Hello Bar – A Compact & Effective Notification Bar!

I’ve been looking for/reviewing toolbars such as wibiya (and others) for grabbing readers’ attention when they land on your site. Wibiya is neat, but frankly, I think it’s too much information on a single toolbar. Other toolbars seem to float and remain on the header of the page as you scroll down (I hate that). Then, yesterday, I came across these guys: @thehellobar

In short, it’s a notification bar that draws web users to an important Call To Action on your website. You can use it to:

• …draw attention to your newsletter subscription page.
• …draw attention to your e-book download page.
• …share a quick Call To Action to have people “Request a Demo”.
• …draw attention to your Search for Homes page (if you’re a REALTOR®). Although, I’d hope you have a more prominent Call To Action like a “Quick Search” and you should already have a Home Search page on your navigation.

Basically, the information above the fold on your website is important. The Hello Bar is a compact notification toolbar that allows you to divert traffic/attention wherever you need those site visitors to go.

Features I Like:

• I love that it’s simple. The bar has an 85 character limit and frankly, your Call To Action really shouldn’t be any longer than that. It sits at the top of the page, you can control the display settings and site visitors can close the bar by hitting the “Up” arrow. Basically, it’s not as intrusive as a pop-up and achieves the same effect.

• I can customize the colors. You can customize the colors of your notification bar to match the color scheme of your site. Sure they give you a character limit but hey, that’s kinda the point…you know, less is more sorta thing. But you can customize the color and link colors as much as you want.
• I can see my stats. This is by far, my favorite feature. I don’t have to use a URL shortener of any kind to track stats on the click-thru rate of the Call To Action on my notification bar. Hello Bar already has those statistics built into the dashboard! So, not only can I create multiple notification bars (you know, to test out various CTA’s)…but I can track all of my statistics straight from the dashboard. Have a look: (here’s a quick screenshot after I downloaded it)

How might you use it?

Are you using any toolbars on your website right now? How do you know if they’re useful? Would you use something like the Hello Bar?