Why most websites don't work

Editor's Notes

• #2: Objective: Introduce the presentation. Notes: It is not in my nature to present on such a negative subject, so this presentation should be called “Why MOST websites don’t work” and I hope to provide some useful tips along the way to make it a positive experience for you all. Who am I …. And why am I here giving you advice on running your internet business?
• #3: Objective: Position yourself as an Internet Consultant Notes: Why am I in a position to present this information? Am I a Web designer? No ….. But I design websites! Am I a technology expert? No …. But I have work with the IT industry! I am an Internet Consultant, and I devise and implement Internet Business Strategies for Business. In other words, I am a business person, just like all of you, and its my job to help you succeed from the internet.
• #5: Objective: Position the current state of the Internet. Notes: First, let’s just consider the scale of what we are referring to when we talk about the internet. IBM – 5 computers! Well wasn’t he a visionary!!!! Reality – 605.6 million, of which 34.3 million in UK – over 57% of population Some people actually say that it will have a bigger impact than the industrial revolution. Professor Payne – BBC Biggest opportunity for any generation …. Ever!! Our kids are the natives …. We are the tourists
• #6: Objective: To understand how the internet has evolved Notes: 1. Email started as far back as the 1960’s as a method of passing information from one person to another. 2. Websites provided that information in one place for anyone to access when they needed it. 3. Then we built the capability to receive orders online. 4. This then progressed to taking payments over the web, and integrating other business processes into internet solutions, predominantly to save money. 5. Finally, we reach the state of an “e-world” where your fridge will re-order groceries when its empty, and everybody’s life is touched by the internet in some way every single day. This progress has been tracked and enabled by the progress of ICT. (INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY) For instance, client server technology was a major driver in the development of e-commerce. This also represents the stages a company should go through. It is unlikely, and probably unwise, for a small company to jump to stage 5, without going through some of the other stages.
• #7: The opportunity for SME’s is HUGE, and with that is an equally huge opportunity to get it wrong.
• #8: Spending on Internet Advertisments rose by 60% last year outstripping radio advertising for the first time. 653 million vs 637.4 million on Radio UKs 6 th biggest advertising medium BROADBAND (MORE THAN 6 MILLION USERS IN THE UK) Broadband users spend on average twice as long on line as people who have dial-up internet accounts BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY ALSO ALLOWS ADVERTISERS TO CREATE MORE EYE CATCHING ADVERTS USING VIDEO, AUDIO AND ANIMATION.
• #9: Objective: Conclude the background and Introduce the “meat” of the presentation Notes: We will now look at some of the pitfalls that people face when developing a website, and, where possible, provide some tips on how to avoid them.
• #10: Notes: This is number 1 because it should be the first step in developing a website, but it is too often overlooked.
• #11: How often have you heard these phrases? Or perhaps you have said them yourselves?? These are all the wrong reasons for getting a website. “ My friend’s son is a web designer” is a classic, or perhaps worse still, “my neighbour’s son did our website as part of his A level studies!” Would you get a GCSE business studies student (aged 16) to do your accounts? Probably not, so why do you trust your website with a teenager? May be it’s a low-cost option …. But is it? “ You only get one chance to make a first impression” – so don’t take unnecessary risks with who will create that impression for you. The words I hate hearing are …. “I’ve built my own site – would you mind looking over it and letting me know what you think?” The Truth offends!! So, how do you go about building a solid marketing strategy?
• #12: “ Question everything”. Read out and expand on questions. The last one is a huge question. Is your website an integral part of your normal (offline) business or is it a separate arm of your business. It is perfectly possible to damage your normal business through an ill-thought out web strategy. VERY COSTLY!!
• #20: Because you need a computer to view a website (usually), it is quite common (and understandable) to give the website development to the IT department. Unfortunately this is completely wrong because you will lose the marketing focus. What does “Error 404 – page not found on this server” actually mean? Well, it would be like a shop assistant telling you to GO AWAY! At least, from a marketing person, you would get an apology!! Frames …. Might be a great way to build a site, but they are useless for marketing purposes …. Not supported by browsers, and hated by search engines. What we HAVE to do, is develop a culture of designing CUSTOMER focused online solutions – putting ourselves in the mind of our customer. The IT department is unlikely to do this.
• #21: Appropriate technology - DVD Plus now offers over 1 million products online
• #23: In your shop, or office, there are many ways to build relationships with your customers. Online, however, the written word builds relationships. BUT Writing for the web is different. We have to forget about many of the rules we have lived with all our lives and be sufficiently flexible to reflect what our customers want to read. Even in professions such as law, formal writing can come across as being pompous. BUT don’t lose your professionalism at any time.
• #24: So how should a website be written? Please, please, please check the spelling. I don’t know if its just me, but I hate to see spelling mistakes – I think it shows poor attention to detail and is completely unnecessary. Read and expand on above points
• #25: Most people, when they think of “design” will instantly think of the look and feel of a website. When I refer to poor design it is much bigger than that.
• #26: Is it intuitive? Bearing in mind I have done all the research on my target audience (referring to an earlier lesson to reinforce it), will it be intuitive for them? 2 clicks rule – Can you get from any part of the site to any other part of the site within 2 clicks? Colours – are they appropriate to your industry? Are they appropriate to your market? Are they consistent with your offline colours? Look and feel – If you are a solicitors firm, it may not be appropriate to use cartoons throughout your website? FUNCTIONALITY – one of the biggest aspects of web design!! Does it have the right functionality to enable you to achieve your objectives (that were well considered upfront, weren’t they!!) Good Technical design will result in a fast-loading site. How many times have you given up on a site because it takes an age to load each page?
• #27: Reinforce your messages on poor design with survey findings.
• #28: What do we actually want our visitors to do, and can they easily do it?
• #29: Have you made the purpose of your site clear to the audience? If they do what you want them to do, what will they get in return? The internet is a “Give to Get” environment, and if you want a visitor to give you their details, they must get something in return. Why should they do it NOW? Provide them with pre-qualified options, such as: Please send me your brochure (tick the box) I am interested in the X-range of products (tick the box) This will make it easier for them to contact you, and they will feel that they are doing what they are supposed to do.
• #30: This image is representative of a beautifully produced colour brochure pinned to a tree (in a local forest) By simply “sticking your website on the internet”, there is about the same chance of somebody finding it as there is of somebody finding a brochure pinned to a tree in the middle of a dense forest.
• #32: So … you have probably heard of the term “Search Engine Optimisation” (after all, everybody seems to be talking about it these days). But, what does it mean? Why do we need it? What is it? I am not going to go into much detail, but in my mind, the most important aspect of SEO is Analysing the keywords. What actual words and phrases are people searching on when they are looking for a business like yours? If you get this wrong, you might get loads of traffic, but they will all go again, because you were not what they were looking for. Also, don’t think of this as a “done and dusted” solution …. It is a movable feast and has to be carefully monitored and controlled on an ongoing basis. There are also other methods of marketing your website, such as pay per click (briefly describe) Ultimately, if you are not getting the traffic, you have wasted your investment in your website, and you will miss opportunities.
• #33: So … you have probably heard of the term “Search Engine Optimisation” (after all, everybody seems to be talking about it these days). But, what does it mean? Why do we need it? What is it? I am not going to go into much detail, but in my mind, the most important aspect of SEO is Analysing the keywords. What actual words and phrases are people searching on when they are looking for a business like yours? If you get this wrong, you might get loads of traffic, but they will all go again, because you were not what they were looking for. Also, don’t think of this as a “done and dusted” solution …. It is a movable feast and has to be carefully monitored and controlled on an ongoing basis. There are also other methods of marketing your website, such as pay per click (briefly describe) Ultimately, if you are not getting the traffic, you have wasted your investment in your website, and you will miss opportunities.
• #37: If your site doesn’t work when a visitor comes along, it is extremely unlikely that they will bother to come back at a later date, so you must do everything in your power to make sure it does work!
• #38: Read out the tests. Hosting: Do they provide offsite back ups? How secure is it? What traffic analysis can they provide?
• #39: When referring to poor maintenance, I am mainly referring to the content of the site, rather than the technology.
• #40: How often have you come across these words: “ Lat updated September 2001” This will turn customers away. If you haven’t updated your site for that amount of time, “how can I rely on the validity or accuracy of any of the information on the site?” “ Under construction” Why? If you aren’t ready to offer that page, then don’t include it on the menu. It would be like a restaurant listing every dish they have ever done on their menu, but you only find out that only 10% of the dishes are available when you go to order! Hit and run developers, come in, build your site, and go away, never to be seen again. You need someone that will stick with you to keep your site current and fresh - updating, upgrading, enhancing as and when its appropriate to do so. Therefore, don’t spend all your budget on the initial design, you will need to keep some for future needs. If you do find an error, such as a link no longer works, FIX IT QUICKLY! Above all, consider that your website should reflect your changing business, your changing market, your changing industry – so be prepared for change.
• #41: Remember the old adage: If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!!
• #42: The biggest problem with measuring the success of a website is that, too often, no single person is accountable for it. How clear were the objectives? As we stated at the beginning, you must have a clear strategy and objectives, without which you have nothing to measure against. There are two types of measures for the ROI of a website: Direct and Indirect. The Direct measures are relatively straightforward: How much revenue have you taken in orders over the web? How many leads have come from the web? How much cost have you saved by being able to point customers to your website for answers to their questions? Perhaps you have been able to reduce the size of your helpdesk? Indirect: Much harder to measure. However, if your website now plays an integral role in your sales process, what has been the impact on your closing ratio, or offline sales revenues? Customer Satisfaction – It costs seven-times more to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing customer. If effective use of your website has improved customer service and ultimately improved customer satisfaction then it is performing a very valuable role.
• #43: In summary, I would just like to consider the impact having a website that doesn’t work…..
• #45: Hopefully, I have been able to give you a little insight into Why MOST websites don’t work, and I’m sure that some of you have got excellent websites. But, I’m also sure that many of you will have been able to relate to at least one of these pitfalls, and therefore I hope to have been of some value to you all.