DOES IT GRAB ATTENTION?
Do you think visitors remember your site? Does it have something that gets attention and is memorable? If he/she does not bookmark your site what will get them back? You should give your visitor something to remember so that he can find his way back to your site. Write one thing that will be remembered about your site.
RESEARCH COMPETITORS
What can I learn from my competitors? Get ideas about the latest web design, technology and communication concepts by looking analytically at competitor sites. While you are there notice some of the keywords they are using to get the attention of people coming to search engines.
TARGET AUDIENCE
Who is the target audience? Decide whom you want to target with the site. Who is your customer or audience? Try and get into their shoes and think like they think. What are their needs or points of interest? How can they be served? List the top three categories of people. Write three one sentence descriptions of different people in your target audience. Then write a few words that might interest these people and cause them to respond to your site.
THEME AND 'LOOK AND FEEL'
What is the mood or emotion that you want to communicate? Decide on the overall theme and "look and feel" of the site. For example: humor, professional, academic, family, technical, etc. Write three adjectives to describe the way you want your site to feel.
CONTENT
This is probably why most people come to your site. They come to read your content. It should be clear and well written. A very high percentage of websites are providing poorly written content. The first generation of websites were written by the guy who knew HTML but not much about graphic design and writing. Now people realize that it takes a team effort to make a quality web page. Part of the team should be a good writer. Redesigning requires having several outsiders read your content to see if it is clear, up-to-date, accurate and communicates what it is supposed to. Then rewrite the content. Another tip is to provide more than just your company information but provide articles that attract people to the site. INTERACTION
Can your visitors exchange information with you? If you sell a product can the customer find out how the order is progressing? Can he/she easily get a question answered? This type of interaction is making life easier for everyone.
GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION
Are the graphics able to load fast? Do the graphics communicate a concept? A website redesign should involve an evaluation and possible redevelopment of graphics and photos. The present graphics may be unnecessary or may be unclear or too large. In any case each one should be reconsidered. New software makes it possible to make better graphics that are smaller and load faster.
MAKE IT EASY FOR CUSTOMERS TO DO BUSINESS WITH YOU
Do know what your customer is thinking? When redesigning a website it would be helpful to know as much as possible about how your customer is responding to your site. Is he/she able to get all the information needed to make an informed decision? Are there too many steps involved in ordering or getting information? What obstacles are in the way? |
