Part 1 : The good, and what could be better...

It was last month that Nettie and I decided to try and get some Web insight out of those who ultimately decide whether a website lives or dies.

Not the webmaster, not the bank manager, not the software manufacturer or the hosting company, but the visitor, the user, the man or woman we're all trying to convince to visit our sites, and click on those advertisements, affiliate links or order buttons.

So we picked five business users from the United States, India, Germany and Belgium, working for organizations as diverse as a plastics manufacturer and the United Nations. These 5 represent about 0.0000012% of the total number of Internet users, so we're not going to claim statistical relevance here. But I think you'll find their comments interesting.

This first look focuses on general opinion about websites and how they work. Our grateful thanks to John Brown, Peter Gowin, Mr. Gowrishankar, Daryl Sawyer and David Lee for helping us out.

The first question we asked was "What do you appreciate most in a website?" Two things stood out in the answers: a quick download and the ability to find what you want fast. As Daryl Sawyer said, "Not everyone lives in an area where you can get bandwidth large enough to park an elephant on, and we have to make do with a 28,800 dialup connection."

But what about surfing from work, surely bandwidth is not an issue then? Well, Daryl continued, "...at work I have a very fast connection, but the server still has to push the page to the client...and they could be bogged down with requests. That is why the load time should be minimized. The faster I get the page, the faster I can get to what I want."

Good site navigation was mentioned by all, and best put by Peter Gowin: "I want simple, easy navigation; I don't want to have to strain to find what I'm looking for." David Lee added, "I appreciate a thorough and accurate search engine. I must be able to type in part numbers or model names for a company's products and be taken immediately to the appropriate pages. You wouldn't believe how many companies have search engines that can't even find their own products."

Other themes that came up were effective start pages, as Mr.Gowrishankar put it, "The first impression should be the best impression."

John Brown cast out a serious challenge with his list of points, "I like interaction, because the site has to offer more than a brochure or book or a TV advert could do. And I like customization, so I can tailor the site to my needs."

And John's final comment is one we should all do well to heed: "Of course, on top of everything the site has to work; if it doesn't load properly, or if buttons or processes don't work, I'll leave."

We then went on to ask where websites could improve. Unsurprisingly, the answers focused again on navigation and ease of use.

John Brown wanted "...an uncluttered, clear design. Many sites try to fit too much onto a single page." For Peter Gowin it was, "...simpler start pages and a site map; some page I can go to and view a well-organized list of what I can see at this site, and where to find it."

Daryl Sawyer said, "Most websites need to show their product right up front. For some reason they like to hide the reason you are coming to the site behind introductions and index pages. We should be able to quickly find the link to what you want off the main page."

And again, a final challenge from John Brown: "Delivering on promises. If I sign up for a newsletter it should arrive, consistently."

Continued...