How Does Your Web Site Measure Up?

Web sites are the face of your organization. It is one of the first places people go to find out how to become certified and what the value of credentialing is. Keeping Web site content up-to-date and relevant is critical. Too often sites are only understood by “insiders” to the industry, they look dated or they are so cumbersome that information is, at best, difficult to locate.

When was the last time your organization took a critical look at your Web site and how it serves your members or certificants? Have you created content around what users of the site want? How often is your content reviewed or updated?

We enlisted the help of Jennifer Artz, owner of Hypercalm, a Web-design company, to compile a list of some of the basic aspects of good Web site design and content below. If you know of some great credentialing sites that are serving their users well, please let us know and we will post those examples here.

Tips for Improving your Web Site:

Keep your home page focused on a few main items so that first-time visitors don’t get lost or confused. Instead of attempting to list everything on your home page, use it as a portal to the rest of your site.

Content on your home page should be clear and understandable, even to people outside of your membership.

Avoid the overuse of generic images. All the photos and/or illustrations on your Web site should compliment your company rather than the industry in general. Remember to purchase the rights to all images you use.

Your home page should invite visitors to take action. Examples include portals that invite people to click on a relevant link, enter an email address to access a free download, etc.

Give new visitors and non-members the opportunity to “try out” your organization by offering a free sample newsletter, case studies, testimonials, publications or articles.

Use clear headings and subheads that help navigation. Also try to use text heading and subheading rather than images. This makes your site more accessible to search engines.

Your logo should be in the same location on every page and should always link back to your homepage.

Avoid long pages that require the user to scroll. Break up lengthy text into secondary pages or use downloads for long articles. The first page should give the visitor a brief, easy-to-understand, overview of the subject. Include links within the body that lead to more detailed information.

Avoid the term, “click here.” Instead, make a phrase within a well-crafted sentence a link. That way if the visitor is scanning the page their eye can land on the link and understand instantly where it will take them.

Test your site to make sure it works on all commonly used Internet browsers and test your site through out the year. As new versions of browsers are released your code might work in unexpected ways. Don’t let your visitor be the one who discovers a problem.

Build trust and credibility by showing users the people behind the organization. Include a list of Board and/or staff members with photographs and biographies.

Survey your certificants, members, and or prospective members to find out what they want from your Web site.

If email links are available try using the following code to auto-fill the subject line of an email message: < href="mailto:contact@yourcompany.com" subject="My">contact@yourcompany.com< /a > (Remove the spaces in the <> areas before using the code.) This makes the process for the visitor quicker and you can learn where emails originated. This is a great way to track the success of an email link.

Avoid background graphics that make text difficult to read.

Consider adding a site map.

A great new tool for tracking your Web site is Google Analytics. It is free and easy to set up especially if your Web site is in templates.

Consistency is vital. Make sure all pages follow a style sheet. Using a CSS (cascading style sheet) makes updating or changing a style quick and easy and helps keep text displayed on all pages consistent creating a polished, professional look and feel.

Is it time to redesign? The Web changes so quickly it is essential to present the best, most up to date design possible. When was the last time you redesigned? If it has been more than 2 years, you are overdue. Give your Web site a fresh, new design to face all your visitors. They will get the correct impression that your company cares about first impressions, the flow of information and is here for the long run.

For more advice, you can contact Jennifer and Hypercalm at contact@hyercalm.com or via phone at 310-876-3721.