This is a quick analysis of a few sites that I have found to be both inadequate and excellent in their own rights. Lets start with the inadequate sites:
www.exmouth-view.co.uk
www.exmouth-view.co.uk
This site was off to a bad start from the minute that I landed
on the home page. The first thing that I noticed is that the site doesn’t have
a profession look or feel. The second problem that I ran across was that all of
the photo links are broken on the home page. This would definitely make me move
on to the next site. Once you navigate to a different page, there is no menu to
help you continue to navigate or browse the site. The biggest problem that I see is in their call
to action. There is no way for customers to book a room online.
This was another site that when I first looked at it I had a
difficult time understanding what message was being sent, not to mention the binary coding image at the top. The site also looks
unprofessional in terms of layout. I also believe that I have found over the
years that people really do not like to scroll. This is how all of the pages
are set up. Another fault in my opinion is that when you click on any of the
navigation links on the home page, a new tab is opened. The how to order
section could have more instructions tied to the images, such as “click here to
order on Amazon”. I am not certain that everyone would know to click on the
images.
Neither of the sites above have any type of consumer
interaction. This seems to take away from the overall experience. I would also recommend that they each spend some time looking at more professional sites to see where they could get better.
Now lets move on to the excellent sites:
Now lets move on to the excellent sites:
Right from
the minute that you land on their home page you are given a few different methods
that allow you to interact with the site and continue your experience. The architecture
of their navigation is complete. It not only includes informational links for
the consumer, including how to find a dealer, it also has options for Ford car
owners to have their needs met as well. The last part that I found very useful
is their buyer tools section at the bottom of the page.
Like Ford,
their site is engaging from the moment you hit the home page. The menu is
designed in such a way that it is broken down by product. Apple has also done a
very good job at giving you options to interact whether it is by product or
genre of MacOS, iOS or WatchOS. Apple also does well by advertising their
newest products right in your face once you arrive. And for the music enthusiast
they even advertise music events. It appears to me that Apple has done a great
job at reaching all of their target markets on one site.
I believe that it is very important to have a good online presence. Since it is the anchor it is important that your site reaches your target audience and gets your point across in 7 seconds or so. From that point I think that how your site is organized to filter them to your call of action is equally important. Most would call this ease of use. However I wold define that as something completely different but important as well.
Once you have chosen your target market, the next thing to do is get your message across. I know that sounds a bit over simplified, but if you can accomplish numbers one and two then you are on your way to having a successful start to your online campaign.
Larry, you make a good point about that Exmouth hotel having no call to action, and no apparent ability to book online. Booking online is an extremely important factor when it comes to how people book hotels, and to not have that feature demonstrates their inability to keep up with common business practices.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your comment about how people tend to dislike excessive scrolling. It can be especially frustrating when there are no breaks between content and links take up most of the space. However, I disagree with your opinion about links opening up in new tabs. I actually like that feature. On a page with so much content and so much scrolling required, if it jumped to a new page every time you clicked a link, you would have to re-scroll and find your place every single time.
Hi Larry,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your Exmouth Hotel post that it is unprofessional. I also noticed, and mentioned in my post, that the pictures do not work either. One thing that I did not notice, that you mentioned, was that you cannot book a room online. That is something that I feel is very important for the convenience of customers to be able to do. When I look at hotels online, I do not want to have to call the hotel to book a room. I have to be able to see it right in front of me with all the information like dates, times, and prices.
Hi Larry,
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with you about the exmouth site, it is completely unprofessional and considering I work in the hospitality industry and I wouldn't be caught dead working for a place with a website like that, especially with it not having an online booking option. In this day in age everything is in online.