When Google released a video, asking people on the street what a browser is, only about 8% answered correctly. I am not surprised. For those of us who work in IT, or are enamored with the Internet, this seems ridiculous. People are not stupid because they don’t understand what a browser is. They don’t know because they don’t care, anymore than I care about learning astrophysics.
Computer geeks, and I am one, have a hard time understanding people with interests that have nothing to do with the Internet. People who rarely or never use the Internet thinks Internet nerds are geniuses. A part of my business, before I sold out, was developing websites for small companies and organizations. Working with clients who wanted an Internet presence made me acutely aware of just how little people knew about the this Interweb thing.
This is a list of the biggest hurdles I had to jump when working with clients who had never had a site. During the first year, I learned as much about working with uneducated clients as they learned from me. After the second year, if we couldn’t effectively communicate I sent them to someone else. There are times when people simply don’t fit together and it is better for both parties to disconnect than continue an ineffective business relationship.
A Website is Not a PIM
A commercial website is not a personal information manager, unless that is your purpose. PIMs are readily available for free, so I don’t see the point of paying for a website for internal use only. It can of course be a secondary use. A business site should be your informational portal for the world. Even if you don’t sell directly from the site, it is your biggest business calling card.
Make The Site Mirror The Product
If you’re selling hammers don’t build a site that looks like you’re selling lingerie. I once built a site for an electrical company. The HR person I worked with found a silky site that sold trophies and plaques. She wanted her site to look “more professional.” I tried to explain that an electrical contractor wouldn’t look good in silk. In the end I gave this account to a colleague.
Promote, Promote
A business site (or any site if you want to be seen) must be promoted, offline as well as online. Every document that has your company logo should have your website listed. People fail to think of business cards, stationary and all paper ads. I’ve had clients fail to put the site in the Yellow Pages. Email signatures, word of mouth, any and all ways should be used to get the word out. Did I mention promote?
The Importance of a Logo
Brand yourself, have a logo. This is a touchy area. In almost every business I’ve worked with, there is someone who thinks so-and-so is an artist. Just because he can draw Batman doesn’t qualify him to design a logo. Get a professional to do this.
Hire a Pro
It is better to have no site than an amateur built site. Not all people are experts with all things. If most people don’t know what a browser is, consider what they don’t know about web development. Matters such as design, purpose, content and layout are far beyond the average user. And there is no need to try and explain SEO, hosting and domain names beyond the minimum.
Keep it Updated
Keep the site updated. A site that has not been maintained is a dead site. Here is another area that is difficult to get across. Yes, you can have a billboard site, but it won’t generate a lot of business unless you keep it up to date with your company status.
Don’t Irritate The User
Don’t make your customers work. Make navigation so easy a chimp could click through it. If there is one thing I consider most important it is contact information. Provide several different ways to contact, phone, a contact form and email addresses.
What would you add to this list to make the best, user friendly site possible?
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“Don't irritate the user” I wholly agree!
Everything should be as easy as possible for the user. Web savvy users tend to forget that not everyone is at their level of computing skills. The easier it is to navigate and find relevant information, the better it is for all of us!
Thanks Hal.
The best example of 'hard to navigate' I can think of is GoDaddy. This is a good example of what not to do with a business site. Someone once told me they did that with the idea of keeping people there.
Thank for the comment Ken
Hal,
We're definitely on the same page! I'm not really fond of their 'marketing' tactics nor their site. I once made a mistake of registering a domain name with them and had a really difficult time navigating through their settings. I got fed up and when it was time for me to transfer the domain to another host, their customer service rep did a great job of being rude. Anyway, it was a lesson learned for me!
I actually had to call once because I couldn't find what I needed on their site.
There used to be a website called 'Web Sites That Suck.' I don't know if that is still around. He pointed out a lot of errors like horrible navigation.
Thanks Ken
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