How to create websites that people want to use.

We spend a lot of time with clients trying to generate business leads, but it is all worthless if a user gets there and doesn’t see what they were expecting. There is no one guide book that will tell you exactly what to do for your specific site, but with this in mind I have put together a few rules of thumb that we use to build web sites.

Know your Audience

• It is impossible to build a useful site if you don’t know what people are expecting. Try to gather as much data as you can on who your

   

  users are, and what they are expecting. Gathering audience data is a continuous process that will help develop your site into a useful business tool.

Meet Audience Goals

• Create benchmarks to track audience interaction and satisfaction. These will give you a quick reference as to what is working and what is not on your site. This can be done using site analytics software. Google is great, but I also like to use Woopra to check on live site status.

Be Relevant

• Clearly define your purpose, and keep site information and functionality specific. Avoid tangential content; if there is a better resource for non-core content direct audiences there. Where appropriate you can use these links to develop link exchanges that will help increase your audience.

Keep Current

• Search engines are changing their algorithms to put more emphasis on timely content. They will still count static content, but it will lose relevance over time. The best strategy that we have found is to create an editorial calendar for the site that determines how frequently each section is going to be updated, and who is going to be responsible. To aid in this we have also been using user-friendly content management systems that allow most clients to be able to update content with a minimum of effort.

Be Memorable

• Audiences are constantly inundated with messages from all types of media, getting noticed needs to be a key concern for any site. Step number three is key here, people will remember you if you are very good on specific topic, but it also helps to separate yourself from your competitors. This is where it helps to be creative. Catchy graphics are good, but they need to tie in with a well-crafted message, and an effective presentation of the materials to create a truly memorable experience.

Simplify

• This ties in with step three, don’t put content or functionality on a site that can distract from the audience objectives. Try to keep the navigation simple and intuitive, let the user focus on your core message.

Pay attention to the Details

• The way information is displayed on you website can tell your audience a lot about what is important to your business. If something on the site doesn’t feel right it can have a major affect on the way you are perceived. You need make sure your web site works in a way that feels natural.

Let them Share

• Social networks are a great way to get your message out there. Make it easy for your audience to become your spokesman by adding social bookmarking to your content. This way your content can be brought to communities that you might not otherwise have access. Most content management systems have plug-ins that makes posting social network bookmarking functionality simple to add to new content.How to develop a Social Networking Strategy f...