This is a question that has many anwers, for it very much depends on the definition of the question. So I will start by defining the question itself. What is a good website? One’s expectations of a good website is really determined by one’s appreciation of what a distributed networked software can do to help one’s enterprise. I believe that the vast majority of business owners have a very limited idea of this concept. At its most basic avatar, a website is a virtual window to an enterprise, investing on the content and beautification of the website improves its quality, but nonetheless doesn’t change its function as a basic window.
Communicating
Websites can be much more than windows. Their next level avatar is in essence about communication, how well does it communicate the message of the enterprise, its products, its services, its vision and modus operandi. A good website should be able to do this with clarity and simplicity. The home page being a crucial component of a successful online communication strategy. The menu and navigational aid are important building blocks and the content of pages need to be simple, fluid and abundantly illustrated with images so as to reduce the need to read extensive passages.
Images should be of good quality, of generous dimensions, its no use to put small images where details cannot be seen, it frustrates the reader and generally leaves visitors with a negative impression.
The home page is simple and clear: most visitors to a new site have a very short attention span and if they don’t understand what this site is about and how to quickly find key aspects of the site, they will simply browse on. A large slider often does a good job at solving this, but short and thoughtful headings, titles and menus make the whole experience much more inviting.
Work flow Process
If a company website is used to sell products or services, then the question of how easy is it to process a sale needs to be addressed, right from the identification of the client (logging into the site) to the culmination of the actual payment. The process flow needs to be carefully planned and tested to ensure rapidity but also clarity of each step. Ease of access to the account-related information such as a client’s details, their past interaction with the site, their pending processes and such information that allows a client/visitor to the site to minimise time lost in trying to find and accomplish what they are trying to achieve on the site.
An integrated enterprise tool
More and more websites are being used by business owners and employees as a tool to centralise their work and data/information. However, a good website needs to have a clear vision in order to accomplish this. A vision is clarified when one has an understanding of how technology can be harnessed for the service of the enterprise. In a number of scenarios with our customers, we regularly enlighten them with functionality that help resolve some pain points. Take for example an architect studio who recently approached us to built their website.
A case study…
An architecture studio’s initial perspective was for a communication site, but after further discussion we discovered that 90% of their work is inter-communication between the various stakeholders of a project. Form the initial discussion with their client, design phase, finalisation, construction and handover of the project, it is apparent that many emails, and documents are written, exchanged, collaboratively worked on and the various processes documented as part of the internal work flow process. This means that a lot of documents and and messages are stored in various places, computers, and exchanged with a number of actors.
Our proposal was to integrate a phased-approach design of their website so as to gradually transform their work flow as a website-centric process, thereby ensuring that all documents, updates and messages are retained within a central archive. The proposed website had 3 major levels of access with account credentials: internal stakeholders, clients and the public. The retained proposal manages the flow of information from internal to client to public. The major advantage being able to control the flow of information and ease of review of past documentation. The cherry on the cake? The ability to have ready-to-publish up-to-date information on their latest project to display on their public website.
So what is a good website?
To answer my initial question, a good website is one that at its most basic need is elegant, simple, and clear in showcasing the enterprise and its raison d’etre.
A good website is also a good communicating tool, an intuitive menu structure, and less written words more images that have been carefully picked to speak your 1000 words that you have omitted.
A good website is one that transcends the need to serve information, but rather plays an integral role in the enterprise’s development and growth. The vast majority of SME websites are static, rarely updated and often out of sync with the evolution of the business. Integrating the website into daily work process flow of the enterprise ensures regular updates and dynamic content.
A good website is about networking, integrating with social platforms, reaching out to its stakeholders, but this is a process that can only be achieved if the above 3 aspects are taken care of, and is usually achieved after months and possibly years of continuous updates and improvements.
Finally, a good website is labour of love, it needs to be fed with new content, updated, reviewed, polished, interacted with while being mindful of feedback from visitors who take the time to write some.
At the service of the Enterprise
This is what we do best, the application of an awakened mind at the service of the Indian small and medium enterprise. We consult, we educate, but most importantly we apply intelligence with the aspiration of the reawakening of this great nation.
If you are in need of a website for your enterprise/project/business/organisation, get in touch, let us at least give you a free proposal and if you share our vision, we will consider working with your budget.