I have mentioned throughout this blog that customer service is about meeting and exceeding your customers' expectations. The Internet can feature significantly in this area. Unfortunately, websites are still in their early stages of development and even if they look very impressive it doesn't necessarily mean that they are good. Considerable resources are committed to the appearances of a website, making sure that there are lots of bells and whistles. Most of the time, these are completely unnecessary. Customers are going to a website for information. In some instances they will make a purchase, but it will generally be driven by the information that is provided on the site.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having a simple, easy to use and informative website. When thinking about the lay-out of your site, make sure that you ask as many people as possible for their ideas and input. Check out as many websites as you can to look for ideas and inspiration.
Another common problem area with websites is that an IT wizard checks it out, rather than a potential customer. Before you launch your website, test it by finding twenty people who would be kind of people that you would want to attract to the site and see what they think about it. Is it easy to navigate through, is it fast enough, is it logical, is it easy to read and, most importantly, would you use it?
I recently came across a website selling products to an elderly market. The text was so small that I could hardly read it; I can only imagine what it would have been like for someone who is a bit older and with failing eyesight.
Make your website as easy to use as possible and be open to input from the customers who will ultimately be using it.