I have this issue (go figure) with how we display our contact information on business cards, specifically the web and email addresses. In a nutshell, I don’t understand why, if your email address is using your web address, why we are writing them both out.

This issue comes up whenever I’m designing a business card layout. There are already millions of domain names out there, and they seem to be getting longer. So where you were once able to have “joescars.com”, now you probably have to have “joesdiscountautomobiles.com” or something equally as cumbersome. So now you want to put both your web and email addresses on your business card, which takes up way too much space and ends up looking like someone vomited the alphabet all over your little 2 x 3.5 inch billboard:

joesmith@joesdiscountautomobiles.com
joesdiscountautomobiles.com

Why both? Here’s what I propose. If your email address is using your domain, display them on your business card like this:

joesmith@
joesdiscountautomobiles.com

Yes, this does ask people to actually take a couple of seconds to comprehend what they are looking at, but I don’t think that’s too much to ask. I don’t think looking back when you go through a door to see if someone is behind you is too much to ask either, but I’ll pick my battles.

This way of displaying your web and email addresses is cleaner, allows for more white space on cards, and is easy to understand. Let me know if you agree, and if you adopt this convention, please send me a card.

We seem to have found our collective stride in small business web sites. Information is still key, with getting said info to the user as the main goal (which leads to contacts, which leads to relationships, which leads to sales). Thankfully, small businesses are following standards, which makes development somewhat easier because people know a bit more about what to expect and how to prepare.

But of course, I’m never happy.

So what I’m wondering is when are everyday businesses going to branch out with the design of their web sites? At what point are they going to start pushing the envelope and create something that’s off the beaten path?

One of our most recent clients, 15th Street Studio, decided to take a different direction with the design of their framing/gallery studio site (www.15thstreetstudio.com). They wanted to go for a theme with more impact than the usual small business site. They were looking for a web site that showed their experience, the caliber of their service, as well as the care they were going to take with their clients’ artwork, without having to actually come out and say it. In that vein, they also wanted to forgo traditional content, instead going with testimonials and quotes from their clients to speak for them. So in the end, we worked together to come up with a design that centered on professionally-taken images of their studio, equipment and staff, and incorporated their quotes. (We also created some more traditional, search engine friendly pages, but they are not the focus.)

Now the 15th Street Studio site isn’t wildly different. It still has navigation in the proper place, a contact page, etc., but it’s also not the usual, run of the mill small business web site. It has become more of an experience. When you are on the site, you get a feel for them, not just information about them. And so far, the site has served them well.

I know for some that trying something out of the ordinary is a difficult proposition, especially since it seems like everyone is so wildly concerned about showing up on Google, so most will never want to break the mold. But the thing is, different gets noticed, and different gets talked about (not to mention Google shouldn’t be the only thing you rely on to get your site out there). Yes, if you’re trying to impart information, it still needs to be user friendly, but information doesn’t just have to be words on a screen.

For many, perhaps including ourselves, I believe it’s time for something completely different.