internet business consulting: martin soltis


Website Usability
Launch, Test, Track. Change, Test, Track. Update, Test, Track. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat...
usa·bili·ty
adj.
<programming> The effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which users can achieve tasks in a particular environment of a product. High usability means a system is: easy to learn and remember; efficient, visually pleasing and fun to use; and quick to recover from errors.

Hmmmm. Seems simple enough, doesn't it?
"... users can achieve tasks in a particular environment..."

If this were as simple as it sounds, there wouldn't be terms like "shopping cart abandonment" or "conversion rate" - everyone that arrived to your site would a) instantly find what they're looking for and b) happily cough up their credit card number to buy it.

The reality of it is, however, that if 5% of surfers that search your keywords click on your link, and 5% of those people purchase an item, you're (in my humble estimation) in the top 10% of all ecommerce sites.

Think about what you're expecting them to do:
  • Find your site
  • Find a product within your site
  • Completely fill out forms with their financial information
  • See enough of your company and product information that makes them trust  you enough to actually complete an order
In the age of identity theft and credit card fraud, this is no small task.

If you manage to turn a visitor into a customer, you should probably make sure your site doesn't crash while they're trying to give you their money.

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