Does Your Website Measure Up?

Every company has a website, but it’s surprising how many marketers in those companies are dissatisfied with their sites. Sometimes, it’s just a feeling. Sometimes, metrics are available that show ineffectiveness. But before you start your website redesign, take time and read the following article that explains some of the minimum standards for quality and professionalism.

Site Navigation

One of the fastest ways to lose visitors is through poor site navigation. If your customers can’t find what they’re looking for, instantly, chances are they’ll move on. Your site structure should be simple to understand at a glance, and easy to use. Here are a few must-haves:

• Company name and logo on every page, preferably top left
• Featured products and offers on the home page
• Links back to the homepage or breadcrumbs 
• Persistent housekeeping links, such as home, contact us, shipping, legal, preferably top right but also in the footer
• Site map
• Site search

Don’t be afraid to check out other sites you like and get cues from their site navigation.

Seven Must-Have Web Pages

Your website might be missing a few very important pages. You’re not alone, but you need to do something about it quickly. Some pages are so important that not having them could hurt your bottom line. Here are seven pages every business website must have:

1. Contact Us. Every small-business site should have a Contact Us page and it should offer visitors a complete list of ways they can contact you – from e-mail addresses to toll-free numbers to a physical address. 
2. Testimonials. Many companies skip the Testimonials page because they consider it too self-serving. While having a page like that may seem self-promotional, people will look for it. And when they don’t find it, they might begin to make assumptions. 
3. FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are frequently forgotten, too. Why is an FAQ page so important? Mostly, they’ll ensure you won’t have to answer the same questions over and over. But it also is a convenience for site visitors who visit your site at odd hours. 
4. Privacy Policy. Web users are more conscious about safety and privacy than ever. A good privacy policy is an absolute must. Linking to this page from any place on the site where you ask for personal information is a good trust-builder and will decrease abandonment. Many companies require you have a privacy policy before they’ll do business with you.
5. An “Offer” Page. Want readers to sign up for your newsletter or regular special offers? Add a section where users can be persuaded to give up some of their personal information (such as their names and e-mail addresses) in exchange for … well, something else. In many cases, this is an informative report, a white paper, a chance to win something, or a webinar. 
6. About Us. But just because you can do business with people you might never meet doesn’t mean they don’t want to know about whom they’re doing business with. The most effective About Us pages are succinct and use little or no jargon. 
7. Confirmation. A decent confirmation page that acknowledges an order and thanks the visitor for his or her business is essential—and often lacking. 

Five More Mistakes to Avoid

But let’s go beyond bad font choices, graphics, and animation. What are the biggest usability mistakes that aren’t as obvious? Here are five, with tips on how to avoid them.

1. Having a confusing or counterintuitive site structure. Nothing drives users away faster than a site that forces them to click around aimlessly until they stumble upon the right page. An expert user should be able to get where she wants to be in no more than three clicks. 
2. Making the menu too complicated. Menus are roughly equivalent to a website’s spine. You want to keep them clear, straight, and strong. Navigation is normally found running horizontally across the top of a page in a tab-like orientation or stacked vertically along the left side of the page. No funny coding. No funny scripts. 
3. Lapsing into industry jargon. An overabundance of marketing-speak and technical or industry jargon is a very common mistake. Your goal should be striking that balance between efficient search engine optimization and easy-to-read copy. 
4. Overpromising, or even under-promising, what you can deliver. A website becomes unusable, and thus irrelevant, when it tells users that it will do something and then does not do it. That will drive those visitors away. Permanently.
5. Not closing the sale. If the site doesn’t call the visitor to some sort of action, whether it be phoning, faxing, e-mailing, or registering, or at least a question, that visitor may be lost forever. 

Summary

If you follow these tips, your website will be more effective. Guaranteed.