When was the last time you examined your website from the point of view of a First-Time-Viewer? It’s so easy for all of us to take our websites for granted, thinking they are working 24/7 as our silent Sales force.
Do you want to keep your website user-friendly for the First-Time-Viewer? Here are 5 (free) tips.
1.) Invite a neighbor, or someone from an office down the hall (someone who knows nothing about your business), to sit in front of a computer and quickly navigate through your website without any prompting from you. Stand behind them and watch how they navigate through the site. Then, ask them to tell you what your business does? Did they immediately “get” what you do from the information on the HomePage? Or, did they have to search further to figure it out?
2.) Does your website HomePage speak to the First-Time-Viewer “personally?” In my experience, as I open a HomePage for the first time, little questions pop in my head - “What’s in it for ME?” “Why should I buy from this company?” “What do they offer that I can’t get elsewhere?”
If the site contains chest pounding words like: “Best in the World,” “Award Winning,” or “Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread,” (you know the drill), I click on the “BACK” button. I want specifics! WHY should I buy from you? What VALUE proposition do you offer me? Speak to me on a personal level. Don’t just scream how great you Think you are!
3.) Is everything up-to-date? It always bugs me when I open a site’s News and Events section with the “latest” Press Release dated 2005. Or, the bottom of each webpage says ” last updated: 11/5/07.” Hello — Is anybody home?
4.) Make sure your Shopping Cart works for everyone. I purchase a lot of stuff online and hate it when they don’t include specific Shipping Information. I have to fill in a different address if it is going to be shipped via Fed Ex or UPS. If it is shipped via US Postal Service, then I need to know. If I don’t see the info I need, then I will buy somewhere else.
5.) Test the credit card submission page. I have experienced many sites that don’t accept my zip code or address the first time. I have to play detective and try to figure out how they want it entered, even though I have entered it correctly, it comes back as an “invalid address.” That always drives me to someone else’s site to buy. Especially if their Customer Service office is closed and no one answers the phone!
When was the last time you took a look at YOUR website from the eyes of a First-Time-Viewer?
And, as a First-Time-Viewer, what’s your Pet Peeve about websites with Shopping Carts?
Virginia L. Vivier
Online Media Consultant
The Ganoksin Project
Office: 520-616-8683
email: virginia@ganoksin.com
Tucson, AZ
http://www.ganoksin.com
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Mary, White Branch Designs 10.08.08 at 12:43 pm
Interesting advice about shopping carts, addresses and shipping, but for many of us these things are determined not by us but by the web hosting company which provides these services. The advice is still valid, but should be tested BEFORE signing up with the hosting company. As a former web designer and instructor (pre-jewelry!) I don’t recommend trying to create a shopping environment on your own.