Throughout the course of my career I have been fortunate enough to work for a handful of extremely large etailers. As a result, I have had the opportunity to see first hand the differences that various organizational structures can have on the development, usability and overall customer satisfaction of a website.
In some instances, the strategic vision has been crystal clear and therefore, the site evolved along a predictable path. Other times the vision has been blurred and therefore, the design elements and functionality within the site have not been not consistent.
While allowing multiple leaders within a company to provide strategic guidance ensures that you will be less likely to create fatal flaws and/or miss out on developing trends, it tends to lead to a confusing shopping experience for your customer. Imagine if the graphical treatment and navigational elements on your home page (and landing pages) were not consistent throughout the browse and checkout portions of your site. How would this effect your conversion?
Unfortunately, poor website navigation is a common occurance for both small and large sites alike. “Don’t confuse your site browsers”, writes Rian Schoeman, “because it will only frustrate them and they will click away!” Let’s face it, no matter what business you are in – you’re not the only game in town. Customers have options and if you don’t deliver the content or products they need quickly and easily, their gone.
This is why you need a single vision for your website’s design. While you should be open to input from your Usability Group, Web Designers, Information Technology Team, Marketing and Merchandising Departments, you need to have a central vision for what your site should be. That way, everyone involved with the day to day development of content on your site can remain focused and productive.
Until next time,
Dan
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