Introduction
The web is filled with opportunity. Everyday, thousands of business and organizations
go on-line. Many will have their web sites designed in-house while others will
hire web site design services such as us. We have logged thousands of hours on
the web, looking at web sites, finding out what works and what doesn't. Here are
a few of our observations about the most common mistakes in web site design.
Not Letting the Customer Stay in Control
Not letting the customer stay in control is perhaps the most important and
fundamental error made in web site design by both large and small organizations.
Every visitor to your web site is an honored guest and should be treated accordingly.
Psychologically, the web is a much more personal experience than passive forms
of media such as television or radio. The visitor to your web site is actively
engaged and wants to be in control of their experience. The moment you take away
control from your visitor, you will make them feel uncomfortable and the customer
losses trust in your organization. Take away enough control, and they will bolt
from your web site and will have a bad impression about your organization.
What are ways that web sites take away control from their visitors?
Invading the Customer’s Privacy- This includes forcing the customer
to divulge personal information in order to gain access to publicly available
pricing and other information. There are of course necessary reasons to ask the
customer for person information such as taking name, address and credit card information
for an on-line order or for creating a personal profile that benefits the customer.
However, you should have a simple privacy policy written in plain English (not
legalese) that states exactly what the information will be used for. If you are
using personal information to create a customer profile, you need to let the customers
have control of how this information will be used.
Automatic Pop-Up Windows and Similar Devices- There are some very good
uses information enhancing pop-up windows that happen as the result of a deliberate
customer action. We are referring here to the use of automatic pop-ups that are
used for advertising. The unpredictability of these may give many visitors to
you web site the sense of loss of control.
Not Giving Customers a Clear Exit- This goes back to good web site
navigational design. Visitors to your web site should always have a sense of where
they are your the web site and how to escape. If you have a multi-page process
such as a sign-up form, you should always clearly mark where they are in the process
and clearly show them the "undo button".
Other Problems
An Unfocused and Confusing Web Site
A web site design that is unfocused, no matter how beautiful, will drive customers
away.
A good web site will give a focused and consistent message. It will engage the
reader. Information should be only one or two mouse clicks away.
A web site that is focused and engaging takes planning. You need to understand
you customers; you need to anticipate their needs. The first step toward engaging
the customer is to understand how he or she wants interact your organization.
Then design a web site architecture that helps streamline these interactions.
Next test, your web site design, get constant customer feedback. Find out what
works and what doesn’t and adapt your web site design accordingly.
Inconsistent and Unclear Navigation
There are many web sites that do not give you a clear and consistent way to get
from page to page. People are more likely to stay if they can get around your
web site easily. Worse, in some web sites, especially those that use frames, it
is possible to enter the web site in an unintended way and find that you have
hit a dead end. A web site design that is easy to navigate will tend to be consistent
and provide the visitor with a clear picture of where they are in the web site
and how to get back to where they have been.
Unclear navigation is another common error in web site design. Ever come to
a web site where you are bewildered by cryptic icons or unfamiliar phrases? Do
not assume that every visitor to your web site will think the same way you do.
Do not substitute "hip" web site design for clarity. Effective web site design
removes barriers by making it easy for the customer to find the information they
want as quickly as possible.
Distracting Graphic Elements without any Real Purpose
The web can be an engaging experience. One of the things that sets the web apart
from other media is interactive content. Yet, many web sites use interactive content,
animation and graphics without any real purpose or focus.
Look at some of your most successful on-line resellers. Their web sites are
clean and simple. Everything has a purpose. These web sites have dynamic content
that is below the surface. This includes context sensitive searches, easy to use
shopping carts, and secure on-line ordering. These web sites use graphic elements
to help create a mood, for corporate branding, or to help clarify content.
Slow Loading
Some people have called the World Wide Web the worldwide wait. Some web sites
we have visited take several minutes to load. It is also not uncommon for a visitor
to a slow loading web site to be presented with a blank white screen they wait.
Few people are going to wait around to find out what is on these web sites.
The most common reason for a slow loading time is the improper handling of graphics
in the web site design. Graphics and images that are not properly optimized and
pre-scaled can often double or even triple the time it takes to view a web page.
Blank screens while loading can be avoided to careful web site design practices.
No Cross Browser Compatibility
Don't place unnecessary barriers between you and your customers. We have seen
quite a few web sites that say "Best Viewed with Explorer 5" or "Netscape
6" or at "800 x 600 resolution" and so on. Do they really expect
that someone will upgrade their browser (this can take 2 hours to download with
a slow modem) or change their resolution (often requires rebooting the computer)
in order to view the web site?
A well-executed web site should work at any resolution and should look good with
256 colors or 16 million colors and should work properly with Internet Explorer
4, and 5 as well as Netscape 4 and 6.
Spamming
Probably the surest way to destroy your business is to engage in the practice
of spamming. Spamming is the practice of sending unsolicited e-mail. It is the
web equivalent to junk mail.
Spamming is considered very poor manners and will create a great deal of ill will.
At best, you will lose a significant number of customers. Far worse, an angry
hacker may shut you down.
Don't fall victim to unrealistic expectations. An Internet business, like any
business, requires planning. There is no substitute for a good business plan and
marketing strategy. Know your customer and know the market. Case studies, both
success stories and failures, can be a tremendous help. Create a customer centered
web site.
A Celestial Graphics Designed Web Site will help to avoid all of these
pitfalls.
A Celestial Graphics web site design is customer friendly, easy to navigate,
cleanly designed, and fast loading. In addition, we quality check our pages for
compatibility with Internet Explorer 4, 5, and 6 as well as Netscape 4 and 6.
We assess your needs and can provide marketing and demographic research that can
help you to develop a realistic assessment as to the success of your web site.
In addition, we will help you design a web site that is customer focused and
help you to create a web business model that makes sense to your organization.
|
