First note that I am not a web designer, but having worked with some of the best web and graphic designers in the world, I know a great looking (and functional) website when I see one. I tried to design a few websites between 1997-1999. Okay, I tried to design more than a few over a two year period, but never went beyond the basics. So over the last decade, instead of trying to be a web designer, I've spent my time focusing on what an aesthetically pleasing, user-friendly, sales-driven website should look like. Now on to the point of this post. As a former employee of ModernBill, I worked with or was introduced to thousands of web hosting companies. One in particular stood out. 

Click on the Eleven2 link and browse around for a minute. The site is simple, yet elegant and has a high quality feel to it. Personally, I think it's one of the best web hosting sites I have seen in a long time.

Best Qualities

1. Top Navigation Menu - You cannot get lost on the site. The navigation could not be any easier. The top navigation (Host, Resell, Dedicated, Develop, Help) make it very easy to find the service you want.

2. Sign Up Button - It's the big orange button to the right of the top navigation menu.
3. Rotating Highlights - The homepage features four rotating highlights about Eleven2, its products, services, and special features. It's in your face, but has such a great impact.
4. Bottom Navigation - Basically the bottom navigation is like a sitemap of the site. What you cannot find in the top navigation, you can certainly find it in the bottom navigation. Plus it's great for SEO.
5. Inside Content - The site's content is not saturated with unnecessary content. The information gets to the point quickly and gives you what you need to know about the product/service. Notice the two boxes on the right side of each page. The top box provides links to learn more about the featured product/service you are viewing. And the bottom box provides links to learn more about why you should use Eleven2 as your next hosting provider.
6. Next Step - At the bottom of each inside page you will see "Ready for the next step?" and a big, orange graphic that says "Order Your Plan Today!" just below the package details table. Great call-to-action elements, actions elements that take you to what I think is truly one of the best sign up forms in the industry.  

Overall Grade: A+

Unique Feature

Before I sign off, let's review one of the most unique features about the company itself. They provide an email and anti-spam solution for your iPhone with their new iPhone hosting platform. You can watch a video of founders Rodney Giles and Travis Weerts discussing the new feature at http://www.eleven2.com/iphone/.

Needed Improvements

Every website has elements that need to be improved, but that's part of the learning process; consistently reworking pieces or sections of your website to make it better for the end user. Two things are difficult to find on the Eleven2 website:

1. The link to the iphone information and video page. I knew the page existed on the site somewhere, but I had to do a quick Google search with a few added clicks to find it.
2. A link to their news section. Either it doesn't exist or the news area is hidden somewhere?

I only pointed out two elements that could be improved. Trust me on this - if you only have a couple of elements that need to be improved on your website, go reward yourself with something great, like a new iPhone (or buy one for me).

Before You Go

Take a look at the following video detailing some of the highlights, call-to-action elements, and features of the Eleven2 website.

Your Comments

Can you find any aspect of the Eleven2 website that could be improved? Please post your comments, ask questions, or request a site review. You can always send email to dave (at) youngcopy.com instead of posting your comments to the public.

What's Xenu Link Sleuth you ask? Xenu is a link checker. It's free, easy to use, and provides a nice report on broken links found on your website. As a contract technical writer, I use it every time I update content or technical documentation, be it on the Young Copy site or on a client's site. Actually, all our technical writing services utilize Xenu Link Sleuth. So why should you check for broken links on your site?

(more…)

Talk about cool software. MailChimp, an Atlanta, GA based email marketing solutions firm, has developed a really powerful, feature-packed, user-friendly email marketing tool. What's more is how they educate customers on the ins and outs of email marketing with their MonkeyBrains blog. Ben Chestnut, co-founder of MailChimp, writes regularly in MonkeyBrains on topics that help email marketers get the most out of their email marketing campaigns.

(more…)

A few days ago I wrote a review on Advanced Searchbar, a free program that integrates directly into your browser. The review is posted at Practical eCommerce Magazine and details some of the unique features the tool offers for Internet users who want to organize their browsing experience. People using FireFox may have to wait for the plug-in, but take a look at Advanced Searchbar's features. It may be worth using Internet Explorer until the free FireFox plug-in is ready. So what makes this free tool special?

(more…)