August 12, 2007

97% of Web Sites Suck. Is Yours One Of Them?

Last week I gave a presentation to about 50 business owners on "Using the Internet (for the clueless) to Grow Your Business". During this presentation I used one slide of 10 tips for building a business class web sites. This slide is originally from a presentation I've been giving for several years on Building Business Class Web Sites.

In reading the WSJ piece about Forreseter Research surveying 1,000 web sites and finding 97% of them not good, I find it sad that after so many years companies still don't know how to build web sites well.

Forbes tips for building a good web site include:

1. Value. The first mistake that companies make when they're designing a Web site is copying features from competitors.

2. Navigation. Companies often opt for cute menus instead of clear menus.

3. Presentation. Web sites need to be easy to read and understand.

4. Trust. People are concerned about online privacy and security.

Building a web site does not have to be complicated as long as those building the web site keep a few basic fundamentals in mind.

One key most important point, is to focus on the customer. If you build the web site for your audience and not for yourself, your web site will be much better than it is now.

Often times companies get caught up in building the web site for their own audience, when it's actually for their customers. For example, maybe you know what RSA means, but do your customers. If it really means Road Side Assistance why not just name it that and have the acronym on your web site?

Remember to check out my building a business class web sites.

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