So - if that's true... what can we do?
- Be as honest as possible.
- Give good answers, quickly.
- Build your site so that it can expose your visitors to things they may not have picked up other places.
Use many different methods to reach and formats to reach out. Text, images, videos (where are your videos?), scholarly PDFs, audio, and everything between.
Good websites are audience-centered websites. Respect your visitors and their needs. Answer their questions. Don’t try too hard to impress. Be cautious of brochure speak.
Be who you are. (Who are you?)
- Practical Tools
- Watch your visitors using your website (without interruptions!) It can be very revealing…
- Ask them questions
- What was your initial reaction?
- Did you find what you were looking for?
- Was it easy?
- Did you learn anything unexpected in the process of visiting the site?
- What was your impression of us based on the site?
- Use “Personas” to fill gaps
- Real-ish profile (name, age, sex, background) + goal (e.g. Find Admission deadline)
- Look at your web stats:
- Visits, Pages, Pages per Visit, Bounces
- Search Terms
- Audience Resources:
- Prospective Students: You get a new crop every fall. Ask them!
- Current Students: They’re around – what do you hear from them? (they’ll mention it to others – in person or online)
- Parents/Alumni/Staff: Talk and listen.
- Shoe Maker Fallacy: The average male shoe size is 8¼ therefore, by making all of your shoes 8¼, you will be most effective.
- One size doesn’t fit all. Putting everything into a “Quick Links” section is not an answer... (Good Work)