Online success is the combination of factors that contribute to a user’s overall positive experience of a website. On both ecommerce and non-ecommerce sites, you’ll need, at minimum, the following elements in place to ensure your success:
Goals: What are the goals for your web site? Is it to be an authority in your industry? Is it to sell product? If you don’t know your goals, you can’t measure your achievement of those goals.
Design / Layout: An attractive, easy-to-read, informative experience that lets the user achieve their goal – whether it is finding information to further the user’s knowledge or executing a transaction online. A user will move on very quickly if you do not keep your site interesting.
Usability: Easy-to-use navigation and a site map are key to providing a positive experience. If a user cannot move easily throughout your site to find the product or information they are seeking, they will take their business elsewhere.
Content: A clear and accurate theme about your business should span your entire website. Content should be updated regularly and pages should interact with one another, elaborating on specific aspects of the theme. Every page on your site should tactfully reiterate your theme for both users and search engines.
Web Standards: Ensure that your site is compatible in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari – these are the most widely used web browsers. If it appears incorrectly in certain browsers, it may be time for an upgrade. Browsers standards have changed significantly in the last few years.
While one factor cannot make you succeed, one factor can certainly equate to the failure of a website. In the ever-evolving web, there’s always an alternative to your site as an information resource or product sale. Make sure your site meets these minimum requirements for success.