Throughout these seven weeks in MIS 225, I have realized how complicated websites can be. The marketing and management behind the site is extremely important. It’s proven in the analytics, websites that are user friendly, relevant, and easy to find gain more traffic and often produce more sales or conversions.
I find that most franchises, national, and global organizations have great websites that meet the criteria, and gain competitive advantage through their websites. There are whole departments dedicated to the content, imaging, production, and upkeep of these sites. All of which are critical to the website’s success. I find that local businesses can struggle with developing and maintaining a good website because it does take time, energy, patience, and tons of research to produce a great website.
Today, I searched through some sites of local businesses in town. I directly searched for the Periwinkle resale stores to see if the site had changed in the last year. I have known the owner for many years and have been so impressed by her business that she has maintained and opened in this town. This assignment calls for me to examine the areas of improvement. Here they are:
Þ Some of the images need changing, or retouched. They are fuzzy. For example, on the homepage, the big logo to the right is blurry and makes the site less attractive.
Þ The events page needs to be updated. They are missing a calendar of events. Even if there are no events happening, they could feature past events, or simply show that there are no events available at this time. It could confuse users.
Þ The contact information and store hours are below the fold. Most of the time when people search sites, especially customers or co-signers, they want to know if the store is open or would like to contact someone. Moving that information above the fold line could lead to more conversions. A great interactive feature would be to have the phone number and e-mail hyperlinked to make the site more convenient.
Þ There is no “home” or back to homepage button. I knew to click on the little logo but other customers may not be aware of that.
Overall, I was impressed with the improvements of the site from the last time I visited about a year ago.