In the 'bad old say' (tm) of web design, websites could be built anyhow - software was falling over itself to say that it could "output HTML" (the language of the web) - websites were even being produced by Microsoft Word (shudder!). Anybody seemed qualified to build a site ("ah! my next door neighbours boy can knock a website together for you...£50 ok?") and the results were as expected.
What the eye does not see...
The problem with a poor website is not as obvious as other things we deal with. For example, if you go to buy a car and the engine sounded like your grandad coughing or a wheel fell off when you kicked the tyre then you'd KNOW it was a dud and would walk away with your money safely staying in your back pocket. But what do you look for with websites?
The grammar of websites...
Websites are written in a language called HTML. HTML is a simple computer language with a grammer and syntax like all other languages. A key difference with HTML though is in the software which runs them - called the "web browser" (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari etc - the program you fired up to look at this site). Now we've all had computer programs crash on us - something goes wrong and then the program is gone - computer programs crash pretty drastically! However, things are a little different with web browsers - instead of crashing badly they do their hardest stay on their feet - this is great for you as your browser doesn't crash BUT it also hides the problems - you kick the tyres and the wheel SHOULD fall off but it doesn't - where does that leave you and the cash in your pocket?
Let's run through some of the common issues with poor websites then:
1) Poor HTML
We've talked about HTML already. If the programming, grammer and syntax of a website are poor (eg written by Microsoft Word instead of hand wrttten by a trained, skilled professional) then you've made life hard for yourself from day one. Visitors to your site may not be able to view it properly (after all, their web browser might not be as forgiving as yours) and, worse still, search engines such as Google may not be able to make head or tell of you. Bear in mind that Google need to be able to "read" the HTML code of your website in order to rank it - get that code in good order and make it easy for the search engines.
The standard method of assessing the quality of the HTML in your site is via a validator which checks the syntax and grammar for errors - why not run your site through one?
2) Poor Design
A picture paints a 1,000 words they say and good web design understands the needs of your target audience (your site is more about them than it is about you) and understanding how to use imagery, colours and information layout to appeal to that audience. A good website isn't easy on the eye by accident. However, an amateurish website can only make your company look amateurish by association - suddenly that £50 website isn't such a bargain after all!
3) No marketing savy
Before we get out the paint box and start making pretty pictures it is fundamentally and crucially important that we take the time to understand the audience of the website - who is the audience for the site? Who are we looking to attract?
Identifying the "target audience" of your website is a killer move - you need to understand what their needs are and what questions they have when they get to your site. Your design is then built around answering those key questions - aiming to get that visitor to pick up the phone, use a contact form or subscribe to your newsletter - that's the goal.
A poor website will be designed without any thought of your target audience - the next door neighbours boy designing the site wants to please the boss paying him £50 after all!
4) Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Knowing that Google et al "read" the raw HTML code of your website as part of their complex ranking system means that smarter web design companies know how to write the text on a website (the "copy") so that it more effective in terms of SEO - if you're going to cook Google a meal why not lay on five courses rather than that half tin of a soup that you found in the back of the fridge? (more info on how Google work here)
5) No Measurement
An old saying goes "if you don't measure it, you can't manage it" and that's as true with website as anything else. The great thing is that by using tools such as Google Analytics we can get the low down on who is using the site, where they are coming from, what search engine keywords they used to find you etc. By dipping into this fantastic gold mine data you can trim the sails of your website and keep it sailing in the right direction - which is a shame when so many compares have a website built and NEVER measure it and update it.
6) No strategy
What is the long term plan for your site? Where do you want it to go? How are you going to get there?
Without a plan and, more importantly, web design and online marketing expertise on board to help carry out the plan then how will you know what to do next? Who will suggest online advertising or email marketing etc?
In conclusion
Hopefully this has given you some food for thought. If anyone has any comments on points I've missed or you would like discussed, please let me know
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