A checklist for your website

Website checklist

1. Is your website easy to read?
   
   No one is going to pay attention to what it is you have to say if you make it difficult for them to do so. Time is a limited resource and with today's busy lifestyle people are less and less prepared to waste it. With your website you need to remember to keep it simple. Patterned or speckled backgrounds decrease readability as does unusual or inconsistent fonts.
   
   
2. Does the first page load fast enough?
   
   Once again this has to do with consumer's busy lives and lack of patience. When a website is taking a particularly long time to load a viewers first instinct, unless they already have an extreme interest in the site, is to stop it loading and take their attention else where. The first page of your website should take no longer than ten seconds to load. Photos can often cause this problem. To avoid it photos can be compressed or the quality reduced slightly.
   
   
3. Is it clear from the beginning what it is you do?
   
   Within a few seconds of having seen your homepage a viewer should be able to tell it is what your organisation does. A few seconds of confusion is all it takes for a consumer to make a judgment that this is not what they are looking for and then leave. A point to note here is to focus on customer benefits. In the first few sentences a website should communicate what it is you do and what it is the customer will gain from doing business with you
   
   
4. Is your website easy to navigate?
   
   Make sure you label pages so that there is no confusion as to what information viewers will find there and make sure that those labels are easily visible. If you make it too difficult or confusing to find any information then people will quickly become frustrated and leave. One way to determine if your website is easy to navigate is to test it. Ask someone who does not have experience using your website to find a certain piece of information and time how long it takes for them to find it.
   
   
5. Is your contact information easy to find?
   
   All business websites should contain contact information. When a business supplies this information it reassures the customer that the company is legitimate and that if there are any problems there is a way for that customer to get assistance. One way to ensure that potential customers can easily find how to contact you is for you supply a link to your contact information in the same place on every page
   
   
6. Are you annoying your customers with ads?
   
   One sure fire way to annoy those that visit your website is by using pop-up advertising for products and services that have nothing to do with what it is you are offering. Where possible try to avoid pop-up advertising. You could also consider using the Google AdSense service to put text advertisements on your site that actually relate to the content that is on your website, with this service you do have the ability to prevent competition from putting ads on your site.
   
   
7. Is your website out of date?
   
   If the information on your site is obviously out of date viewers will likely leave the site and never return. If they have to be told by you that the service or product they are requesting is no longer available they are likely to be more disappointed and may share their experience with others.
   If you do not have the ability to update your website regularly then avoid putting time sensitive information on it.
   
   
8. Is it professionally designed?
   
   If you are thinking of creating a new website, and you can afford it, it pays to hire a professional. This is especially true if a professional image is a part of what you are trying to portray. Discerning consumers can spot an amateur site and it can send the message that you are not a serious business. There is no shortage of good web design companies in New Zealand who can help you with this, but before you meet with any it can be helpful to establish:
   
   
   
   • What is it you want the website to do? What are your objectives in creating this website?
   
   
   • What is the main message that you want this website to convey?
   
   
   • What feelings do you want the website to evoke in the people that view it?
   
   
   • What is your budget?
   
   
   
   It may also be helpful to have your most recent marketing material available to show the company designing your website so that they can gain a greater understanding of what it is you are all about.