Premium Website Review:
A Comprehensive Usability Review

Your website is working for you. You like the layout, aesthetics and marketing messages. Your website also works well with the appropriate backend systems, like ecommerce, forms, trial versions, registration and email lists. But is your website working – I mean really working – for your customers? The Premium Website Review is designed to ensure that all aspects of your website, particularly those touched by potential new customers, gracefully transition the visitor to a purchaser… and even earn a few goodwill points in the process.


We Review...

E-Commerce

• All costs are clearly displayed before the commitment to purchase
  
  
• The user is protected with encryption on any page collecting personal or payment information
  
  
• User received immediate order confirmation
  
  
• User received email notification when the product is shipped
  

• The average page load time is measured and compared to industry averages
  
  
• Browser compatibility is checked on current versions of Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox
  
  
• We test the site’s behavior with different security settings on the computer (block scripting, Flash, cookies, pop-ups, etc)
  

• Trial should require no support to download, install, run, and uninstall
  
  
• Trial software includes functionality of paid version
  
  
• Time limited trial software does not automatically rollover to paid version
  
  
• The "Contact Us" page should include a physical address, telephone number and email addresses..
  
  
• Uninstall leaves no residue on user’s computer
  
  

• Collect only the information required to complete the transaction
  
  
• Appropriate use of form constructs – radio buttons, drop-down lists, free-form responses
  
  
• Form should not force users to adhere to your format (e.g. phone numbers, dates, SSN, etc.)
  

• Pages are clearly divided into logical areas to promote scanning.
  
  
• Aesthetic treatments and location convey the hierarchy of items on the page (i.e. nesting, boxes, background colors, font sizes and placement)
  
  
• The user’s eyes are drawn to the most important message(s) on the page. The home page is not too “noisy” with many items competing for immediate attention.
  
  
• Keep animation to a minimum. Use Flash only if it can more clearly (and quickly) convey the company message, because it will annoy some users and may slow your site load time.

Content & Language

• The purpose of the company and website are self-evident, with a clear and compelling value proposition.
  
  
• The language is concise and free of company jargon and acronyms.
  
  
• Tag line (if you have one) is short and tells the user something unique about your company.
  
  
• Your Welcome Statement succinctly provides the main point(s) of the company.
  
  
• In general, the pure marketing speak is kept to a minimum on the site. In other words, show the user why you are great; don’t simply state it several times.

Building Credibility

• The site is free of errors and broken links.
  
  
• Data is encrypted for any page in which the user enters personal data.
  
  
• The “Contact Us” page should include a physical address, telephone number and email addresses.
  
  
• The website should be free of 3rd party advertisements which cheapen your site.
  
  

• Navigation should be simple and persistent from page to page.
  
  
• It should be blatantly obvious where to start.
  
  
• The user should always know where they are on the site (i.e. You are here indicator / breadcrumbs). To facilitate this, each page should have a prominent page name... which should match what the user clicked to get there in the first place.
  
  
• Home is always available... and company name/logo link to it.
  
  
• Know the most common things users will do when they visit your site... and make them easy to find.
  
  
• Clickable items (i.e. hyperlinks and buttons) should look clickable. If you cannot click on it, it should not look clickable.
  
  

• Include print-friendly pages with light (read: white) backgrounds; also remove banners but not relevant graphics.
  
  
• Never trap the user on a page in which they cannot go Home or Back. This no-no is most likely to happen on forms or during purchase.
  
  
• Include thought leadership white papers and links to other useful sites. Users are coming to your site FIRST for information and SECOND for a solution.
  
  
• Resist the urge to hide disappointing information, such as shipping costs. Get all relevant information to the user as soon as possible.
  

Report

It will take 10 business days to complete your website review and prepare the report. The 20 – 25 page report will be delivered via email in PDF format. The report will include a separate section of specific, actionable, prioritized recommendations. We compose this section separately as we envision the list being prioritized against your competing development initiatives and being interwoven into your roadmap. And if you are wondering, yes... it will also include those usability items of your site that we really liked.

The report is written with the intent of being self-explanatory. We balance the need to be concise and candid with providing information that will facilitate full understanding of our recommendations. If, however, there are questions about the contents of the report, please contact us and we would be happy to explain. Finally, if you would like a presentation of the findings, please contact us. We would be happy to prepare and deliver a presentation at your location.