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WEBSITE 101: USER INTERACTION

The world wide web is truly a do-it-yourself medium for internet users. More that any other marketing and advertising medium, customers visiting your website have almost complete control over how they view the information you present about your company or organization. This month, our Website 101 lesson offers some great ideas for making your website user-friendly, and keeping your visitors coming back for more.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.
When you embark on a website development for your company, remember that your site will not appear the same on every computer. Designers can not have total control over the "look" of your site in the same way they control the "look" of a brochure or direct-mail marketing piece. The traffic reports on all of the websites that we have designed at Dux D'Lux tell us that the majority of on-line users are browsing the internet with Microsoft Internet Explorer. There are subtle differences in how images, colors and type appear in other browsers, but we tend to design the site so that it appears the way we want in Explorer. Also, it is important to design toward the base level of technology that you feel your target visitors will be using. Most computers that consumers can buy today allow users to experience video, sound and animation as standard features. However, it's important to consider downloading time, image quality, and the "annoyance" factor when deciding what types of "bells and whistles" to add to your website.

NAVIGATION.
Establishing your navigation structure is an extremely important part of developing your website design. "Navigation" refers to how your website links are structured and where they are located on your pages. We advise clients to think of their business from the customer's point of view. The way your company is structured internally is not necessarily the same as the way customers view your products and services. It is important to organize the information in your site so that it is logical and easy to understand for someone who has never heard of your company, and does not have the benefit of asking you questions. Remember that your competitor's website is only a click of the mouse away. If a visitor to your site can not easily find the information they are looking for, they probably won't stop to call or email you questions. At Dux D'Lux we don't stop with just making sure your website structure is easy to understand, we also ensure that the location of your links on individual pages is consistent and easy to locate.

INTERACTIVE FEATURES.
One of the hallmarks of internet marketing is that it allows customers to have control over their experience of your company. As we've discussed in the tips above, when your site is designed with this in mind, the ability for site interaction can work for you and not against you. Offering visitors the opportunity to give feedback is a great way to keep them coming back to your site after their initial visit. We often create email response forms that allow customers to request product quotes, place orders, request to be added to your mailing list, and more. Setting up a guest book can allow your customers to give feedback that will appear on the screen almost immediately. We also suggest designating certain areas of your site where you change the information regularly so that customers have something new to visit. You can also add search engines, on-line newsletters, polls, etc. that allow customer interaction. Providing opportunities for feedback can make your on-line customers feel that their opinions matter to you and that they are valuable to your company.