1 / 3 – Researching, when to use common sense instead – It’s the design isn’t it?
So, we have all heard this question before, “what the heck are we doing wrong with our website”. It’s not getting much views. Immediately, a couple of questions come to mind. When the wondering starts, a couple of things usually spring to mind.
“We need a social media” –> heard that one from my teachers (it has been said out loud, and, not the once)- It’s the design isn’t is? We need a new website!
- The content is badly written isn’t it? We need a new website!
- Something about SEO? I don’t get it?!
First things first you “big corporate boss-people”, there is no such thing as “a social media”. Second, most of the time the answer does not need to be that you need a new website.
I’m going to answer all of the questions above with a small little guideline on how you can save money by not doing research, this is part one.
So, what should it be? Generally speaking, a corporate bloke with a semi-scientific background in researching stuff says that they should hire an agency that can find out what is wrong with the website. Earning that company a lot of money in the process. Who is this article for? Well, if you are working on a cutting edge website that has a lot of “new” interface tricks, then it’s probably best if you do the research since you’re getting into new territory. But, if your website is a basic one that just needs to present information or get people to a contact form, then this is the guideline you should follow..
So, I present to you, my top tips for saving money on website research..Part one.. Drumroollll…
It’s the design isn’t it?
Don’t immediately hire a researcher to look at the design of your website. I’m currently referring to the design of the page in from both an optical as a usability point of view.
The internet is your best pal on this one. Let’s see if we can answer the questions above with a simple checklist.
Step 1
Do you see any resemblance to the things on this website?
- Is your website hosted on “Angelfire“?
- Is the text on your website moving?
- Do you have music on the background of your site?
- Does the background of your site move or jump or snow or blink?
Well, if any of the text above fits your site, it sucks.. Hire a designer, and not your nephew, the neighbor or your sun in law (or the guy that previously designed your website)!!
Step 2
If not, you are in good luck my friend. So now, what is next? Guidelines, guidelines and guidelines. Pretty simple huh? You just grab a couple of websites that state the proper guidelines for the usability of a website, and check to see if they fit your site.
- Despite the fact that the site isn’t a looker, there is a lot of usable information in the pdf’s: link
- Accessible content: link
Step 3
Now, if all of those things match up, there is only one thing that is still part of the design, the actual appearance. This is a bit tricky, but the best thing you can do is post is on a forum filled with web designers, something like this. This way, you should get an honest opinion on how people view your site. If it’s shit, see the last sentence of point 1. Otherwise, you can probably say that it isn’t the design that is putting people off, move on to the next question.
So, this it it for part one, please check in every once in a while, I expect part two to be online next week 
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P.s. Take the time it took you to do this for your site, and multiply that by let’s say €75 (hourly rates of research) and multiply times 0.6 (you are slower then a researcher), then you would have a rough cost estimate on how much a researcher would cost.