Chapter 3
Website Basics
In addition to concerns common among offline business people, those online must come to grips with others. Here are some of these additional factors that matter.
Reversing Surfer Mania - How to slow those surfers who arrive as over- opinionated maniacs.
Who Do I Believe? - Here are things that lead to failure of a website. But can you believe these arguments?
Building Consumer Confidence - Without a storefront and tangible goods, online businesses are at a disadvantage.
How Do I Sell Products Produced By Others? - The best way may be the indirect or soft sell.
Can You Risk Supporting An Affiliate Program? - You may find you can not afford the risk of supporting one.
Does Your Site Tell The Truth? - A alternative to great advertising copy is to tell the truth.
Is Your Site Ready For This? - Ahead is a truly awesome change. Can you deal with it?
Reversing Surfer Mania
Most people are well intended. Most are happy to share as possible. Most will pitch in and help when it is appropriate. Smile at someone on the street; they'll smile back. Ask for directions and you will generally get a good response. But I don't see this behavior among surfers on the Web. Yet they are the same people. What gives?
People seem to be in more of a hurry these days than in earlier ages. Some seem totally into instant gratification. But still the above holds true for most. What happens to all these good people when they become surfers? What turns ordinary people into maniacs when they hit the on-button and go to cuddling a mouse?
Many become wild, often demonic creatures, lacking any semblance of courtesy, grace or style. I'm not sure why, something related to power, maybe. Since they have the benefit of total anonymity, they are free to do anything they please without ever deferring to any higher authority.
Ordinary thoughtful people become irrational opinionated experts instantly. With a click they not only say, "Forget you!," or worse, they literally do. They're gone.
As webmasters, we ignore *how* surfers behave at our peril. Such questions as right and wrong simply have no meaning. What we feel is best for our site is totally irrelevant if our visitors do not agree. Sure, there is exaggeration in the above. Not all visit in this manner. But your site will be more successful if you assume the above is an accurate picture of every visitor.
The secret is to grab their interest, slow them down a bit, let them catch their psychic breath so they are once again the sort of folks who drop into your shop or office.
A poorly designed page is rejected in milliseconds. A break in the HTML code will drive them away instantly. Many will exit on the first misspelled word or grammatical error encountered.
A benefit loaded headline must appear in seconds, else they're gone. And one is needed on every page on the site, for you never know which page will be seen first. And as in a sales letter, each word following the headline needs to draw them deeper into the page, and ultimately into the site. Since many scan; use headlines that give the gist of the page.
Take a good look at your site. Try to see it with a fresh set of eyes, preferably as a demonic surfer might perceive it. Move quickly down your pages. Are there compelling reasons to read on or to click to another page?
If it's so, you have a better chance of slowing your visitors down to the point where they are willing to click to another page, and at some point listen to your offer. If not, there is work to be done.
Who Do I Believe?
Upon invitation, I recently visited a site that was absolutely loaded with really great art. There was a splash page, beautifully rendered, that took almost two minutes to load. The main table on each page was fixed at 850 pixels, an odd choice that assures nearly everyone must scroll horizontally to see the entire page. The content was very well written, but most of it was on a single long page.
I reported I felt these were serious blunders, and added a bit about the why of it. When the fellow replied, he said he had checked with the artists and been assured these were design considerations. Then he asked, as if with a shrug, "Who do I believe?"
A total novice to the Web, this fellow asked the key question all newbies come to eventually. There is lots of conflicting information on the Web and it often requires careful thinking to sort the wheat from the chaff.
What I explained to this fellow is that site design comes second to function. That is, if a site does not function well, beautiful art will not help. Given any conflict between design and function, scrap the design. He never replied to any of my follow up messages.
But in the above, and what follows, there is really nothing to debate. Go to any successful site on the Web, and you will find function comes first, that art work, no matter how lovely, is secondary. Or ask those who work the Web. I do not know anyone into site promotion who says design is more important than function.
Function rules. Period. If you accept this, then the following must be eliminated from your site ASAP.
Horizontal Scroll
I have never heard anyone say they liked horizontal scrolling. I have never even heard anyone say they didn't mind it. While I have no convincing proof, people are annoyed when forced to scroll horizontally. If you disagree, try a poll on your site and ask visitors to vote yes or no to horizontal scrolling.
Monitors limited to 640x480 pixels are no longer being manufactured. The minimum resolution being sold today is 600x800. And while many site designers have settled on a width of 760 pixels as ideal, I can not recommend more than 600.
While this is changing rapidly, there are still some 640x480 monitors in use. (I have one on a system here in the office.) And some people using 600x800 monitors have them set up for large font, which amounts to 640x480. While there does not appear to be a way to count such users, I choose not to annoy them by forcing horizontal scrolling.
Another group consists of those such as myself who are less than enchanted with browsers. I do not want the entire screen filled with one. I have both Netscape and Explorer set up to a 640 pixel width so I can easily get to my desktop. Or change quickly from one application to another.
However many surfers the above amounts to, you are annoying them when you force horizontal scrolling; you are urging them to leave quickly.
Frames
I personally do not like them, and many do not. There is a problem with WebTV users about which I am not clear. But I was told it is difficult to scroll in any but the master frame. Annoy 12 million people? Plus folks like myself who don't like frames? Is it worth the risk?
Another concern I have about frames is the screen real estate they chew up. Add another vertical and horizontal scroll bar and you lose about 10% of the screen. Wouldn't it be better to use this for content? Or maybe just white space?
But my biggest gripe with frames is that designers typically blow out table widths, which forces horizontal scroll, often in each window.
Finally, spiders won't like your page, and your search engine position will suffer. Fewer visitors is not the goal.
Splash Screens
To me, these are the greatest site killers of all. Put yourself in the position of a surfer who is checking out a couple of sites. The URL to your site is clicked. And up pops a splash screen. Thud. When the URL was clicked, it was a request to see your site, not a splash screen. Now the surfer must find an Enter button and make a second request to visit.
Forgetting the fact that most splash screens are overloaded with graphics thus take forever to load, consider what happens in the surfer's mind. In the URL, there is an invitation to visit, which was accepted. But at the site there is a barrier, not unlike "Password Required."
If you use a splash screen, you are sending away at least half of your traffic. Most surfers will click off within seconds.
So who do you believe? Me? Others in the know? Fortunately in this case you can answer the question yourself, and with certainty. Just compare the hits on your splash screen to the number on the page it links to. I have yet to hear of a case in which even half those who hit the splash screen clicked on into the site.
And There Are Others
While the above are the most obvious site killers, there are others. But pages slow to load can be fixed. Pages too long can be spilt into two or more parts.
With most such site killers, there are solutions. The above are the most significant because once built into a site, there is no easy fix. In most cases, it's best to simply start over.
"Thou shalt annoy thy visitor" is not to be found in any list of good business practices of which I am aware. Why do so?
Building Consumer Confidence
Consumer confidence is far more difficult to build and sustain online than it is offline. No matter how sharp your website is, it can not enhance visitor confidence in the way even a modest shop can. Even one located on a back street in your home town.
Offline, a potential customer sees a building. It doesn't matter whether it is rented, leased, or owned by the shopkeeper. It's real. And it is likely to be there tomorrow, which matters should a problem arise.
Sure, a fellow can take your money offline for a truckload of furniture, then declare bankruptcy, and shut down. But a website can be closed in minutes. It happens. And surfers know it.
Confidence is also given a boost offline when a potential customer walks into the shop and looks about. The owner may be in hock for the inventory, but it is real. It's tangible. One can touch it. And examine it in detail.
And online business takes another hit compared to one offline. In a shop, you can see who peeks in, then leaves. Not so on your website. And you can approach a customer in your shop and ask if you can help, a great move when they can't seem to find what they want. And you can watch as they exit. Contented? Unhappy? Somewhere in between? No telling on the web. Feedback of any kind from a website is tough to get. And you are always left to wonder if what little you do receive is representative of all visitors.
Starting a business online has one enormous advantage to starting one offline. The start-up capital required is minimal, small change compared to starting up offline.
Online however, you will forever struggle to build and sustain a level of consumer confidence automatically available to the owner of even a modest shop.
How Do You Build Trust On Line?
Begin with a professional site. Anything less is almost a demand for a click on the Back button. Be sure the purpose of your site and what you offer is clear immediately to every visitor. Then lead those who linger directly to what they want. And be sure you provide all information required to make a decision.
A gracious smile and a hearty hand shake available offline can only be vaguely approximated on your site. Make visitors feel welcome. Demonstrate their importance to you. That you care about each and every one. And that you will go out of your way to help in any way you can.
Demonstrate Expertise
A shop that sells and services chain saws needs to say little about the expertise of the owner. He or she is in business, so the skills required to maintain a chain saw must be at least sufficient.
Online, there is no equivalent to the work bench in a shop. Providing repair service does not work online because of the shipping involved. But chain saws can be sold effectively on a site featuring power tools. Expertise can be demonstrated with great content, some of which defines the distinct advantages of one saw over another.
Great Support Helps
Providing excellent support goes a long way toward erasing the lack of a physical present. Consumers are perfectly content with mail order. Sears was enormously successful for many, many years. Today it's tough to beat L. L. Bean. While most know they are paying more, they also know the quality will be good, that difficulties will be quickly resolved, else refunds are forthcoming.
Consumer confidence can be built online. It just isn't easy. While the ideas above are part of it, here are four items often overlooked. And each is a serious trust-builder.
1) Provide a comprehensive privacy statement. Be as protective of your visitors as possible. More and more surfers have come to demand this.
2) Provide complete contact information, including a physical address, at the bottom of each page. An About button simply does not provide the impact of the information itself.
3) Provide a 24-hour 800 number for support. Let it ring through into your bedroom if you are just getting started. But do provide one.
4) A no-questions-asked guarantee. 30 days is minimal; consider stretching it to a year.
Oddly enough, you will find few people contact you. They are satisfied if they know they can. And if you over-deliver great product, the chance of a request for a refund is slim to none.
Making It Happen
While it is difficult to build and sustain customer confidence in your online business, it must happen. The key ingredients are a great site, great products that bring repeat business, and great support. Given this mix, it's hard to go wrong.
An Aside
If you are an online business owner, there is now a further way to demonstrate your professionalism and integrity. Join with us in the International Council of Online Professionals (iCop).
While we are just getting started, we expect to grow quickly. Soon simply displaying the iCop Seal will have a positive impact on consumer confidence in your business.
As a founding member, I am well acquainted with the great people who have put everything together and launched this new program. I invite you join us in helping to enhance consumer trust in websites entitled to display the iCop Seal.
Click here for more info on my site.
How Do I Sell Products
Produced By Others?
The short answer is indirectly, and with a very light touch.
We have all hit sites that seem like nothing but a catalog of stuff being sold. Flashy, blinking banners. Bellowing sound, if you allow it. I don't know how they can sell anything. I run quickly without even a thought of looking back.
When you are selling products produced by others, let the producer do the selling. (If they can't get it done, you have the wrong producer and product.) All you should do on your site is to recommend the product. And do so indirectly, with little fanfare. Look at it this way.
When a visitor arrives at your site, the question is always what's in it for me. So you answer this with good useful site content. You provide the information the visitor came to find. Maybe it's air fares to Europe, the cost of renting a house boat for two weeks next summer, all known symptoms of hoof and mouth, or the latest rumors about the price of oil.
Your site has a purpose for being. If all is working well, your visitor arrived in accord with that purpose looking for information you can provide. Do so immediately.
To hit a visitor with a sales pitch is dumb. All surfers know where the Back button lives. And they use it frequently.
One way of looking at your point of view as a webmaster versus that of your visitor is to think in terms of MWR (Most Wanted Response). That is, think of what you most want your visitor to do relative to what your visitor most wants.
It doesn't take a lot of brain power to realize you and your visitor do not ultimately want the same thing. For example, your visitor wants information; you want a sale.
Taking this a step further, it should be obvious that what you want is meaningless to your visitor. Thus you are whipping a dead horse if you do anything other than seek to provide your visitor with exactly what is wanted. That is, your MWR must be for your visitor to find what is needed. To work toward any other objective is to fail.
Suppose your visitor is looking for information about pruning rose bushes. Then her MWR is to find that information. Your MWR at the time of her arrival must be to provide it. If you can, you have accomplished a great deal. You will have drawn her into your site. You have been allowed to demonstrate your resources and expertise. While you may not have made a sufficient impression to assure she will return, she probably will not unless you provided what she wanted.
Now suppose you have a marketing deal with a garden tools wholesaler. That your visitor is interested in how best to prune roses, may mean she is also interested in good pruning shears. Which of the following will bring more sales?
A sentence within the article: "The first step toward good pruning is making sure you have top quality shears. My favorites are made by Diltson. They are simply the best. (Click here for further info.)"
Or ...
Pop up a secondary browser window and in two inch red block letters toss up: SALE! Save 30% if you act right now.
If you think the second approach is even feasible, you're right in only one sense. It is feasible. Some will jump at a sale. Some will even do so when they have no real need for the item on sale!
But you can not build a loyal customer base with the latter approach. The soft sell in the middle of an article in which you are providing needed information will take you much further in the long run. If your visitor clicks on your link, it will be her choice. Thus at the other end of the link, you will know she arrived by choice.
Enthusiastic support is called for. But so is lightness. And grace and style help as well. Something very simple may work best. "Being the gardening fanatic that I am, I think I've tried every gardening tool made. Those I haven't tossed, lie rusting in the garage. These days, I've given up looking. Diltson tools always deliver. They work better and last longer than any other tools out there. Nothing beats them.
And my visitors say the same thing. Many thank me for recommending them. [A great place here for a testimonial.] Check it out for yourself. Just click here."
Now look what has happened. If your visitor clicks on this link, she arrives at Diltson's showplace with an open mind, probably hoping to find a better tool. With less than eighty words, you have converted a total stranger into an excellent prospect.
Even if your visitor did not click on either link, you still have a big win here. For one, you have not offended her with a blatant sales pitch. More important, she found what was needed, good information about pruning roses.
In this, there is at least the beginning of trust and an appreciation for your expertise. From here, she may explore further or come back later.
While we would like to believe this approach always brings a return visit, it just isn't so. A visitor who does not buy on the first visit, and does not come back, is a sale lost forever.
But the more important view is to look at this from the other end. If your visitor does not find what is needed, does not recognize your authority and expertise, there will be no coming back. Period. At bottom, your MWR at the time a visitor arrives is to provide precisely what is needed. It is the only way that offers the chance of a future visit and a further opportunity to make a sale.