Best Practices for Your Website: Classes by Linda Kolker

Classes

I have offered several non-credit workshops at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC), and also do in-house training. I teach many of the principles that I apply in my consulting work. The classes show attendees how to "do it yourself."Participants value having the opportunity to practice the skills I teach, and leave knowing how to apply best practices to their own web sites. The outcome a web site that provides a better experience, and improve user satisfaction. Visitors are more likely to

return to the site
become a customer or donor
learn to rely on the site for information they need, rather than calling customer service.

I'm offering a new class in December, 2010 that will show attendees what to look for when they ask others to review their web site and provide feedback. This class is part of the Chamber Business Academy, a program provided by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Find and Fix the Problems With Your Web Site: User Testing

If you’re not getting the results you want from your web site, there’s a quick and easy way to find out why. Just watch how someone uses your site. User testing is a secret ingredient of successful web sites. You can get reliable information with as few as 3-5 user tests, and you’ll do the first one in this workshop. This hands-on class will introduce you to user testing. You’ll team up with other participants, with guidance from your instructor. Team members will explore one another’s sites and comment on what they notice as they use the site. In this workshop you will get an introduction on how to:

Identify what to test, and create user tasks that will provide the information you need
Establish rapport and listen actively while someone uses your web site, without influencing what they tell you
Determine what to fix first

You’ll walk away with the results of one user test, and with basic skills that will enable you to do more testing on your own. You’ll have an idea of what needs to be fixed first (graphic redesign can often be avoided).You’ll also get a brief list of the best resources for do-it-yourself user tests.Instructor: Linda Kolker is an experienced marketing and web consultant who has taught many workshops. She is an expert on best practices for web sites and has conducted user testing.

Best Practices for Your Web Site

30 seconds. That’s how long you have before visitors to your website decide whether to stay or move on to your competitors. Learn how you can improve your site (without necessarily changing your graphic design), and turn visitors into customers. In the first meeting, we’ll look at sites that work, and ones that don’t. You’ll learn what to look for and how to assess your website. You’ll review a list of research-tested best practices for site structure, navigation, content and design. Before the second meeting, you’ll assess your own site using a checklist. In the second meeting, you’ll bring your completed checklist, discuss your findings, and develop a prioritized list of changes that will help your site produce the results you want.

Audience
Business owners and managers. Marketing, communications and web managers at organizations of any size. Back to top

Write More Powerful Web Site Copy

Turn your website visitors into customers with writing that drives interaction and response. You’ll learn how to

clearly communicate who you are and what sets you apart from competitors
distinguish features and benefits
create credible, hype-free messages
structure copy for search engine optimization
persuade readers to take action

In three sessions, you’ll review what works and what doesn’t work on the web, write copy for your website and review and discuss your work in class. The instructor will share tips from years of experience in direct response copywriting, marketing and web consulting.

Audience
Entrepreneurs, marketing managers, copywriters. Back to top

Contact me if you would like customized training in your organization.