• Focusing on Top Tasks
• Knowing Your Audience
• Organizing and categorizing content
• Writing for the web
• Keeping content current
Why Is Website Evaluation Important?
A website costs money. In most cases, company websites are paid for with tax dollars. The public trusts us to make sure their tax dollars are well spent. It’s your job, as web manager, to make sure your website is written and designed well, that visitors can use it easily, that it’s accurate, and that it’s contributing to the achievement of your company’s mission. You need to evaluate and test your website routinely to make it more efficient, appropriate, and useful to your visitors.
The best way to improve the effectiveness of a Web site is to have data that indicates how it’s performing. Many measures can be used to improve your website. Web managers no longer need to rely on conjecture, opinions, hunches, personal preferences, or other subjective information. Decisions can be based on data and research.
Ways to Evaluate Your Site
There are two kinds of performance measures related to websites:
1. Website effectiveness: First, you should measure effectiveness in terms of visitors’ experiences on your website. For example, you can measure how many people visit your site, how satisfied they are, and how well they’re able to accomplish what they want. The jargon for this kind of measurement is “Web metrics” or “Web analytics.” Web site effectiveness metrics use both quantitative and qualitative data. They can be separated into several broad categories:
- “Customer Focus and Experience” metrics, which focus on the user:
- Knowing your audience / market research
- Measuring customer satisfaction
- Conducting usability testing
- Analyzing web logs & visitor traffic
- Reviewing links regularly
2. Achievement of the company’s mission. Second, you should measure the impact of your website on achievement of your company’s mission. These performance measures address the extent to which your company is achieving its mission specifically because of its website(s). Unfortunately, Web site performance measures that tie to achieving company mission are often difficult to identify, let alone collect and evaluate.
Provided to you by Roberto Espinoza and Patricia Espinoza at: CPC Computer Consultants, Inc.
www.cpccci.com
www.cpcwebsolutions.com
www.cpcwebdevelopment.com