Why is this question important? Because whatever it is that consumers want in a web site had better be exactly what you want (and create) in that web site! Assuming, of course, that you care about success...
All of what I'm about to say is obvious, but you'd never know it from looking at web sites and from looking at the priorities of web developers, both of which I do quite a bit of in the course of my work. Everything I'm saying here applies equally to SaaS operations, BTW. So from most important on down:
Not Broken
I've written about this again and again. If a consumer tries to go to your site and it isn't there or it's otherwise obviously broken, the consumer's reaction is roughly the same as if they went to a new store and found it locked and shuttered.
Do you think they're likely to check again later when you've fixed the bug or gotten the right release level of the OS onto your servers? Is there anything more important than having your "store" ready and open for business when some arrives?
Not Slow
I'm always amazed at how little attention insiders pay to this crucial issue.
What ................ if ................... it's ................ just .................. a ............... little ............... bit ................. slow. .............. How ............... bad .................... could ................. that .................... be? Well, ask yourself -- how did you enjoy reading those last two sentences? Did it make you easger to read more of the same? What .................................................... if ........................................... it ................................................................. were ....................................................... even ........................................... worse? Would you come back to any site where the whole doggone thing were that way, all the time?
Conclusion: even if you can't make it fast, make sure your site isn't slow.
Attractive
We're on a roll. The place is alive, open for business, and responsive. A great start! Now -- at a glance -- do I want to be here? Do you want to get with this? Or do you want to get with that?
People will tell at a glance whether they like it or not. If they don't like it, they're most likely gone.
Easy to get where you want to go
Far too many web sites are, simply put, navigation hell.
Not on purpose, of course. The worst examples seem to result from someone wanting to "organize" the site into some system that "makes sense." Sure. As though anyone cares about your page and folder hierarchy! The only thing that most users care about is getting to what they want with a minimum of mystery. Does having an "organized" web site help this? Generally speaking, it does not. The only thing that helps is ... looking at things from the user's point of view. What an idea!Maybe if you do this you can avoid the web equivalent of:
Minimum clicks to do what you want
Every click, every keystroke that stands between a user and his goal is an opportunity for that user to decide that it's just not worth the trouble. "How much trouble can a couple clicks and keystrokes possibly be?" you may ask yourself, as you madly set things up so that more of them are required, for reasons that are no doubt compelling. The answer is simple: every keystroke or click is an opportunity for the user to bail out of the process before the goal you want them to reach has been attained. Is that clear enough? Any click that can possibly be eliminated is a click that should be eliminated. Period.
What Do YOU Want from a Web Site?
I hope it's exactly what consumers want. Everything else is details. If you screw up even one of the above, you're swimming upstream. If you get the order of the above wrong, you're missing the boat. If you fail to pay attention, I hope everything else in your life is really great, because the part involved with web sites won't be, and even more metaphors won't help you.
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