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Whadaya really want online?
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...content, structure and navigation,
visual design, functionality, interactivity, credibility, business
value, community and overall experience...
Is your Web site any good? Web author, speaker, and generally entertaining expert Shel Holtz says, "A good Web site is one that has what I want." And what he wants may be different from what I want or what you want.
So how do you know if your Internet site is any good? Enter a contest,
of course. There's one around every corner. The judging criteria
attempt to quantify and institutionalize what I like, you like and he
likes.
The Webby Awards,
touted as the Academy Awards of the Internet, are given for achievement
in technology and creativity. The winners are selected by the members
of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences who look
for sites that are outstanding, entertaining, and useful. Don't we all.
Specifically, Webby entries are rated on content, structure and
navigation, visual design, functionality, interactivity, and overall
experience. Reading the definitions of these categories gives clues
about "what's good." For example:
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Good content should be engaging, relevant, and appropriate for the
audience; you can tell it's been developed for the Web because it's
clear and concise and it works in the medium.
- Good content takes a stand. It has a voice, a point of view.
- Good navigation gets you where you want to go quickly and offers easy access to the breadth and depth of the site's content.
- Good visual design is high quality, appropriate, and relevant for the audience and the message it is supporting.
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Good functionality means the site loads quickly has live links, and any
new technology used is functional and relevant for the intended
audience.
- Good interactivity allows
the user to give and receive. Interactive elements should project the
distinct feeling that the user isn't reading a magazine or watching TV
anymore.
- One has probably had a good
overall experience if she places a bookmark, e-mails the site to a
friend, or stays for a while, intrigued.
Peppers & Rogers Group, the 1-to-1
marketing gurus, recognize sites on 32 customer relationship management
capabilities, that is, how well a site can be used directly to acquire,
keep and grow customers. Among the things Peppers & Rogers
evaluates are recognition of returning visitors, strong protection of
private customer data, real-time online support, providing
community-building features, and personalized product recommendations.
CIO magazine,
a sort of holy grail for chief information officers and the entire
information technology community, bases its 50/50 Web Business Awards
on presentation and design, navigation and user experience, features
and functions, business value, innovation, and overall service to the
customer or target market. CIO magazine takes pride in the fact that
its judges click on every button to follow every link, test and retest
every feature, and generally operate as you would expect from a room
full of IT judges.
Consumers Union is a trusted name for
unbiased opinions about products and services. Its mission is to test
products, inform the public, and protect customers. You may know it
best as the publisher of Consumer Reports.
Now, the organization evaluates Internet sites' policies, usability and
content -- and tells the world online. It's not exactly a contest, but
it certainly is a thorough evaluation, part of what it calls its Web
Credibility Project. Of anyone can figure out how to measure online
credibility, Consumers Union may be it.
Think about it:
credibility, user experience, community, engaging content…is this what
you set out to provide when you developed your site? It won't happen by
accident.
Oh, yeah, and don't forget to include on your site exactly what I'm looking for. And make sure it's easy for me to get to.
© 2001, Sheri Rosen. This article first appeared in Communication World, published by the International Association of Business Communicators.
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