Want more targeted website traffic? Use my 5-point checklist and see if your site rates as a clunker or a Ferrari. (Scores below) 1. Best Practices Wikipedia states that best practices are the most efficient and effective way of accomplishing a task, based on procedures that have proven themselves over time for large numbers of people. In medicine, if you go into the Emergency Room with chest pain, best practices dictate you’ll receive an electrocardiogram (EKG). On the web, best practices include adding meta data to your web pages, chunking your information into easy-to-read bites, and adding ALT tags to your images. Are you using unique meta data on each page or are you using the same title on every page throughout the site? Time to go back and start honing that meta data. SCORING: Give yourself 1 point if your pages have unique meta data, 1 point for ALT tags, and 1 point for info chunking. 2. Clear Value Proposition Why should I buy from you instead of the guy on the next website? What do you have that compels me to choose you from all others? A clearly-stated value proposition. Your value proposition differentiates you from your competition, and clearly states how your offering is better than anyone else in the world. You offer three books and a 15 minute consultation. Your competitor offers two books and a 30 minute consultation. It’s up to you to clearly tell me why I should pick you. SCORING: Give yourself 1 point if you have clearly differentiated yourself from your competition. 3. What’s In It For Me? The WIIFM mantra never changes. Your website isn’t about you (unless you’re Barack Obama or Michael Phelps!) – - it’s about how the customer will benefit from buying your product or hiring your services. For example, if you’re selling a new computer system with the fastest processor ever made, what’s in it for me is the ability to run multiple applications at the same time, or play computer games at a faster speed. Does your site focus on client benefits, or you? SCORING: Give yourself 1 point if site visitors instantly know how it will benefit them to do business with you. Give yourself an extra point if you’re WIIFM is extra clever! 4. Call to Action I analyzed an author’s website to improve their non-existent book sales. Guess what? There wasn’t any BUY button on the site. Even if you wanted to buy the book, you couldn’t! Don’t be shy about asking your site visitor to do what you want by stating a clear call to action. Ask them to call you now, e-mail you within the next 24 hours, click to buy, or purchase at today’s discount. Use action verbs, and even if the call to action is obvious to YOU, make sure it’s obvious to your site visitor. SCORING: Give yourself 1 point for a clear call to action. Give yourself a bonus point if you put your call to action above the fold. 5. Usability One of the best books written on usability is titled "Don’t Make Me Think". That says it all. If your website visitor has to click through five levels of navigation before finding important information, you’ve got usability issues. Keep your most important items no more than one click down in navigation, and remember – it’s more important to have clear and easy navigation than almost any other factor – - a site visitor who can’t find what they’re looking for because your navigation is fuzzy will never return. SCORING: Give yourself 1 point if your most important info is at the top level of navigation or one click away. Take away 3 points if your visitor has to click more than 3 times to find your most important info. RESULTS: 7-9 Points: Tighten your seatbelt – you’re obviously driving the Ferrari 4-6 Points: Congratulate yourself on the things you’ve done well. Get help to fix the components that are iffy. 2-5 Points: You’re doing something right, but there’s a lot of room for improvement. Talk to me – let’s see how we can fix you up! 1 or less Points: Can you say Studebaker? Please—Call.
Nancy Hendrickson
leverage the power of your blog and social media
Does Your Website Pass the 5-Point Tune-Up?
Posted on 19. Jan, 2009 by Nancy Hendrickson
© 2010 Nancy Hendrickson. All Rights Reserved.
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Now tune-ups is no longer for cars, and yes it is important that our websites receive diagnostic examinations too to know the problem.
that’s a guide of keeping your website’s quality
Agreed on all points, though I think usability should be number one. A web design with even slightly difficult navigation is as good as toast.
I would go beyond a clear value proposition to basics, and say that in many cases, a clear message, period, is necessary. So many websites not only don’t demonstrate why their owners are the best choice to do business with, but don’t even state clearly what they are offering.
It needs to be right out front and center, in one sentence. I use “NJ Web Design Made Easy” and “If you don’t have a modern, easy to use website, you’re leaving money on the table.”
Hi
that’s a guide of keeping your website’s quality
Good guide. I believe usability should be the main focus of the site, with another large portion focussing on marketing.
Very good and common sense points that most websites seem to be neglecting. I don’t know how many times I have been to a site and ever even a couple of minutes of reading the site or browsing around I am like “What they heck do these guys do anyway?”. This is prevalent in a lot of high tech sites and they try to be esoteric in their definitions.
Very sound advice, I’d recommend this check list to any web client any day.
Heh heh, the “Don’t Make Me Think” insight is so true. The quicker and easier you make website browsing for your visitors, the happier everybody will be.
All fantastic points to consider. If you’re going to have a website, just commit to putting effort into all 5 categories.
One question… why not chunk up the info in this post into individual paragraphs? It’s a little difficult to read when it’s presented in one long paragraph. An would make it a much easier on the eyes.