Electronic Commerce Web Site Analysis

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Know why you are on the Web???

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet  To make money  To disseminate information  To stroke your little ego Reference: Flanders/Willis; Web Usability Specialists;

. com Static Interactive Transactional Integrated Access Advertising n Marketing n Information No Capability No company web site n Can access other sites Registration n Forms n Online orders, payments n Order tracking, queries n Funds transfer End-to-end n Fulfillment n Workflow E-Commerce Roadmap Legend n - Functions at Level  - Requirements to achieve next level  Internet access through ISP  accounts  Web site  Content development & updates  Web site connectivity to database application(s) and accounts  Secure transaction processing  Online payment authorization  Authentication and validation  Seamless connectivity to back-end system(s)  Minimize/eliminate manual input on transactions.  B2B automated processes Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Adapted from: While developing an E- Commerce presence, it is important to know where you are now as well as the appropriate destination for your business.

What do E-Customers Want?

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Reasons Why People Shop the Web... Easy to place an order - 83% Large selection of products - 63% Cheaper prices - 63% Faster service and delivery - 52% Detailed and clear product information - 40% No sales pressure - 39% Easy payment procedure - 36%

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Factors driving repeat visits to a Web site... High quality content - 75% Ease of use - 66% Minimal download time - 58% Updated often - 54% Reference: Forrester Survey; 1999Forrester

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet The key is consumer confidence... 4 Fun and easy to navigate sites 4 Pages that appear professional 4 Clear and accurate product information and representation 4 Real time answers through self help features, , and a toll-free telephone number

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet The key is consumer confidence... 4 Good prices and clear representation of all charges 4 Payment options 4 Secure transactions 4 Easy to use return or exchange policy 4 Quick processing time and delivery 4 Shopper privacy

Navigation

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet  Where am I?  Where have I been?  Where can I go? Don’t make me think!!!

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet  Navigational Tools Text, Graphics, Frames  Location  Consistency

3 clicks and you’re out!

Professional Pages

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet “People want to do business with people they believe to be professional.” Reference: Flanders/Willis; Web Usability Specialists;

Product Information

Customer Assistance

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet   Telephone number  Fax Contact Us:

Ordering Process

Payment Options

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet  Snail Mail  Telephone  Fax  Intermediary  Online Processing

Secure Transactions

Shopper Privacy

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Privacy disclosure...  Data gathered  Use of information  Disclosure of information  Protection of information  Use of cookies and tracking  Access to account information  Customer consent  Customer input - Tell us what you think?

Technical and Design Considerations

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Elements to consider... 4 Bandwidth 4 Browser compatibility 4 Color palette 4 Continuity 4 Frames 4 Homepage

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Elements to consider... 4 User Interface 4 Screen compatibility 4 Readability 4 Text only default 4 Accessibility

Bandwidth

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Download time...  1-2 seconds  < 13 seconds  > 20 GONE!

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Decrease download time by...  designing for 56k modem  keeping page sizes <35k  applying the KISS rule

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet “Remove graphic; increase traffic. It’s that simple.” Reference: Dr. Jakob Nielsen; Web Usability Specialist;

Browser Compatibility

NETSCAPE EXPLORER

NETSCAPE EXPLORER

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Browser Testing - view your site in as many browsers as possible:  Netscape  Explorer  AOL  Web TV  Lynx

Color Palette

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet  Artistic  Cultural  Sales  Technical Color Considerations...

Continuity

Frames

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Frames...  Browsers don’t like them  Printers don’t like them  Search engines don’t like them  People/customers don’t like them

FRAMES

Home Page

User Interface

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet How are your customers accessing your site?  Desktop  Laptop  Hand-held  Web TV

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet How are your customers accessing your site?  PC  Mac

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Recommendation...  Specify pages in terms that enable browsers to optimize the display for each individual user’s circumstance

Screen Compatibility

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Recommendation...  Resolution-independent pages  800x600 pixels (770x430)

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Resolution Testing - look at your site with monitor set to resolutions:  640 x 480  800 x 600  1024 x 768  1152 x 864  1280 x 1024

Readability

How’s this for readability?

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet Recommendations...  Good background/text contrast  Avoid patterned backgrounds  Easy to read fonts  Make words count  Short paragraphs  Bulleted lists

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet serif sans-serif

Text Only Default

Accessibility

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet The Law: Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

[Selectable Image] Bobby Approved Symbol. A friendly uniformed police officer wearing a helmet displaying the wheelchair access symbol. Words “Bobby Approved v3.2” appear to his right. Links to “

Designing Web Usability The Practice of Simplicity by Jakob Nielsen Resource

Web Pages That Suck Learn Good Design by Looking at Bad Design by V. Flanders & M. Willis Resource

Don’t Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug Resource

Resource Business to Consumer E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet

E-Commerce: Selling on the Internet The Bottom Line...  Getting customers to come to your site,  Getting customers to make a purchase once they get to your site, and  Getting customers to return to your site and purchase again, again, and again!

Beth Duncan, Ph.D. Small Business Specialist Mississippi State University Extension Service

Electronic Commerce Web Site Analysis