The first website built was at CERN within the border of France, and was put online on 6 August 1991. Info.cern.ch was the address of the world’s first-ever website and web server, running on a NeXT computer at CERN. Today, there are nearly 4.8 billion pages on the world wide web.
Suffice it to say there are a lot of sites out there. And I’d hazard a guess that your company has one of those sites. It’s a business necessity. But is it driving your business or costing you business?
Several years ago I read a fabulous book called, Don’t Make Me Think – A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, by Walter Krug. It’s an easy read and really hones in on a couple of basic principles, several of which have stuck with me over the years. (Note, the points below are in my own words, interpreted from what I read as well as what I’ve experienced building – and re-building – websites over the years.
- The more choices you give your visitor, the more likely they are to abandon the site.
- Know your site objectives, including where you want the visitor to end up, and then help them get there – ideally in three clicks or less.
- One size does not fit all, but when it comes to navigation, the majority of people are familiar with…well…the familiar! (i.e.: About Us, Careers, Products, Solutions, etc.). Creativity is great. But creativity for the sake of change could result in abandonment.
- We don’t read; we skim. We look for words that stand out. We expect to find what we want in the first 3 to 5 seconds upon landing on a site. If we can’t find it, we’re usually outta there.
It’s easy to forget what it’s like to view one’s site for the first time. We see it all the time. We know how to navigate it and find the information we need. But is it intuitive? Here are some tips to help you determine just how user-friendly your site really is:
- Ask an outsider (your neighbour, spouse, etc.) how they would find information about your company such as: pricing/where to buy; information about the executive team; a press release; collateral about your product, etc.
- Ask them how they’d go about searching for information about your product/solution, both within your site as well as via search engines (this will help identify potential keywords that are critical to your organic ranking).
- How long does it take them to get to a goal/landing page? For example, if your ultimate goal is for them to sign up for your newsletter, find out how many clicks it takes them to get to the form. Pay attention to where they click. The more opportunities you give them to “think,” the more likely they are to stray from the ultimate goal.
- If you’re requesting information (ie: name, title, etc.) test a long form versus a short form. Which is most likely to be completed? At what point do they “give up”?
- Is it designed for your audience? If you’re a B2B organization, do you have compelling, downloadable content that helps engage and, more importantly, educate your prospect? If you’re a B2C site, do you make it easy for them to add to their shopping cart? Are your shipping and return policies easy to find and easy to understand?
- Is your site responsive? Does it optimize for mobile versus tablet versus desktop?
- How can I contact you? Does it make sense for you to have “chat with a live representative” functionality? Can visitors easily find your contact information, including your physical and email address as well as phone number?
As a marketer, one of my pet peeves is being unable to quickly and easily find a company’s social media handles. And since the majority of companies today have twitter handles (and if you don’t….well, that’s a whole other topic!), then why would you make me search for it?
Unlike print, it’s relatively simple to make changes to a site. Because of this, websites should be reviewed on a regular basis and, depending on your business, you should probably plan to refresh your site at least every three years.
Of course, I can go on and on. I haven’t even touched on the topic of platforms, design, the psychology of colour, the use of icons versus text, writing for the web, analytics, and so on.
When was the last time you tested your site’s usability? Would a couple of simple tweaks result in a better user experience, and potentially more business? Is your website creating more business or costing you business? Think about it!