If the article’s title has led you to an assumption that I have an ultimate “formula” for complete evaluation of Website performance you are unfortunately very far from the truth. In fact such formula does not even exist! There are many different factors that are to be taken into account when assessing Website performance. All I am trying to do in this article is to provide a brief explanation of the main aspects of the Website performance that companies need to concentrate on in order to measure effectiveness of their efforts on the Net.

When my clients ask me to examine their Web sites and give them a complete health-check I usually focus on the on the following 4 factors:

• Informational Content

• Design

• Functionality

• Value Added

Informational Content

Informational content of the Web sites plays a very important role in conveying the company’s messages to its customers. Commercial Websites should contain information that the visitors may find useful in their exploits to get to know the company better. If you are buying online from a company you have never heard of before, you would certainly want to make sure that you are dealing with a legitimate reputable business rather than with a group of tricksters who will take your money and disappear in the direction unknown to you. The Website should inform the visitors about the company’s background, latest news, products and services offered and excellency awards achieved.

Not every commercial Website is providing customers with an opportunity to make purchases online. Quite a few sites are focusing on the marketing function and they view their online presence as a support network for their existing sales and distribution channels. Whether you are selling online or simply using the marketing capacity of the Web, you need to provide your customers with sufficient information not only about the company itself but also about characteristics of the products/services offered. Consumers need to know what your products are fit for, price, availability, unique characteristics and (of course!) special offers that they can take advantage of.

Do not hesitate to incorporate some seemingly “useless” stuff such as jokes, puzzles, contests into your site’ informational content. It will help you to attract greater numbers of “accidental” visitors. Chances are you will be able to gradually convert some of these visitors into becoming your loyal customers.

Design

Our life consists of experiences. Make a visit to your Website a nice one! If you are not a professional developer, do not adopt “do-it-yourself” approach. You will be better of outsourcing services of a competent Website designer. Time of home made half-baked Websites is gone. Consumers are expecting sites that are easy to navigate, use good color combinations and contain more than mere text. While pictures and animation are becoming integral elements of Website design, try not to overdo it. I can think of many sites for respected companies that have been flooded with animations. Designing a good site is not just about displaying a lot of artwork and flashiness. After all, you are not in business of selling cartoons. The role of the artwork is simply to increase the appeal of your site.

Functionality

The fanciness of your Website is if it does not work properly. Try to think from a consumer’s perspective. How often have you been frustrated by defective links, faulty catalogues and failure to log into your account? Unfortunately with many small and medium-sized companies, these problems are quite common. They can usually be attributed not to lack of the technical expertise but to enormous hurry to get the Website up and running.

If your Website is “sort of complete” and ” kind of ready for upload”, hold your horses! It is unprofessional to place an unfinished product on the market. It is true, that time is money but it is better to wait till your Website development project is 100% complete. Make sure that you test every single feature and function of your site prior to uploading. Do not take it for granted that applications or code that were fully functional at the time of initial installment are going to remain unaffected by your later developments. Software and code integration is fairly complex. In many instances, applications that are working beautifully when tested separately may be difficult to integrate into a working system.

Value Added

When you are starting out with a Website, make sure that your expectations from the site are realistic. Plan your Website well by outlining the business objectives you would like it to fulfill. Effective online presence can provide your company with the critical competitive advantages over the rival firms.

Identify the ways you can utilize the powers of the electronic communications to maximize efficiency of your marketing programs, improve communications with distributors and suppliers, expand your market share and provide better customer service to the existing customers. Be aware of the problematic issues you may have to deal with such as channel conflicts and greater expectations from the customers’ side.

When assessing performance of your Website, remember that you are assessing a virtual storefront. Your assessment is never going to be final. Same as with any other storefront, the final assessment is the prerogative of your customers, who are going to be judging your efforts and voting with their dollars!

Michael Baron is the founder and CEO of Baron Consulting Group (BCG) – one of the leading E-commerce consultancy and training service providers in Australia. Michael has been involved in Electronic Commerce since 1997. He has completed over twenty E-Commerce projects in the areas of E-Learning Software Development, Web Site Development, Web Site Mapping and Electronic Marketing for both government and commercial organisations in Australia and overseas. Michael has also published a number of research and white papers and has been lecturing in Electronic Commerce at some of the leading Australian Universities. He is a sought-after speaker at E-Commerce Conferences, Forums and Seminars.

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