ABtests.com is a website that displays how making subtle changes in the design a web page influences how visitors act on what is being offered (ie: conversion rates). The site has screen shot samples of Before and After designs with detailed explanations, conversion rate increase percentages and a summary they call “Results Hypothesis” where they explain what was changed and why they feel it increased the response rates. They even have popular categories like “Sign-Up pages” and “Home Page” so you can see example of what interests you.

The second site is bokardo. As their website states, bokardo provides “Interface Design & Consulting for Social Web Apps. We provide design, evaluation, & consulting services for today’s sophisticated social software.”

What I liked most about this site was they way they illustrate how the less is more strategy when applied correctly with good design greatly enhances the goals of the site. Lots of good case studies and white paper type info here. I have already signed up to receive their Social Design Newsletter (see, it worked!).

The third site is KISSmetrics.com. Their mission: “To give all online businesses (big and small) the tools and technology to measure what’s happening and tune their user’s experience.”

As of this posting their site tools were not yet available but their blog is worth checking out. Lots of good articles on website traffic reports, how to design a great form, and other valuable insights. Check out the KISSmetrics blog by clicking here.

Disqus, pronounced “discuss”, is a service and tool for web comments and discussions. The Disqus comment system can be plugged into any website, blog, or application. Disqus makes commenting easier and more interactive, while connecting websites and commenters across a thriving discussion community.

I was intrigued when visiting a blog site that had this system in place. My first reaction when going to post my comment was – wow, this is easy (to post a comment). No more threatening “you must log-in to post a comment”. Nice. I installed Disqus on my WordPress blog (version 2.8) without a problem so now visitors to my blog can have that “it’s easy to post a comment” feeling too

I also integrated my Disqus account with my Twitter, Facebook and of course my blog. Now I will be able to monitor my comments from all of the websites I post to from one source – Disqus. Cool, I love this stuff!

Social Media Bandwagon

Ok, I am jumping on the social media bandwagon. So far I have signed up with Facebook, Twitter, and Link-In. I also am a member (although not as active) of Naymz.

In researching this cyber community craze I found some great resources which I would like to share with you.

Here’s a great article written by Paula Drum, who for the past 3 years has been with the social media team at H&R Block. Read her top ten list for Social Media Marketers.

I would love to hear from you too. Share your best tip to help navigate the social media waters for business development. Post your comments!!