Building your Web Site

What makes a Successful Web Site?

Please note the question is NOT, "What makes a good web site?". They are two questions yielding different answers.

  • "Findability" - SEO and Site Design - The tech factor
  • The Ratio of Frustration and Satisfaction - The human factor

Both concepts are woven together by "web site design", "content", "display" and "layout" as discussed in The Four Web Site Building Blocks

Findability

Findability is a measurement of how easily your site can be found by Search Engines and your content by humans.

  • If people can not find your site on the Search Engines, then it really makes no difference how easily you put your data at their fingertips.
  • And, if you hide your data by making the user find it, the user will leave.

Both scenarios are equally catastrophic. Your site does not grow and fails at its intended purpose.

Frustration and Satisfaction

Once a user lands at your site, there is a race between the frustration and satisfaction level.

  • The less they have to think about finding the purpose FOR WHICH they came to your site, the longer they will stay and the happier they will be to mention your site to others.
  • But if they can not find your content quickly, the higher the frustration and the higher the chance they will leave and not come back.

To prove this point, just think back to your own browsing experience and remember what made a site frustrating or usable.

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