Ann Kennedy says: “Please tell me, Oh Web Goddess Extraordinaire, why do sites like Craigslist do well? They’re butt ugly and that’s on a good day. I just don’t get it.”
First, I like the greeting. I’m hardly a goddess – more like a jester – but since it’s the nicest thing I’ve been called in days weeks months, I’ll take it. Thank you.
Second, I’m not sure that this is the best question to start the year off with. I am LOVING 2010 and getting a bunch of folks all hot and bothered about aesthetics may not be my smartest move.
With that said, I get this question at least twice a day so here’s the thing — and yes, it applies to every business — whether you sell penny knock-offs from Taiwan or luxury automobiles, your site will be MOST successful if it’s functional.
Functionality is in the user’s brains. (Yes, with an -s.)
Take the Fairmont Hotels, for example. Last week, I stayed in three. They are nice places and I enjoy a lot of their benefits (read: the Willow Stream Spas.) However, from a business traveler’s perspective, they suck. Yeah, yeah, I know. They say they have EVERYTHING that a business person needs but then when you get in the room, you find out things like there is only one outlet underneath the desk. Even more horrifying, one plug has already been taken for the light. So, you end up plugging the computer in one place and your cell phone, iPod, Kindle, and other stuff in multiple places, halfway across the damn room.
Compare that to the Hampton Inn. They have a boatload of plugs — and usually at least one extension outlet near the desk. Their internet is wireless (as opposed to a lot of the luxury hotels) and FREE (not $14.95 per day!)
Are Hampton Inns as pretty as Fairmonts? Not in this lifetime. But sometimes you don’t want pretty, you just want to get the job done….
Getting the job done is where sites like Craigslist come in.
Remember, you don’t always need to be first or the cheapest when it comes to web stuff, you just need to do it right. And “right”, like functionality, is determined by your users.
The first 4 tried-and-true steps to making your site functional…
- Make sure you have action directives in every quad of every view. Action directives tell people what they are supposed to do on your site. They also make it clear as to whether your site is a library or a bookstore.
- Add an e-mail sign-up to the top of the lefthand column. Everyone knows that capturing e-mail addresses has lots of benefits. What folks may not know is that when users give you their e-mail, their AAUS tends to increase and be more balanced. In other words, they drill the right number of times per minute.
- Speed is a deciding factor for the majority of users. In fact, it’s one of the top three reasons why someone stays on your site. Make sure your load time is quick and easy. There are still far too many sites where you have to wait for the page to load. (Very 2001, not 2010.)
- Personalize the site with as much information as you can. This includes not only “Welcome Charles”-type personalization but utilizing specialized landing pages, recently viewed items/articles, whip-its and catfishes, etc.
Awesome goods by our Web Goddess Extraordinaire. That’s twice already. Yaaayyy!
Yowza! The infamous Disa Johnson from Search Return reads my QLOG? How cool is that? Thanks for the comment. It’s nice to see you here…
What’s “successful”? Last time I checked, Craigslist (which I’ve used very successfully to get rid of all kinds of things) isn’t a highly profitable business… Success, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. If you’re a site that cares about the bottom line of a P&L, you need to convert visitors to buyers and put dollars on the bottom line. Unless of course you’re just selling ad space and generating revenue from impressions.
I knew someone was going to nail me on the “success” comment. Perhaps you’re right — that it was the wrong word choice — but it is the right sentiment. Plus, if they cared about bottom line dollars, they could have them. It’s just not their thing. (Kind of like Patagonia with their whole we-limit-our-growth schtick that makes me want to smack someone! HARD.) Thanks for being here Rick!
And I love how among Hilton’s brands, the cheapest have the best internet capability, and it’s FREE.
Totally agree about Hilton. When I talk about them, someone typically yaps that I am biased because I am a Hilton Diamond member but I truly believe that they’re one of the most consistent brands out there in what they provide to their target markets.
It used to be a truism that Valentine’s Day candy gift boxes targeting less-affluent customers were more expensive to produce than those for upscale customers, even though the latter were priced much higher. That was because the candy was by-and-large the same but the packaging for the downscale buyers needed more bows and glitter and furbelows. It’s all about perception, no?
Never enough outlets in the right place. Ironically, I just read a post on the TravelingMom site about a mom who always packs a power strip (disclosure: I will start blogging for TMOM this month, so I have been spending lots of time on their site — that said, having a power strip in a hotel room is a great idea, but having to bring one with you means the hotel is not meeting your needs). Hotels and web sites that meet needs are worth visiting and re-visiting. If moving the subscribe box on my site means I’m meeting the needs of my users/visitors, then I’ll willingly comply. What’s interesting about this though, someone like me has to learn from experts that the location of the signup box matters. It’s not something my users can tell me — directly — that is. Wait, now you’re going to say if no one is signing up, then maybe you should move the box, change the text, color,… ah, I get it now.
Hi Kelly…. You should have e-mail sign-ups on your site more than once. The reason it’s important that you have at least one box in your lefthand column is that it’s pretty much a guarantee that the user will see it. If you put it in the righthand column only, they may see it just before they leave — in other words, when they’re completely exasperated with your site. Needless to say, the more you ask for the e-mail, the better your chance of getting it is so I recommend you put in at least a few places PER view. Thanks, as always, for posting here.
The library/bookstore comment still haunts me (in a good way). Every time I think about it, I come up with new ideas for my site. Thank you, Amy for keeping me on my toes.
The easier it is to get from entry to check out, the more likely I’ll complete an order. So why is it that so many websites make it hard to get through the process?
Simple things like an automatic carriage return for telephone numbers, prepopulating fields when the information is available, and NEVER requiring the same information to be entered twice make the shopping experience much better.
Thanks Debra! I always love your carriage return reminder — so few sites actually remember stuff like that! It also continues to blow me away how many companies do not pre-populate fields ESPECIALLY when it comes to repeat visitors and abandoned carts. The quickest way to get an order you ALMOST already had (in other words, just lost) is to not ask them the same damn questions again!