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Put the Human in your Web Site Tank  

:: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 ::

Put the Human in your Web Site Tank

Remember the old slogan (in the USA), "Put a Tiger in your Tank"? For me, usability and web sites are like cars and gas tanks. There's a blah-like web site that you stick the hose into to get it to go. And then there's the really interesting web site that sells something you didn't know you wanted. That's the web site filled with premium gas and most likely was tested and built for usability and desirability, with lots of persuasive architecture tossed in as well.

Gerry McGovern writes in his article, How much human support does your website need?, about converting "lookers" to "bookers". In other words, how to increase ecommerce sales. I recently tested a site for a brand well known in the UK. The web site scored well in nearly all areas of usability. The emphasis they gave to special needs users was extraordinary. But, it lacked pizazz. It's designed as a self-serve site that essentially says to the user, "We're here. We sell this stuff we know you need. Call us if you need help, otherwise, order here. Have a nice day."

There's one picture of a human being on the homepage, yet the services are very human oriented, concerning life, death, home and health issues. The company information is tucked away and there's no information about why they're supposedly the best at what they do. You can pretty much stick in some information and get what you want from this web site, but there's no presence of Life, or Energy or heck, even a staff. You can call customer service representatives, but why go to a web site to do that? This company likely has representatives with an office up the street where you can shake someone's hand and talk about your needs, and how their services might fit.

McGovern writes, "One way to create more lookers into bookers is to offer some ‘live help’. If someone is going through a purchase process, or filling out a form, being able to get instant support could be the difference between success and failure."

I've heard pros and cons for live help. Personally, I think if the web site design shows passion for its subject, and testimonials from satisfied customers, I'd be more likely to use this "live help" service. The key is to find ways to put that Tiger in your web tank. Jazz it up. Show love for your products. Show interest in your customers. Answer their questions by providing click paths that are designed to direct them and be productive as well.

The People Part of Usability

Reach out and task someone. Web design going in the wrong direction?

     "UI designers are making the same old fundamental “forgetting about the human being on the other side” mistakes — except this time their code looks better. Humans — not code validators — use interfaces."

Other Usable Stuff:

Pure CSS. SEO Consultants have redesigned their website. Its foundation is CSS. In fact, one look at their source code and you can see all the classes. There's a lot! And, the JavaScript is placed at the bottom of pages, or linked to a file. The page code is really clean and organized. If you haven't been to SEO Consultants lately, it's time to return. This site is fully loaded with resources and very well organized for excellent usability. This page of related blogs may contain some you haven't seen yet, Marketing blogs Kudos to Edward Lewis and the entire team there!

Use this, and your website visitors will thank you. Usability Guidelines from MIT.

This article is helpful, Shopping Cart Usability, especially for those new to website building and small or home business ecommerce sites. The basics for a usable shopping cart are covered. Unfortunately, we all have less control when we use 3rd party shopping cart or order systems. Suddenly our customers are forced to leave our site, and often everything recognizable. Sometimes they can't find their way back. In these cases, don't hesitate to put user instructions on your pages to warn your customers things will look different. Let them open up a new window to the order system you choose. Make sure that after they make a purchase, there's a link to bring them back to your site. Thank them for their purchase if possible. In a less than perfect buying scenerio, you can remain supportive, service oriented, friendly and considerate. This will instill user confidence and help establish trust.

In case you missed these. Shari Thurow offers great tips in her 2 part series on web site architecture. This is an area that's often overlooked, mostly during the rush to "get a website up". Like anything else worthwhile, it's important to plan it out. Set goals. Design a solid foundation that will withstand growth and not limit you.

Check out Shari's Web Site Architecture And Search Engines – Part 1
and Web Site Architecture And Search Engines – Part 2

This was fun. How did they get the job?

     "HOW does a company -- who doesn't have the first clue about HOW websites work, function and are used -- win a website usabiliuty contract? "

Search Engines and SEO

I played trucks in my sandbox. New Sites Put Into a "Sand Box" by Google
     "There is a large amount of discussion on this topic given the name, "sand boxing". It appears that Google is holding out on new domain names for a 2 - 4 month period of time. So a new domain name might rank very well a few weeks after the site is launched, but soon after it will get bumped down in the results for a 2 - 4 month period for no apparent reason."

Marketing

Blame it on the boss. Tips to get through email filters
     "My boss has instructed me to nip the evil."

     "My suggestion for those starting out is to first read three papers published by a group called the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) dealing with Netiquette, Don't Spam and How to Advertise responsibly through Email."

     "Before people start charging per e-mail, based on Microsoft's Penny Black proposal, or any other concept, there are some underlying issues which need to be sorted out.

At present, SMTP is wide open to abuse. Proposals like SPF, Caller-id For Email and Domain Keys need to be thoroughly tested and implemented. Also, the Turn Tide router holds some interesting promise."

:: posted by Kim Krause Berg on 4/28/2004 11:57:42 AM

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