Improving Your Website

I’ve noticed with a few searches related to small business website services, there are a number of “website analyzers” or “website report cards” (as in grades? euw!) promising free analysis and reports. They’re free, but I suspect the offering companies will then try to sell you on using their services for the website improvements they found. In other words, with their writers, designers, etc. (And maybe they will hound you with phone calls and emails . . .)

But what if you have a website designer (on staff, a design firm on retainer, or a trusted freelancer)? What if you have a marketing person (an employee, a marketing consultant, a firm under contract) who doesn’t specialize in website improvement but who can certainly manage a website redesign or development project with the right information? (Maybe that’s YOU!) If you only need to get some direction and new ideas yet want to remain loyal to your current employees, partners, or subcontractors or stay in control, where do you turn? (Can you tell TDA understands and respects the value of professional relationships and the spirit of do-it-yourself-ers?)

TDA provides a Site Review Report(TM) that allows you to see what areas—design, layout, usability, accessibility, and content—need to be improved. It’s an analysis or evaluation of your website, with specific suggestions on how to fix it. We even prioritize the items for revision so that you can budget accordingly. (Want a preview? You can request a Sample Table of Contents.)

If you do need assistance redesigning your website or writing new content and don’t have existing relationships with writers, designers, or web developers, we’re happy to help and/or refer you to someone. Of course, our goal (per our company values) is always to allow small businesses to sustain themselves using the tools and marketing solutions we provide. The Site Review Report is one such tool. (For some quick tips on what not to do, check out our other blog.)

If you have any questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. Please post below.

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Praise for a Sign-up Process and Experience: ShopIttoMe.com

It's not everyday that I encounter a site with a sign-up process that is easy to use, branded, and all around fun. In fact, one of my service offerings, the site review, includes testing such processes and finding room for improvement to increase lead generation and sales for small business clients. (You can also check out my handy recommended steps for reviewing your site yourself here.)

So . . . I am happy to post today about a site that does it right--ShopIttoMe.com. Here are some of the highlights (which can be adopted and adapted by your webmasters as well):

1. Users are motivated by a sense of accomplishment from the first step. On the sign-up page, the major heading (see below) reads "Your profile is 25% complete," although the user has done nothing but navigated to that screen. Pretty smart, huh?


2. Users know what they can expect in terms of process from the first step. The call-out box (above) reads: "It's as easy as (1) choose brands, (2) choose sizes, (3) enroll." Preparation and managing expectations are key in the user engagement process.

3. Users are told why certain fields are being required. The savvy addition of pop-ups (see below) that answer the question "Why?" builds trust and confidence for any skeptics and guards against the second-guessing that can lead to increased abandonment and bounce rates.


4. Users are educated about what's next in a simple, branded completion screen. Because a confirmation email is sent, users are directed to check their email (as well as their spam folder) and provided with instructions in case they don't receive an email within--get this!--a specified timeframe of 5 minutes. This language helps ensure complete follow-through at a stage where many can abandon. (No screen shot on this one.)

All in all, ShopIttoMe has a stellar user experience design for the sign-up process. If your processes need a boost,

Recommended Reading: The Elements of User Experience

Every once in a while I come across a resource that is so astute yet so easy to absorb that I want to shout about how wonderful it is--and that is how I feel about Jesse James Garrett's book, The Elements of User Experience.

In searching for a reliable, professional resource for the user-centered design of websites, I came across mention of--and many links for--this diagram called The Elements of User Experience (published 30 March 2000). I was a bit skeptical, I admit, but mostly because I expected many more authors on the subject who were (er, um) not necessarily consultants, as well as something more current.

Little did I know that it's the nature of the field since the web began. There seems to be relatively few experts at the macro-level and limited recognition or understanding of the user experience design field at-large among my network of designers and engineers. But after practically devouring his book, I am convinced Mr. Garrett is the guru.

From his clear breakdown of all that's involved and the division between two communities--technical software designers and information scientists--and their distinct terminologies and approaches, it's no wonder that we might be familiar with portions of the web development process and the titles of those who perform those functions (e.g., information architect, content developer, business analyst) as well as the outcomes (e.g., functional specification, sitemap, architecture diagram, wireframe, etc.) without really being able to understand the big picture.

Thank you Jesse James Garrett for pulling it all together! Your book is an incredible resource and one I highly recommend to anyone creating or revising their site . . . and your blog is pretty clever too. (The only thing I wish for is a glossary of all the terms should you or one of your known accomplices be up for the task!)

. . . And anyone who doesn't want to read the book can just hire me to assemble a team to apply the elements to their site in order to ensure happy users. :)