Mosaic Web - Online Marketing Solutions

A good Website is at the core of an effective Internet Marketing Strategy. What makes a Website Good?

Audience
Know your audience. Define your targeted customer(s) using demographics (gender, age, place of residence, education, income level, marital status, ethnicity…), likes / dislikes, political views, hobbies, etc.  Make sure that everything about your website appeals to your targeted customer.

Everyone is not going to like your website.  That’s okay. Your website only needs to appeal to your target audience.

Content
Content consists of all the elements that make up a web page. Photos and text comprise the bulk of content on most websites.  But things like forms and tools can add interesting, unique content to a site.  Good content is critical to attract users to your website - and to keep them coming back.

• Photos

A picture tells a thousand words.  Use them appropriately within your website. Make sure images are clear and sharp. Be sure to size them for the web.  If photos are too large, it may take visitors awhile to download and they could get tired of waiting and leave.  If you use a photo gallery, make sure it is easy for visitors to get around.

• Text (aka Copy)

Visitors want to read good copy on a website. They want it to be easy to read, grammatically correct, succinct, and informative.  Make sure the titles of your web pages accurately reflect the information contained on that page.  If a sentence is 20 words and you can say it in 15 words, get rid of the extra 5 words of fluff.  Even though your website is intended to sell something, your copy should not be overly sales-ey. Know your audience – what inspires your reader?  Be sure to appeal that emotion.

• Forms

Forms are a useful way to obtain information about your visitor.  Make sure they are appropriate in length – don’t scare away your visitor by asking too many questions.  Only ask for a piece of information if you really need it and are going to use it.  Don’t make people provide extra information unnecessarily.

• Tools

A variety of unique tools ay be incorporated into your website to provide value to visitors.  A calculator, a quiz, what-if scenarios. Does your website include any “tools” that will appeal to your target audience?  Be creative… you’re the expert in your field.  Give website visitors something that will really Wow them!

Design
Design is the way your website looks & feels. What colors are used, how is information laid out on the page, what emotion is evoked, and what type of “image” is portrayed are all aspects of design.  Specific to web design is how the website looks on a variety of browsers, operating systems, and screen resolutions. With such a wide variety of screen sizes (ranging from small mobile phones to 24” flat screens, different browsers (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari), as well as different operating systems (PC vs Mac) your website will look different when viewed on a variety of configurations. Be sure to test your website using the configurations most often used by your target audience.

Usability

Usability is defined by five quality components:

• Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
• Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?
• Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?
• Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
• Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?

(Source Jakob Nielsen: Usability 101: Introduction to Usability)

Is your website usable?

So to summarize… What Make a Website Good? Audience, Content, Design, and Usability…

Keep these principles in mind when evaluationg your website and you will achieve a “good” website.  Who Knows?  You may even achieve a “Great” website!