Personalized Marketing for WordPress
The ability to serve targeted content to different audiences will flat-out improve your sales and marketing results; and that’s precisely what Logic Hop will enable you to do. Logic Hop makes personalizing your messages possible based on display ad and pay-per-click results, social media posts, geolocation, and actions visitors take on your site.
Install Logic Hop, and don’t be surprised if you’re soon enjoying a 200% increase in conversions.
9. Mobirise
Mobirise is an offline builder, so you have total control over building your site. It’s drag and drop only, making it easy to use. Its mobile friendly and lightning-fast thanks to Google AMP or Bootstrap 4. And, it’s free.
Mobirise comes with a large assortment of trendy and beautiful website blocks, templates, icons, and fonts. Over 1.5 million sites have been created using this website builder.
10. wpDataTables
This premier table and chart building plugin is easily the best in its class. wpDataTables can do more, with more data, and do it quicker than any other tool of its type on the market.
wpDataTables’ all-in-one platform for presenting website visitors with interactive tables and charts based on huge volumes of complex data has been put into practice by more than 21,000 active users who have rewarded it with a 4.7 average rating.
11. Savah App
With this all-in-one advanced prototyping, team collaboration, and workflow tool at your fingertips you can create perfect look and feel prototypes for user testing, prototypes for feedback at any stage of the project, or combine rapid prototyping with Savah App’s built-in design workflow and approval system to speed your project along.
Savah App’s visual feedback and collaboration features also points you in the direction of getting the best possible results when the project winds down. Check out the paid plans and discounts.
12. HelpJet
Not only have you had to answer the same question for the zillionth time, but each time your customer has had to wait for your answer. HelpJet takes care of the problem by giving you a tool to create a knowledge base your customers can access for instant answers to the most common questions – or any question/answer you feel would be an appropriate addition.
You’ll gain more satisfied customers while keeping the size of your customer support team small.
13. Goodie
Goodie is a platform that connects an end-user with a web developer, thereby avoiding costly middlemen and go-betweens. All that’s required of you is to provide the Goodie team with your design. They’ll get right to work coding your website and give you the exact estimation of your price.
This is the perfect approach or owners of small businesses, web designers, and anyone in need of a carefully and cleanly coded website.
The 8b Website Builder is brand new (January launch), futuristic with a super-simple cool UI, and portable. You can create websites with it on your desktop at work or home or on a tablet or phone while on the go.
Thanks to Bootstrap4 or Google Amp your site will be crazy-fast, mobile friendly, and just a click away from a Google listing. Since 8b does not have a paid plan in place yet, this is your opportunity to try it out free of charge.
15. WhatFontIs.com
Plowing through 550,000 fonts trying to find one you really want to use, but you don’t know what it’s called, is something you won’t want to do. With WhatFontIs, you can put AI to work for you. Just submit an image of your newly-discovered font and you’ll get an answer in seconds.
If it isn’t in the database (extremely unlikely), WhatFontIs will provide one or more candidates that are as close as possible to the real thing.
Conclusion
You most likely won’t need all 15 of these top tools and resources. Just one might make your day. With more, you could find yourself graduating from creating websites that are award-winners. You can create websites that are fantastic that “awesome” would be an understatement.
Or, you might simply be delighted to own a tool or resource that makes life a little easier for you.
Professional Web Icons for Your Websites and Applications
2019-08-05T14:00:00+02:00
2019-08-06T03:35:59+00:00
Customer loyalty is a critical component in the success of any business. In some cases, loyalty can be earned by providing a high-quality service and dedicated support. In other cases, customers expect more from a business than just the products or services they put before them.
So, don’t be surprised when clients ask you to design a loyalty app for them.
Loyalty programs are a great way to dish out rewards to the most loyal base of customers while also giving them a reason to stay engaged with a brand. This isn’t superficial engagement like views or clicks either. If the rewards are valuable enough, customers will stay committed to a business for longer (even when faced with a negative experience) and also spend more money than one-time customers.
There’s a lot of value in creating a loyalty program. Now, it’s up to you to determine the best way to design it for your clients:
Should it be a PWA or mobile app?
Using the 2018 Loyalty Program Consumer Survey from CodeBroker, let’s shed some light on why mobile is where you need to design your clients’ loyalty apps.
To start, there are a number of businesses that would benefit from loyalty programs. For example:
With many of these options, there’s an in-person component at play, which is why it’s important to give users access to their loyalty program and rewards on mobile.
But be careful. Of the top concerns expressed by CodeBroker’s survey respondents, 54% said it was too difficult to access rewards information from their mobile devices.
What’s more, many consumers were frustrated with having to install a mobile app in order to get rewards updates. And, yet, 75% indicated they’d be more likely to sign up for a rewards program if it were convenient to use from their mobile device.
Now, the main gripe from this report is that consumers want communications about rewards points and other program details sent via text and email. They don’t want to have to log into a mobile app to get them.
It’s a valid argument to make. If a brand were proactive in emailing Jane Doe to say, “Hey! You have 2,500 points to use by the end of the month!”, that would be a much better experience than Jane Doe having to take the initiative to check on her points standing.
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True customer loyalty comes about when brands can anticipate their customers’ needs and provide a more personalized, fast and convenient experience.
Which is why we have to look beyond mobile communications and look at how to actually design the program’s experience for mobile.
While mobile apps and PWAs can both provide a good experience, consumers have already expressed a disinterest in installing mobile apps to manage their loyalty programs. That said, I don’t think it’s fair to throw native mobile apps out of the race solely based on that feedback. If you make a mobile app worthwhile, consumers will use it.
Plus, PWAs can work offline… but will only display cached content. Which means that customers who want to use their loyalty app to place orders on the go, pay in store from their app or do something else when they’re out of service range won’t be able to do so with a PWA.
That’s why I’m going to argue that you should design your loyalty program as a PWA only if there’s no in-person counterpart. So, basically, e-commerce companies can skip the mobile app. Those in the credit card space might be able to get away with it, too, though security will need to be extra tight.
Everyone else, will need to build a mobile app. And, based on what I’m seeing, you should create a matching PWA, too.
For example, this is the Starbucks rewards app as a PWA:
And this is the Starbucks loyalty program as a mobile app:
There are a number of discrepancies between the two, but, for the most part, it’s an identical experience. I’d even argue that the PWA looks a lot cleaner and more welcoming to users. However, the mobile app is necessary for customers that want to order while they’re on the road or to pay from their phone at the counter or drive-through.
With that out of the way, I’d like to quickly review some strategies for designing loyalty program apps for your mobile users. I’ll use both PWAs and native apps in these examples, just so you can see that there isn’t a whole lot of difference in how you design them:
Unlike something like an email subscription form or a free SaaS signup, you should be collecting more than just a username and password from your users. And they should be happy to give it to you.
It’s up to you to decide where and when it’s best to ask for this information though:
Do you want to ask for it on the login screen? Or do you want them to provide personal details and preferences later on?
Let’s look at how The North Face’s VIPeak program handles it:
This signup screen asks for four things:
It’s a couple extra fields to fill in, but I don’t think many customers will take issue with it. Plus, signing up doesn’t just let them start collecting rewards immediately. They automatically get 10% off their first purchase from the website.
Now, what I like about how this one is handled is that users aren’t pestered with extra questions at signup. Instead, they have the ability to customize what sort of promotions they receive at a time when it’s more convenient for them.
This is just one way to make the signup process go more smoothly on mobile. You can use this post-signup customization for more than just email preferences, too. You can plant a number of additional fields or questions in their account settings.
For instance, you could ask for their mailing address if the loyalty app also does order-and-delivery services. Or if you want to go old school with your marketing and send them a mailer.
You could also ask for their birthday. This would work in your favor two-fold. First, a birthday discount or free gift offer is a great way to re-engage a user who’s potentially lost interest or forgotten about the brand. Plus, everyone loves a birthday gift, so that “free” bonus would be useful in holding onto their loyalty.
There’s a reason why the CodeBroker report focuses heavily on the points aspect of loyalty programs.
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So, when you design your loyalty PWA or mobile app, don’t be coy with that data. Put it front and center.
This is the Chick-fil-A One app:
As you can see, the main focus in the “Rewards” tab is on how many points are available to redeem.
This is a good idea for two reasons:
Either way, the prioritization of points available gives them a reason to re-engage and spend.
Plus, it’s really easy to redeem available points.
If users click the “Redeem my points” button under their points counter or they click on the “Redeem” tab at the top, they’ll be taken to this page:
Items that are unavailable (based on the user’s point total) will be greyed out. The ones they do have enough points to spend on will appear in full color.
It’s a smart design strategy as it simplifies the redemption process while also motivating users to open their wallets and spent a little more to get the items they can’t afford with points just yet.
Feature comparison tables aren’t just a great way to upsell product tiers to customers. You can use them to communicate the value of spending more money through a loyalty program.
Sephora’s Beauty Insider program uses this technique:
First, it simply explains that users earn 1 point for every $1.00 spent. But the comparison table below reveals that there’s more to the program than that:
As Beauty Insider members reach certain spending tiers, even more benefits become available. For instance, after they’ve spent their first $350, they’ll start getting 1.25 points for every $1.00 spent. New rewards become available, too, like full-size beauty product samples and celebration gifts.
If you want to motivate users to install your loyalty app and keep spending money through it, clearly show them what they’re missing.
The whole point in creating a loyalty program is to retain a customer’s business for the long run. To do that, you have to find ways to make them buy again and again.
Now, a lot of that rests on your client’s shoulders as they’re the ones who will shape the offers that entice them back to the app. However, you have a part to play as well.
Let’s use World of Hyatt to demonstrate how you might do this.
This is Hyatt Hotels’ loyalty program app. Users can view points accumulation, manage account preferences and book new hotel stays.
Users can also quickly rebook previous reservations:
And if that isn’t helpful enough, users can set custom room preferences from their account settings:
This way, the World of Hyatt app won’t waste their time showing rooms that don’t fit their ideal specifications as they try to book something new.
While the simplification of preferences and setting up repeat or recurring purchases will look differently from app to app, it’s an important feature to build in whenever you can. If you can show your users that you understand how tedious it is to enter the same details every time or to repeat a process even though nothing has changed, they’ll be more likely to return.
There’s one other thing I want to add here and it’s this:
When your client asks you to build a loyalty app, make sure it’s the right thing to do. Because if their business is new and they have absolutely no brand name recognition or long-term trust to leverage, it might be difficult to get people to subscribe to the program. No matter how beautifully you design the app experience.
And because loyalty members want access to their rewards on mobile, that’s going to leave you with two costlier choices than a website.
It might be best to explain the risks of creating a loyalty program without a huge demand for one. And, instead, recommend creating on-site promotions and offers they can share through email to start.
Then, when they’re ready, you can sit down with them and explain how a PWA or mobile app loyalty program will help them attract a better quality of customer and hold onto them for longer.
