Know-How Exchange : Website Critique

Besides improving the site's appearance (for example, your home page gives no clue at a glance on what your site is about), ultimately the issue is that strangers will be evaluating content - and you have no idea about who they are, why they're giving feedback, or if their feedback is even correct.

Several issues:

1. As Jay mentions, it's not clear from your site's homepage what you are offering, to whom, or what benefit your target audience can expect.

2. The most common problem with DIY market research sites is that they don't/can't customize the questions so as not to bias the respondents. Good market research still requires a live human market research professional if you really plan to use the results to make important decisions.

3. How will you recruit respondents, and how can you be certain they meet the desired specs?

Did you have a business/marketing plan in place before you developed the tool? If so, perhaps you've already answered these questions. If not, you should go back a few steps and think through your plans before you spend any more time on this.

My initial thoughts on your website are that you:

1. Need to offer a clear description of what you do, who you do it for, or how your business offers or creates value.
2. Need to address issues of site design (aesthetically and architecturally), otherwise you're looking at a massive bounce rate.
3. Need to tell your real back story and give a solid explanation of who you are, your backgrounds, or how you came up with your service offer.
4. Give a clear way for people to contact you by phone, e-mail, or through the mail.
5. Include social media connections to generate trust.
6. Create market place and buyer credibility. Tell people who else have you helped and what these people have to say about how brilliant you are.
7. Provide a clear description of how your process works.
8. Give a clearly defined description of your pricing and billing that doesn't require logging in.

I'm not sure if I buy the concept. For it to work as research, you have to have the right person doing the reviewing not just anyone - how do you make this happen?

Nevertheless, to come across as credible to a marketing community, you at least need to get a graphic designer involved with the look of the site, and possibly a web-professional to help you build the site without in-line styles and in-line javascript.

I am not sure if the link to the introduction to what your company is all about was always on the homepage or if you took the advice offered above. Personally, having to click on a link to get an explanation of what I am looking at is a major turnoff. Think about how you use websites and why some of your favorite sites are just that – your favorites. I am willing to bet it is user friendly.
The homepage feels generic; stagnant and stale. The navigation is different at the top of the page than it is on the bottom; why are the buttons not consistent? Is there a reason your first button on the top navigation bar is “get help.” I just assumed it was an indication that you know the page is confusing and lacking. Why is registration and contact us under “more.”
Top navigation begins on the left and is sort of centered, but the bottom navigation buttons are off center and to the right. Change mode is identified in the top navigation but there is only a thumbs up on the bottom navigation. Either center it, or justify it to the left or right but be consistent with the navigation layout and order of the buttons. It may seem minor to you, but it is a turnoff for users and in some it will create an element of frustration leading to mistrust.
Once a website is launched; that’s it. You don’t get a chance to do it again. Oh, you can make tweaks but you’ve already lost a significant amount of people who won’t return because of their first impression.
If I was on this site in real time as a prospect, you would have lost me in the first five seconds. And as a marketer I would steer family, friends and business associates away from it. It feels like the website was done in haste with no attention to detail and the devil is in the details. You are a marketing research firm for the little guy but it doesn’t feel like you’ve applied anything you should know about marketing research to your own business.
You are the subject matter expert; use your website to tell your story and sell your brand. Who are your clients? How have you helped them? Have client feedback? Add that to your site. People like nothing more than interacting with other like-minded individuals online; it is the 21st Century version of word-of-mouth. Think about how often and successfully travel sites are used by people planning trips. They visit for recommendations as well as good deals. What other people have to say about your product is more important to a consumer than what you have to say.
Good luck!