OK so maybe not breathing, but every website out there should grow and evolve over time. As web technologies improve and change, and more importantly – as end-users adapt and become more comfortable with using the new technologies, websites and web strategies should evolve too.
Technology.
Over the past 12 months we have seen some HUGE leaps in Internet technology that will change the way users interact with the Internet. A few include: an increase in Mobile (Smart Phone) web browsing, newer and faster Internet Browsers, Tablet / Touch Screen Browsing, and Social Media.
Mobile:
Over the past year mobile Internet usage has doubled in Australia with roughly 50%* of Australian’s now owning Internet enabled phones, and almost 30%* of those accessing the Internet daily on their devices. Research has show that mobile will be 45% of all search traffic by 2012.
*Data according to Nielsen research.
Internet Browsers:
IE9 is in BETA, FireFox 4 is coming out very soon, Google’s Chrome is increasing in popularity, and Apple’s Safari and Opera’s Browser are both pushing the browser technology to the limit.
This means that the web environment is continually changing, especially with the enhancements with HTML 5 and CSS 3.
Tablets:
With the iPAD2 out in the US and coming out in Australia very soon, and more competitors showing up with rivalling tablets, Internet browsing via a touch screen is becoming more and more popular.
The question is, does your web site still work in these platforms? While most modern websites should work well, it is worth a check and as always keep an eye on your analytics to see the percentage of users that are browsing your site using these devices.
Social Media:
It is here to stay. Even if you don’t use it – your audience does! Here are a few quick stats on social media.
- Nearly 4 out of 5 web users visit a social networking site on a monthly basis (ComScore)
- 75% of Brand ‘Likes’ on Facebook come from advertisements (Mashable)
- 15% of social media users are more inclined to buy from brands that advertise in social media (Marketing Forecast)
- During the average 20-minute period in 2010, there were: 1,5870,000 wall posts, 2,716,000 photos uploaded and 10,208,000 comments posted. (AllFacebook.com)
- Social networking site usage grew 88% among Internet users aged 55-64 between April 2009 and May 2010 (Pew Research)
- The change in social media use among Baby Boomers 55-64 rose from 9% in Dec. 2008 to 43% in Dec. 2010 (Marketingcharts.com via David Erickson)
There are many things to do, but first all you need is time (we can help you with this), knowledge (we can help you with this as well) and a willingness to give it a go and keep at it (we can try and help with this, but this is mostly you).
Users.
So I’ve talked about the technology, but in the end the technology is irrelevant as long as you are catering for the end-user. Yes designing your site to work well in different technologies is a form of catering for the end user, but it is not the be all and end all.
As we can see above, the ways to access the Internet are growing and also becoming more accessible to everyone out there. What we now need to do is: make our sites work for the users, this isn’t a simple answer, it’s actually probably easier to build a mobile site or an iPad app, as that is a defined action / goal and we can work towards, where as making your site work for the user is something that has to me measured, researched, implemented and tested and then measured, researched, implemented and tested, over and over again.
There are many ways you can do this, and many tools you can use. Below I have listed some good tools to use, but it all come down to your willingness to try and adapt you site, your strategy and your and strategy on your user market.
Research Tools:
- Google Analytics – Free to use and if it is already on your site (if your site is with us, it probably is) will house a wide range of data that can be used to learn about your customers, your market, and your website.
- Woopra- Great tool for Live Visitor tracking. If you’re website has content / events that lead to huge spikes and falls in traffic at certain times then this tool can help you gain data on where, when and why they are coming to your site, instantly as it happens.
- ClickTales.com – Want to know where your users are clicking, where they are going, when and why they are leaving? This is a great tool that catches the users experiences on your site.
- Critiquethesite.com, fivesecondtest.com and usertesting.com – All sites that can be used to gain user feedback on your web site. Sometimes a 3rd opinion can be great, but always remember – these critiques are a 3rd opinion and they don’t understand your market like you do!
So while there are a lot of technologies out there, and a lot of improvements to make, the main point here is to learn about your current users and your audience and grow your website (or beast) over time.
Let me know what your thoughts are, and if there are any tools that you have used that aren’t listed above. We’re always looking for great new tools to help us get the best results for our customers!
About Joel
