Testing your own web site
There are no pass/fail grades here. This is just a test of your web site. Be honest with yourself.
It doesn't even matter if you don't understand the questions. But if you find that you don't understand them, then maybe you should be talking to somebody who does, and can explain how they affect your web site, your visitors, and your business.
Being different
Even though the content on your web site is different from everybody else's content — does your site stand out, or is it just different words in a collage of 'stuff' you see everywhere? Your business is different from everybody else's — why should your web site look the same as all the others?
- Are more than 20% of your graphics either 'public domain'/free graphics, or built on-line from a free service?
- Are any of the backgrounds on your pages 'free' backgrounds?
Been waiting long?
And the one reason why you don't want your site to 'stand out' --- slow, slow, slow. Have you tried a visit to your site using a 28.8 modem on a computer that has never been used to visit your site? That's how it will look for your next customer. If their interest isn't piqued in five seconds - they could be gone! If your page hasn't loaded in 15 seconds - you may never see them again.
Accessibility
Your site looks great - on your computer. But what if you get visitors — potential customers — who have a different browser, or a different version of the same browser, or a different screen size, or different fonts installed, or java disabled, or ....
- Do you know what your site looks like with a different browser?
- Do you know what your site looks like at a different screen size?
- Do you need any special plug-ins (Flash, Crescendo, etc.) to make your site work?
- Do you depend entirely on a special java applet for navigation?
Contact/Feedback
Is your web site simply intended to be there to be seen? [a little like a painting in an art gallery] But if your visitors need to ask a question or want to make a comment, how easy is it for them to do that? Would you ignore people who visited your place of business? Well, your web site visitors are potential customers - make it easy for them to make contact.
- Can a visitor contact you from almost any page of your site?
- Is e-mail the only contact from your site?
- Can visitors easily provide feedback from your site?
Documentation & Maintenance
One day, you'll need to change something ... and you'll either need an exceptional memory, good luck, or proper documentation for your site.
- Do you have a complete list of all passwords, user names, user IDs, etc. that apply to each of the external services used on your site?
- Do you have a complete set of passwords, user names, etc. that allow you access to your site for uploading/deleting files on your server?
- Do you have a site URL and e-mail contact address for every one of those services?
And if your 'webmaster' was unable to update your site, do you have clear (and complete) instructions so that somebody else could take over?
... and are all of those pieces of information written down???
In conclusion ...
If those questions give you cause for concern ... maybe you should take a look at the web design and development services halfadot smallwebs can provide.
If you're happy with your web site, and none of these things is a concern, please contact us. We enjoy visiting well-designed sites as much as anybody else.
