Why did the spider go on the internet?

Because he wanted to be on the web!

Everyone wants to be on the web these days, including organisations big and small. We are in an era where the first point someone consults for information is no longer the Yellow Pages but Google (which might lead to the online Yellow Pages). While print marketing materials still have their place, what an organisation puts on its website will most likely be its first avenue to attract a customer. It has become so important to have and maintain an online presence that companies have a staff member (or even a group of staff members) dedicated to the task. The past week at Baptistcare I was asked to use most of my time coming up with recommendations to improve the Baptistcare website. 

I began by surfing the website and writing down aspects that I dislike or I think are not user-friendly. I then proceeded to look at 15 competitors' websites and write down good elements that can be adapted to Baptistcare's website. It was a time-consuming and exhausting task, but it was a necessary process to get an idea of what content and presentation are provided online by other organisations in the industry.

After doing my research, I made the following observations:

1. Most of the websites I looked at had rich content but it wasn't written in succinct, informative forms, which is a big obstacle in the communication process. If a user has to read the information twice and stop to process it, most likely that's a sign you are not getting the message across.  

2. Colour combinations, font type and size, spacing, and picture placement are very important to make a website look attractive and user-friendly. I personally prefer a clean and elegant look, with photos organised neatly in a photo gallery. 

3. I think "smart functions" like cost calculator and postcode search are especially helpful in the aged care and disability services industry. However, none of the websites I looked at had any of these functions. (I suspect one of the reasons might be the complexity of cost calculation, but I wonder if there's any way to enable an estimate)

4. Custom photos (photos taken by the organisation) make the websites look more authentic and personal. However, most of the websites I looked at use stock photos due to privacy and cost. The disadvantage of this is there is a high chance another or a few other organisations are using the same pictures. The websites that did use custom photos gave real and tangible images of what the organisations are like and the services they provided, which I think make a better impression to a potential client. 

5. Providing helpful resources, such as fact sheets and list of tips, increase the usability of a website. These resources also make a website more than just a once-off information portal, but a place one can always come back to for more information - which makes the website a valuable resource itself.

Those are some of my observations. What do you think make a good website? What positives and negatives have you observed organisations have on their websites?