Do Good Design

Make it easy for people to do business with you and they will. Or to put it another way: cater to the newbie, the beginner, maybe even the dunce.

I write today primarily to the spinners, dyers, weavers and other fibre craftspeople trying to make a living from what you do, but really, it applies to anyone with a website trying to get people to do something:

Remember that most folks don’t know your work the way you do and make things easy for them.

The easier you make it for people, the better your sales

The way to make things easy for people is to remember the newbies coming to you, the people who are just starting out in your field.

Make it simple for them to understand what you do and how to buy from you, and you gain a customer for life. That’s good design, the difference between undying loyalty from your customers and crappy sales.

Think like a beginner

Next time you’re writing your sales description of say, your yarn, pretend you’re selling to someone who knows nothing about what you do.

Cast your mind back to when you first started. What questions did you have? What frustrations? What would have helped you to know?

If you spin and dye your own yarn, don’t just show a picture of your yarn, show pictures of what it looks like knitted up so people get a sense what their garment will be like.

Like Northstaralpacas does for the yarn she dyes, spins and then sells on Etsy.

I actually bought this yarn only because I saw the knitted swatch and liked it so much. I wouldn’t have bought the yarn otherwise, but with a bit knitted up, I got a much better idea of what it would look like and loved it.

Now I’m a loyal customer.

Think global. Skip the jargon.

Remember your audience is often international. Use US and UK terms for your yarn: “chunky” AND “bulky”, “US7″ AND “4mm needles”.

Don’t use acronyms.

A few yarn folks I looked at used terms like “OOAK” to describe their yarn. Or even “BFL”. Hey, I’m new — I don’t know what these things mean, help me out (”one of a kind” and “Blue-faced Leicester”, in case you’re unsure).

I know, it’s hard to remember these things. I do it myself when it comes to websites. I talk about “usability” and “information architecture”, and I can just see the glazed look coming over people’s faces.

But I work really hard in these articles to think about you, the reader. I try to imagine how what I’m writing can benefit you, then give examples to help communicate my ideas.

Be a mentor

Become an advocate for these new-to-the-fold folks. Think how you can help them through the pictures you use, the words you write.

The nightmare that is the Baby Surprise Jacket

I felt like someone with a learning disability today. After spending hours trying to decipher Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Jacket pattern, I finally burst into tears, humiliated (there’s a bit from it on the right).

I felt stupid for not understanding the instructions and very, very frustrated (that’s why I’m writing this article, after all).

I can only surmise that there are people out there for whom the pattern is clear, or at least not a problem.

But as someone who only just started knitting, I need things made very simple: blindingly, obviously clear.

I need every single row explained. No, really.

[update: Mercifully, Angela from Red Corset Designs has rewritten the Baby Surprise Jacket pattern row by row so the Rest of Us can understand it.]

Do that, and I’m your biggest fan.

Now this pattern has legions of fans, so perhaps they feel there’s no need to make it easier, but why miss a chance to reach more people?

Doing it right: Ravelry.com

Now for someone who does it right. As a web designer, I’m hugely impressed by Ravelry.com. As a new knitter, I’m ridiculously grateful.

Ravelry is a community website for knitters and crocheters.

It’s tremendously popular and rightly so — the owners have clearly spent a lot of time thinking about the people who come to the site and how they can serve their audience’s needs.

As one of their audience, I feel supported and understood. It’s easy for me to get around the site and do the things I want to do on it.

So I feel a loyalty to the website and its community because it’s proved to me that it “cares” about me.

In capitalist terms, that means I’m much more likely to look for people in the community to work with and buy from. I’d even pay for the website.

Easy to use, easy to buy

So spare a thought and more for us newbies next time. Make it easy to buy from you, and we will.

It’s as simple as that.