Customers That Click: Seven Key Questions To Consider When Building A Best Class Website
Yup. I’ve hit writer block. Need some other people to help out.
Kim Proctor has been a featured podcaster on Usability Counts, and runs Customers That Click, a customer experience consultancy out of Los Angeles. This post is a concise list that should be considered when building a website. Enjoy.
You want visitors to come to your website and click around, return, and tell their friends – right? It takes a better than average site to do that.
What are your favorite websites – the ones that really impress you and make your life easier. It's the sites with great usability and great presentation that stay updated. Yes, of course, Facebook you might be saying, but also great ecommerce sites (think Zappos.com, amazon.com, llbean.com, overstock.com, etc).
However, many business websites end up either being too serious, too boring or too static. Sorry to say. But that means you can really stand out from your competitors.
Here are the top 7 questions you need to consider when building or revamping your website.
1. How easy is it for your customers to find what they want? (Good correlated question: How many clicks does it take them to find key information?)
2. How easy is to scan the content on your pages to find what they want?
3. How clear is your content / message? (Consider style, tone, length, format.)
4. How often is your content updated?
5. How much do you offer for free (before a user has to register or pay)?
6. What kind of interaction is possible on your site (forums, commenting, rating, etc)?
7. How does your site compare to Web usability of your competitors and best in class websites?
The danger here is that you're so in love with your own voice or how you already built your website that you aren't willing to change and be what your customers want (and what will help your SEO too).
Be ready to slice and dice your website to pull customers in with helpful headlines, clear calls to action and labels. Don't ramble on – put the pay off up top and don't be afraid of graphics and buttons.