The Web & The Wire

Technology Column with Joe Granese

For effective websites follow four simple rules

January 30, 2008

It drives me nuts. I cannot stand it when I click a link somewhere and get transported to a website that greets me with blaring music and garish animations. You will find this sort of thing on tons of pre-teen MySpace pages and other gainless content. It does not belong on a serious website.
Overly elaborate websites are annoying, and in many cases totally unbearable. Businesses seeking to service and grow their client base online should strongly consider a few factors before they decide to tart up their site with distracting content. Individuals who enjoy maintaining a web presence to keep in touch with family and friends will, in my humble opinion, also be better served by keeping things quick and easy.
Here at the world famous Granese Institute of Technology, we don’t do a lot of website work. We have designed a few websites that we consider to be efficient, and we maintain them for their owners. New requests are politely met with upturned palms and a shoulder shrug.
Even with our limited exposure to website issues, we have managed to notice more than a couple glaring flaws found in many online enterprises. Here, in the interest of better browsing, are a few tips to help you make your web presence more pleasant for your guests.

Get a Good Name

I don’t mean your reputation this time. I am working under the assumption that, like virtually all of our beloved local commercial entities, you have already earned the respect and admiration of the business community and the loyalty of your clientele.
I am talking about your domain name, and also about your hosting company. So many Internet domain names have been snapped up already that it can be difficult to find a good one. While individuals can use their own name, companies may find that someone in a similar business may have grabbed every name that even remotely fits their concept.
So, if widget.com is taken, you may need to dig a bit deeper. Try widgetnj.com, or widgetatlantic.com. If that fails, try widgetyourname.com or widgetdeluxe. You may find that some of the names you want lead to websites that do not sell widgets at all. They sell domain names. These people are called squatters, and they are essentially virtual parasites looking to turn a buck on your good name.
Resist the temptation to further their nefarious industry and keep trying until you find a good name on your own. You can check to your heart’s content at www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp . Resist the temptation to buy your name right there. You should be able to find a web hosting company that will register it cheaply for you, maybe even for free.
I have found that the best way to find a web hosting company is to ask someone who has a website similar to the one you would like to have. If you are planning to sell things online, be sure that your new host provides a shopping cart and other retailing functions. Check on 24/7 support, too, as well as programming assistance if necessary, backups, and bandwidth restrictions. When all your needs are satisfied, then you can safely sign on the pixilated line.

KISS Me, You Fool

Now that you have found a name and a home, it is time to make your Internet dream a reality. My best advice to you is to keep your website simple. Ask yourself why you want to have a website. If you operate a business, you probably want it to attract customers, clients, patients or whomever it is that pays your bills for you. Think about the quickest and easiest way to make your goods and services available to the widest possible market. I am guessing that a loud pop song will not be the first thing that comes to mind.
I am of the opinion that you do not attract new business by making a site difficult to navigate. I have turned away from many commercial sites when faced with more than one or two clicks, or when asked for too much personal information too early in the process. I may be fussy, but companies still want my money.
An occasional bit of decoration is one thing. A whirlwind of snowflakes or rose petals obscuring your home page is another. When designing your page, consider keeping the graphics to a minimum of fast-loading images that pertain directly to your site’s purpose. Keep your site simple and your clients will be able to find what they want and maybe even buy it.

Tell Them Who You Are

Few problems are more annoying than a commercial website that does not give the client a path to the actual enterprise. Buyers want to know where a company is located so they can determine how long it will take for their items to arrive. People still appreciate access to a vendor by telephone, even on the Internet. Many, me included, frequently choose to shop elsewhere if no contact information other than an email address is available.
In the new age of the cell phone, when every minivan driver has a telephone plastered constantly to the side of his or her head, it makes sense to display your telephone number prominently on the outside of your establishment. The same thing goes for websites. Passers-by who find your business interesting on the outside are more likely to check things out if your web address is posted on your signage.
The same goes for your business cards, letterhead, and any other trade dress items. People shop all day, every day, all over the world. It cannot hurt to give them an easy way to spend money with you wherever they are and whenever they want to do it.

Show Your Best Side

There are a number of different opinions on this matter, but I think mine makes the most sense. Many, many companies bury their ‘good stuff,’ the items that buyers want, deep in their website to ensure that visitors are exposed to other buying opportunities. I think that this leads to a lot of premature logoffs.
Make your most desirable products visible to buyers early in their visit. It’s certainly alright to present boilerplate on the homepage, but make sure there are easy links to the items that clients are most likely to purchase.
I am not suggesting that you neglect the less popular items in your inventory, but you should make the big movers accessible to the broadest base of prospects quickly and easily to simplify their buying experience. They want to give you their money; it is up to you to let them.

This has been a presentation of my personal opinion on website design, e-commerce, and client relations. It is based only on my own opinion as a web surfer and online shopper. Your opinion may vary. If it does, I want to hear from you. Tell me what you think in an email to granese@juno.com.