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What makes a website tick ? - BizNet (May, 98) |
It's nice having an Internet connection - my not-so-lucky relatives and friends often come over to see what the Internet is all about. And from the moment they log on, the thrill of using this "Internet thing" is apparent - specially since they haven't seen anything like this before. Once they get captivated by the multicoloured text, flashy animated graphics, interesting JavaScript tricks, Java applets, audio, and video it becomes difficult to tell them that they've overstayed their welcome. For a casual surfer or for someone who surfs for fun, all the above frills and thrills go into making a great web site.
But the scenario is different for the serious Internet user. For
someone who uses the Web as a source of information, reference,
or for business, these frills aren't what they're looking for,
and don't contribute towards making a web site worth the online
time. A serious Internet user visits a web site with a particular
need, and if the site doesn't fulfill that need, that surfer is
lost - often forever. For instance, would you visit a news site
which is not updated regularly ? Or would you return to a corporate
site for the latest annual report, when all you find there is
an annual report from two years ago ?
The problem is that people are jumping onto the Internet bandwagon
without knowing what they're getting into. Companies these days
seem to be following government procedure in finding the "right"
web designers for their homepage - give the account to the lowest
bidder, or maybe a relative of someone in the decision hierarchy.
Or worse still, to some student who offers to "design"
webpages for just Rs. 500 per page! Today, almost anyone can build
a website, but the difficulty lies in building a successful website
- a website that fulfills some need of the target audience. Which
brings us to the first questions to be asked :
- Why ? For whom ?
In answering the question "Why?" lie the objectives of the website. Is the website up to create and reinforce the company's corporate identity in cyberspace ? Does the website exist as an online showcase or is the aim to sell products online ? Is the site an online recruitment department ? Or is it a content driven site ? To start a website off on the right note, the target audience should be clearly defined, and the site built to cater to that audience - that's the answer to question number two: "For whom?". Will the audience be businessmen, or financial analysts, or maybe teenagers and youth ? Chaitra Leo Burnett - the advertising agency - had their objectives clear when they hosted their web site last year. They were looking at tapping management graduates from leading Indian management institutes. So the site was hosted during the recruitment period, with every page geared towards attracting talent by projecting the agency as the place to work in. The site had a young look and feel, in keeping with their target audience in the early twenties. They held quizzes and contests with prizes being given away to attract responses. The URL was spread around target colleges (like the Indian Institute of Management colleges), and CLB got a phenomenal response to the site.
- What ?
Finding the answer to this question decides the content that will form the building blocks of the site. The Internet was built to disseminate information and make data easily available - to cater to the number one need of a cybersurfer - the need for information. Sadly enough, many sites today lack just that, and it shows in the results of a search for just about anything - search engine return hits in tens of thousands, 90% of which are of no relevance.
Websites that are frequented, offer credible, original content with a stress on quality rather than quantity of information. A good web site offers its visitors some value, even if the value added is something as simple as chocolate recipes. The Godiva Chocolatier web site (http://www.godiva.com) is an informational playground in which customers can shop for chocolate products and obtain recipes, facts, trivia and trace the history of their favorite chocolates.
Eastman Kodak (http://www.kodak.com) has a cyber-gallery of photographs that users can download and use as desktop patterns or convert into screensavers.
Well planned web sites go a step further and dominate a subject area - effectively becoming the site that people will refer to for that subject. The 56K Modem Web site (http://www.56k.com/) does just that - becoming a repository for the everything about the newly introduced 56Kbps modems.
- How ?
While content rules on the Net, it is also important how the information is presented to the reader. One very basic requirement that is often overlooked is readability - a web page is not intended to look like a page from a scientific journal or a textbook, with screen after screen of plain, boring, monotonous typeface. The following points should be taken into consideration :
- Content presentation: The attention span of a web surfer
is far shorter than that of a TV channel surfer. If a quick scan
of a website does not satiate his mental tastebuds, he'll move
onto another site. Sites that do not test the patience of a surfer
(by ensuring that their pages download quickly), make surfers
surf more, and probe deeper into the site.
- Layout : The objective of a webpage is not to crowd
as many characters as one can on a page - a well spread layout,
besides being attractive, does not go the extra mile to tire the
surfer's eyes.
- Graphics : Occasional illustrations and images go towards
reducing the monotony of textual information, the operational
word here being "occasional". An overdose of images,
or large images just turn the surfer off, and in turn, he turns
images off.
- Compatibility : A site should be designed to cater
to the different browsers. Many websites ignore the fact that
there still are text-only browsers in existence. HoTMaiL (http://www.hotmail.com)
for instance, uses image maps for sending and forwarding mail.
Users who log on through text-only browsers have a difficult time
sending email from their HoTMaiL accounts.
- Site Map : A sitemap offers the surfer an overview of the site, allowing the user to directly jump to information he's interested in. In addition to a site map, incorporating a search engine into the site allows users to quickly find relevant information without having to surf through other pages on the site. This feature is specially useful in cases where archives of information are maintained on the site.
- Content presentation: The attention span of a web surfer
is far shorter than that of a TV channel surfer. If a quick scan
of a website does not satiate his mental tastebuds, he'll move
onto another site. Sites that do not test the patience of a surfer
(by ensuring that their pages download quickly), make surfers
surf more, and probe deeper into the site.
- With what ?
What features should be provided on the site so as to achieve its objectives? Interactivity is one factor that draws surfers, involves them in a web site and keeps them coming back. Federal Express (http://www.fedex.com) allows users to use the Internet to order parcels to be picked up and then query the status of parcels as they move around the globe. This system not only provides customers with increased convenience, but also allows the company to reduce customer support staff. The United Parcel Service site (http://www.ups.com) asks the user for his residence address and in a matter of seconds churns up a map of that locality, showing the nearest UPS collection centers and contact details. Now that's one useful feature they've got going on their site.
A surfer may visit a web site once, but that one visit should make him want to return. One way to encourage repeat visits to the site is continuously updating the content, and occasionally even changing the appearance of the web site. Fresh, original, relevant content always draws a visitor back to the site. A website should exploit the interactive and dynamic nature of the Internet to be successful. Well-organized, relevant, original content set in an interactive and attractive format are some traits that make a web site tick. Attracting attention to a web site is getting harder by the day, and it is a real shame to have a site that's a turn-off when visitors arrive.
So before you decide to have a website created for your company,
sit down and get answers to these five questions (along with the
web designers). Not only will it help create a great website,
it will go a long way in creating a successful website.