If you are going to a party, formal dinner, or an important business meeting, it’s quite likely that you will examine your appearance in the mirror at home before you leave. Yet, what is reflected back to you is not a true image. It is just a reflection. Your assessment of it will also be affected by your own emotions and feelings. An alternative is to ask for an ‘insider’s view’. Your partner will also be seeing the you they know, and reflecting their thoughts through this prism.
This is so like the situation where you create your own web presence or self-craft all your web content. It will always be, to some degree, an insider’s production. The real key to an effective web presence, be it through your website design or social media activities, is to consider how it is viewed from outside. So, let’s be that outsider and consider some of the reactions they might have which could lead to your site being less effective than you would hope.
It’s not fully accessible through all my devices
Many companies’ web design actions were taken before the arrival into common use of devices such as smartphones and tablets. This can result in a visitor finding a site to be easily accessible using the more traditional laptop or desktop. However, when they try to use it with their more modern devices, it simply doesn’t function to a comparable level.
This content can’t be read
When considering the key SEO terms to be used in web content, some businesses simply then create content to present these words or phrases as often as possible. The result is that a visitor, who is looking for clearly presented information, simply switches off from SEO rich and unreadable web pages. The key is to incorporate the SEO keys into coherent content.
They’re not talking to me
A follow-on from the previous point. In this case, the content might be well crafted, but isn’t written specifically for the needs of the visitor. This offers a good case for having a range of landing pages incorporated in your web design. When a searcher then arrives for a specific reason, the content they see clearly talks to them in those terms.
This site is too difficult to navigate
When people enter a maze, they do so to have some fun. The occasional horror movie focuses on what happens when they get lost. Anxiety, even fear, takes over. Some websites appear like a maze, being far too complex or crowded for a visitor to easily find their way through all the steps towards a final action. This might involve options such as making a purchase, contacting the business, or signing up for a newsletter. If it isn’t easy to do so, a visitor might not become fearful, but frustration will often be enough to see them leave the site and try elsewhere.
This site is unfriendly
A small final point, but how frustrating is it when you click on to a page and find it unavailable? Especially so if there is no alternative suggestion or automatic redirect to a live page. Another way your site will be judged is whether you show good manners after a purchase has been made or a request completed. Just think how annoying it is in real life if you buy an item in a store and you are more polite than the person taking your money!
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