Web site / extranet services

If you are doing any marketing online it is imperative you make the most of every click that brings users to your site. Good web design can increase traffic simply through referrals. Whether you have a purely informational site, use it to facilitate self-service for your customers, depend exclusively on your web site for revenue or see it as your fastest growing sales channel, you’ve taken an important step forward in visiting this web site and recognising that there is much more you can do.

You can now tap into a wealth of expertise from a leading web site design consultant with a marketing background – as much of it as you want, use it how you want and at any stage of a project, although ideally usability should be a consideration from day one. Contact us to find out specifically how we can work with you to bolster your competitive advantage. Read about why you should consider usability consulting.

Services

	Information architecture i.e. content structure, navigation and labelling – usability should start with the naming of products
	Web site usability evaluation - reviews in any measure and at any stage, from walk-throughs of paper prototypes to tuning copy and transactions – even half a day’s consultancy and the smallest changes can make a huge difference. See example evaluations
	Pre-launch interface testing – don’t let your customers point out dead links, sales processes not working in Internet Explorer 6, typos, etc. The closer one has been to a project the less likely they are to pick up problems with it
	User testing with or without video – the customer is always right. Testing just three users will provide you with valuable lessons. Video is used primarily to persuade a third party for the need to redesign an aspect of the site, to settle internal disputes or to review the learnings at a later date
	Web design company selection - for those new to the internet / intranet. The web is still ‘new’ and creating a web site is within everyone’s reach, but few do it with real understanding of the medium or its usage. This service helps you make the best choice. If you also choose to use meleniak at appropriate points in the project lifecycle, it will save on time teaching the agency and produce an exponentially better product. (If you’re a web design company we also offer you a range of services to enhance your site and capabilities)
	Advice on web accessibility issues – The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act has required both web-based services (internal and external) to be accessible to those with disabilities since 1 October 1999. Meleniak helps you comply with legislation and it benefits you by giving access to the two million people in the UK, you would have otherwise excluded. If a key target audience for your service is aged over fifty you need to pay special attention to web design. “One in thirty people in the UK has a sight problem that cannot be corrected. Ninety per cent are aged over 60.” Source: RNIB
	Competitor analysis – this is an excellent way to do the right thing before you launch a product / service or even to fine tune an existing one. Can be carried out through a heuristic review only but user tests often point out the potential differentiating factor and gaps in the market to seize
	Facilitation of site kick off or content structuring meetings – planning a web site or intranet well is the most crucial step to secure success online. Initial discussions set expectations around the business. It can really help to have an expert steer the course away from internal politics and a melting pot of subjective preferences, onto meeting objectives and user satisfaction in a coordinated fashion

We occasionally do other web related, marketing and business strategy work where we can add value to a company.

Got an internal team to create and / or maintain your web presence?
Would you like to learn more about usability so you can apply the principles yourselves whether marketing online, running a portal, an information site or a full ecommerce solution? Need help creating user interface guidelines in line with your brand identity and web best practice incorporating web accessibility? See our DIY services.

Why should I consider usability consulting?
The saying ‘the customer is always right’ has never been more true than on the internet. If your site is not right for them, which will be judged instantly, they’re just a click away from finding a site that is.

	If you give the wrong impression, they won’t trust you
	If you annoy your users, they won’t return
	If you fail to interest them with something specific, they won’t delve deeper
	If they don’t understand the product, they won’t buy it
	If your users can’t use your site, they won’t use your site

The importance of your online presence cannot be underestimated. Whatever you do online will result in users immediately forming a lasting opinion of your company. It could be the tiniest detail that stops them from considering your services, even off-line, in the future.

Conversely

If you meet users’ needs and expectations effortlessly, you’ve got competitive advantage

That might sound like common sense and simple to do, but when you’re close to a project it’s easy to lose perspective and the ability to view it as if you were a user. That’s what meleniak does – views the site with the eyes of a user and / or uses the eyes of a sample group of your audience. The weaknesses are identified and if you choose, we work with you to fix them. You may not have an in-depth understanding of web usage and best practice. With a track record of achieving success online, Meleniak is a master of understanding web users and focuses attention on the details that make web sites more effective.

How usability brings benefits to the bottom line
Examples from www.upassoc.org

Web sites

"IBM's Web presence has traditionally been made up of a difficult-to-navigate labyrinth of disparate subsites, but a redesign made it more cohesive and user-friendly. According to IBM, the massive redesign effort quickly paid dividends. The company said in the month after the February 1999 re-launch that traffic to the Shop IBM online store increased 120 percent, and sales went up 400 percent." (Battey, 1999)

"Staples.com determined that the key to online success and increased market share was to make its e-commerce site as usable as possible. Methods included data gathering, heuristic evaluations, and usability testing. [They achieved these results] 67% more repeat customers,31-45% reduced drop-off rates, 80% increased traffic and increased revenue." (Human Factors International, 2001)

"After move.com completed the redesign of the home "search" and "contact an agent" features based on a UI consulting firm's recommendations, users ability to find a home increased from 62% to 98%, sales lead generation to real estate agents increased over 150%, and [move.com's] ability to sell advertising space on move.com improved significantly." (Vividence, 2001)

"The magnitude of usability improvements is usually large. This is not a matter of increasing use by a few percent. It is common for usability efforts to result in a hundred percent or more increase in traffic or sales." (Nielsen, July 1999)

Software (more and more applications are web based)

"Increased revenues accrue due to the increased marketability of a product with demonstrated usability, increased end-user productivity and lower training costs." (Bias & Mayhew, 1994)

Contact us for a no obligation discussion to understand how meleniak’s brand of usability can work for and with you.