Web Design DON'T List: A Case Study

I see a lot of websites during the course of any given day. Frequently, I am called upon to do a site review and analysis for someone, so I've gotten into the habit of perusing sites with a fairly critical eye in terms of design, layout, content, and overall usability. Some sites are great, some are appalling, but most fall somewhere in the middle. Site design is critical for successful internet marketing, because all the great marketing in the world won't help you if your website doesn't get the job done. If your site cannot convert visitors to sales, then your marketing dollars are wasted.

This morning, I visited an SEO website, in the line of routine research. When I visit a web design or SEO site, I expect certain things. Specifically, I expect the site to embody all of the qualities that are being promised to the customers. The site should be clean, easy to read, load properly, and have all the navigation working. If it's a marketing site, I expect to see optimization along current internet guidelines, and I expect attention to detail.

I realize that I'm probably extremely nit-picky when looking at sites that offer similar services to ours! However, even making allowances, this site did not measure up. I felt the design overlooked some key points which should be second-nature for an SEO site, and it had not been properly proofed and checked. I'm not naming names, because this isn't about trying to make someone look bad. The point is, no one is immune to site design issues! I felt that I could do a review on this site to illustrate some of the points I raised earlier, giving specific examples of problems I encountered.

This, then, is a recipe for internet sales trouble, based on an actual case study:

1. Tiny fonts that are light in color. The content was difficult to read at best, and absolutely impossible in some cases. The navigation blended so well into the background that I'm still not certain what pages the site really has! No casual visitor will care enough to work that hard, especially in a competitive market. Rule of thumb: Create your site using Internet Explorer default settings, for the most commonly used screen resolution (still 800 x 600). You are designing for the average person, not the techie. Most of them leave the default settings on their computers, and plenty of them have vision problems!

2. Feature boxes that don't link to the pages they summarize. On the right side of the page, I found the box which summarized the information I wanted. I had to go to the left side of the page and down, through the virtually-invisible navigation, to link to the page I wanted. Very frustrating. Rule of thumb: If you're discussing something on your site, link it! Make it very easy for your visitor to find what they want, and they'll love you!

3. Unclear navigation. Many of the links had similar names, and were just vague enough that it took me three tries to get to the page I had wanted the first time. If I was a casual web surfer, I would have stopped after the first one and gone somewhere else. Rule of thumb: Links should be well-labeled and very obvious, both in placement and in meaning. Help them find what they need.

4. Incomplete information. I did finally find the marketing packages. Two had pricing, the third did not. It wasn't completely clear just what was included in the packages offered. I work in this industry. If I can't understand what the offer is, there's no way an average visitor can. Rule of thumb: Make it as easy as possible for people to buy from you... prices, descriptions, and a link to purchase immediately online. Don't talk down, but never assume people have any specialized knowledge.

5. No proofing. Among other typos, "optimization" was misspelled, as was "professional". Some of the links do not work. This gives a very bad impression. If they can't be bothered to pay attention to detail on their own site, how can I trust them with mine? Rule of thumb: First impressions count for as much on the internet as they do in real life meetings. Your site represents you and your business. Make sure that it says the right things! And from a search engine standpoint, dead links are a death blow.

Although this was a case study for an SEO site, these mistakes are very common across the board. If you want your website to generate business, you have to make it user-friendly. If people cannot read what you have to offer, they cannot buy it. If they cannot find the product/service page that they need, they cannot buy that product or service. If they cannot find pricing or descriptions, they will not buy from you. If they find information that is incorrect, they will not trust you, and will not want to buy from you.

Most internet surfers are pretty impatient. A site like this one won't keep the average visitor's attention long enough to read the logo.

Your website is your voice in the internet world. It's that crucial first impression, it's your sales pitch, it's your brochure and it's your commercial. In many cases, it is your only sales representative! Make sure that it represents you in a flattering light, is helpful and courteous, and answers all of your customer's questions. You'd fire a sales rep that gave a bad impression of your company. Your website is no less important!