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A few things have happened over the last week that show how important it is to test your site, make sure things work properly and that visitors know what to do on your site. Much of this is down to website usability which is a complex subject (there are companies who specialise solely in web usability), but even us small business owners need to consider usability implications.
First example is a client of mine who sells jewellery online. We’ve been mostly discussing search engine optimisation and he’s made changes to the site as we go along, but a visit to an exhibition in London last week and discussions with some usability experts has prompted him to make bigger changes to his site. The changes he’s going to make weren’t something that had particularly bothered me about his site, but a usability specialist sees these things from a very different point of view. Many of us can’t afford to spend money on usability specialists and focus groups but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get feedback on your site and ask a few friends, family or acquaintances for this (a bribe may work too!) You can create your own usability questionnaire asking people to perform certain tasks and actions on your site and find out how they get on. The results from this can give you some really important information and allow you to make changes that will make your site that much more user friendly.
The second example is smaller but this time something I should have checked! After spending ages trying to get the PayPal button on one of my web pages to render correctly, (it finally pushed me when a new client asked if they could pay me by credit card), I didn’t bother to go through the payment process myself, or ask someone to do it for me. This has meant that the client has paid for the service, but VAT didn’t get added on! I’ll now have to go back to the client to invoice the VAT separately and do the button all over again to make sure VAT is included in future transactions!
So, have you tested your site recently or asked some friends to carry out some actions on your site? It’s well worth going through the process and you may find some quite revealing answers. If you want to read more on the subject of web usability, I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of Don’t Make Me Think!
About Sam
Sam McArthur is an internet marketing consultant with 12 years in the industry. She helps professional service businesses with their internet marketing strategy, helping them to see significant results from their online marketing activities, particularly within the search engines. She also consults on the latest internet tools, technology and best practice techniques.
