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This presentation goes through the difference between online & offline shops and the different building blocks for a good website. You should leave the session with the knowledge & tools to development & define a website specification for your business.
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What makes a good website?
Presented by:
Steve Gale
Pyxisoft Ltd
www.pyxisoft.com
This workshop is 1 of 4What makes a good website
“Which payment system is right for your business and your clients”
Marketing and Social Networks
Search Engine Optimisation & Advertising
1.Why have a website?
2.Key elements of a good website – design, layout and content
3.Coffee break
4.Developing a website specification
5.Quick Overviews – domain names, hosting, statistics & e-Commerce
6.Homework
7.Questions
What I’m going to talk about
This is the first time since the second quarter of 2008 that the publication has shown online ad spend to grow.
The study also reveals that no other marketing categories - such as PR events or sponsorship - witnessed an increase in expenditure.
Some 47 per cent of companies surveyed for the research claim they had improved prospects, consistent with the UK's economy returning to growth.
Internet ad spend ‘up in Q3’
Source: IAB UK http://tinyurl.com/yjggrj6
Raise brand awareness
Provide information on your products and services
Give customers a way of contacting you
Sell products or services online
Collect data about your clients for later use
Why have a website?
Elements of a good website
A well designed, usable website
Why are these important?
Good customer experience
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Consistent look and feel – website design follows your “corporate brand”
Good use of images
A sense of professionalism
Design
Make it easy to find your way around the site
Position your key messages correctly
People usually scan web pages not read them
Evaluate regularly and change things that don’t work!
Layout
The most common monitor resolution is 1024 x 768
Keep this is mind when having your website designed
Remember to keep your most important messages at the top, so people don’t have to scroll down pages to see them
A note about screen sizes
Content is the stuff on your website – words, pictures, video, audio, forms, error pages, etc.
Your website IS driven by content.
Avoid complex language – use plain language and say what you see!
Know your audience.
Check for spilling messtakes.
Content
If customers can’t use your website to do stuff, even if the website looks nice, is it doing its job?
Remember that customers come to your website to carry out a specific task – find out who you are, buy something from you, etc.
The design of your website should help customers do those tasks.
Test the website.
What happens when things go wrong. Do you know when things go wrong?
Usability
Make good use of the space
Sometimes “less really is more”
Ensure important messages are clearly visible
Put yourself in the place of your visitor – what would they want/do?
Make life easy for your visitors
Invite interaction with your visitors
Top Tips
Examples…
www.bbc.co.uk
www.waterstones.com
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/
www.cardinalmaritime.com
www.bbc.co.uk
www.tiscali.co.uk
http://www.usabilitynet.org/home.htm
Coffee break
Thank you!
Are you clear on what you want your website to do?
Make a list of requirements in non-technical language
Be specific – you want a search, but how should the search results be presented?
Itemise each requirement so a “cost” can be attached to them – time, money, resources
Put requirements into phases – this prioritised list can be the start of your website business plan
Refer to the website business plan in meetings with developers
Writing a website specification
Some more to think about…
Do you know who owns your domain name?
Do you know when your domain name will expire?
Do you have an automatic renewal process in place?
Do you know which company you registered your domain name with?
Use a service like whois.net or nominet.org.uk to find out details about your domain name
Domain names
What is it?
What options are there?
How much does it cost?
Web Hosting
Do you get statistics on the use of your site?
Do you know about statistics services like Google Analytics and Mint?
Use statistics to find out things like
•Popular pages
•Search phrases
•Which sites are linking to you
•Popular times people come to your site
Website statistics
There are different types of e-commerce site
•On site payment authentication
•Off site authentication
To do either you need a PSP (Payment Service Provider
You might need an SSL Certificate
Hosting provision is even more important
E-Commerce
Be clear on what you want to achieve
Think about your audience
Research other websites – competitors, market leaders, websites your target audience would visit
Ask friends, family and colleagues what websites they like and DON’T like – and why.
Make a list of websites you like, don’t like, compete against or aspire to
Homework
Find and employ a web professional
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