Web Direct Studio

Web 2.0 has become a catchword which, as catchwords go, means different things to different people. Journalists regard it as a catch-all phrase of web evolution, developers see it as the next phase of interactive site development, site owners (who have a clue) see it as a chance to create the kind of site that allows users to claim a certain degree of ownership in their site, designers see it as a chance to create sites with sexy curves, layer transparencies and colours which guide the eye and thrill the mind.

The point is that with so many different people thinking so many different things about Web 2.0 there is a real risk that your powered-up, aerodynamic bird-of-prey of a website may end up being a real turkey in terms of how visitors will perceive it and how they will react to it.

In the bad old days of the web when “cool” meant having the odd animation with a ‘click to email’ sign or a flower-patterned wallpaper the only thing a well-meaning website owner and an overzealous web designer could inflict on website visitors was a little sense of nostalgia for 70s chic. These days however things are different.

A site visitor landing on your page today can be presented with far more choices in terms of action he needs to take and more clever items vying for his attention than what he really needs to contend with. The result can be devastating. Faced with so much choice the site visitor finds the site hyper-energetic and confusing. He clicks away and even if the site’s content and product or service was compelling enough for the visitor to think “I will get back to this site later” or even to Bookmark the site, the chances are that within seconds a Google search has produced enough similar sites for him to feel less challenged and find what he needs.

The point here is that today there is absolutely no need in today’s user-orientated web to create a website that does almost everything but sell your products and services. Beyond SWOT analyses in the development of your online business model, if you are really serious about converting your online visitors into customers then you need to make sure that you are getting the entire online experience right for them.

We can go on about perceptive predisposition, sight-trust level, perceptual authority and Ajax programming until we are blue in the face but in plain English here is what needs to happen on a well-designed website in order for it to work:

1. Design – does it meet the online visitors’ expectations of a site that sells the kind of product or service yours does?

2. Navigation – is it intuitive? Can your online visitors find what they are looking for at a glance?

3. Content – does it arrest the mind after the design has done its job of stopping the eye?

4. Interactivity – does it enhance the site, allowing your visitor to feel that they are getting the service they want as painlessly as they want?

5. Online business model – does it actually make sense in terms of you creating lasting value and satisfaction for your customers and profit for yourself?

6. Follow up – is there a valid reason for your online customers to come back to your site and give you follow up reasons? Do you have a client-management mechanism in place? Are you getting repeat custom or are you constantly fighting for new customers all the time?

If you are serious about making your website a success you need to have a clear idea of what it is and what you are doing with it. If you cannot summarise these two aspects in a single sentence then your vision of what your site is and what it does is fuzzy and your approach is suffering.

Aim for clarity in everything you do and you stand a higher than average chance of success.

If you need advice, have a web project that could benefit from careful assessment or have an online business that could benefit from our concerted approach and in-house knowledge of how online business models work, get in touch with us.