January 2019 Newsletter
**** The 4specs Perspective
My personal web design criteria remains as it was in 1996 - Put your 3-ring binder online and make it easy for the specifier and architect to use it.
I look at many specified product websites each month as part of the maintenance of 4specs. More and more of the websites visited appear to be focused on getting all the Google visitors they can attract and not focused on providing easy access to the information needed by the specifier or architect to evaluate their products. My assumption is that the web designer does not understand the design and specification process, does not know about MasterFormat numbers, and assumes all visitors are equal in value.
Google assumes that most users will be using smart phones and that Google provides better search results for all users. Here is one specifier's view of his computer monitors:
You can reread the rest of his blog article here (I previously linked to this page)
https://swconstructivethoughts.blogspot.com/2017/12/wayward-websites.html
Here is one article covering "Search Replaced the Home Page." Several quotes with emphasis added:
How many customers enter your digital world through the home page?
The home page, as have we come to know it over the last 15 years, is dead. Yes, every company still maintains the hub to its digital spokes as a home page.
I appreciate that "Getting Specified" is just one part of the design, marketing & sales process. So what can you do to better support the specification community?
There are several ways to maximize the number of Google visitors and fully supporting the specifier. The article below discusses microsites. Dedicate a microsite to the full-time architectural specifier - provide easy (logical to the specifier) access to the 3-part specs in Word, provide complete product data sheets and group your products by MasterFormat number. You can group products by broad scope (08-1000) or medium scope (08-1300) depending on the sections your products are in.I recommend a microsite or just a single page that is focused on supporting a specifier using your products with interior links to the key data already within your website. This page can be developed by your web designer or developed and hosted outside. You can link 4specs and other advertising places with a design focus to this page.
More on getting specified and web design requirements in future months.
Colin
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Colin Gilboy
Publisher - 4specs
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