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Paul McNally and Nigel Bradley

Website Design to sell Products and Services on the Internet

Abstract

A study was conducted "to explore how web site design can help sell products or services on the Internet". Both secondary and primary data collection methods were employed. The Primary data collection took the form of self-completion semi-structured questionnaires with 17 managers who work with web site design. The comments from these respondents highlight the fact that design has the ability to act both positively and negatively on an audience. This is an underlying principle that is unlikely to be affected by technological developments.  The article addresses the key design features of web-site development and eCommerce Web-sites; the common pitfalls when designing eCommerce web sites; the importance of design on the Internet and criteria for judging effectiveness of web sites.   

Introduction  

The Internet is important to the Marketeer. Kotler (2000:670) says "Ardent fans of on-line marketing see it as changing world commerce". The electronic commerce (eCommerce) market place is made up of two broad segments - business to business and consumer related.  The former is expected to account for 88% of total turnover transacted over the Internet by 2002 (eStats 1999), and the total market is expected to be over 300 billion US dollars.

The Internet offers various tools that can be used to market products and services.  These tools include E-Mail, Newsgroups, Lists andThe Internet also Web-sites (Sterne 1999:16-20).   A web site is defined as "a related collection of web files that includes a beginning file called a www page."  (Forrest 1999:250).  Since design plays an important role in web site success this study was conducted "to explore how web site design can help sell products or services on the Internet".

Numerous attempts have been made to investigate web-site effectiveness.   Many studies do this from the user's viewpoint (ESOMAR 1998, 1999). There are several awards for the 'best web-site' (see a selection in the reading list), such awards use different methods to assess effectiveness.  Sometimes effectiveness is judged by the number of recorded visitors, sometimes it is a poll of Internet users, sometimes human judgement is used and in some cases it is a robot or automated process that decides. The present study focuses on individuals who commission web-sites and other individuals who are responsible for designing and creating them.   It places their opinions into the context of published literature on the subject.

Method

The study used a combination of secondary and primary data collection methods.  Secondary sources included Journal articles, academic papers, books and on-line information.  The Primary data collection took the form of self-completion semi-structured questionnaires.  The approach was qualitative in nature and involved selecting respondents who were considered to have a substantial knowledge about web-site design.  It was therefore a non-probability, judgement sample.

Since the intended respondents work with the Internet, it was felt appropriate to use the Internet itself as a data collection medium.  This approach is a relatively recent development for research methodology (Forrest  1999:6) and one which is likely to grow in importance (Anselmi 1997:5). To do this E-mail addresses were obtained from various sources (web-sites, referrals etc.) and once contact was made, respondents were asked to answer five open-ended questions, which were accessed by a URL placed on the e-mail message.  This is known as a URL-embedded e-mail questionnaire (Bradley 1999:22). It was intended to reach an understanding of what factors are considered by managers when trying to increase purchasing via their web sites. Respondents were asked what they considered to be: the key design features of web-site development and eCommerce Web-sites; the common pitfalls when designing eCommerce web sites; the real value of design on the Internet and finally criteria for judging effectiveness of their web sites. 

Sampling was directed towards managers who focus on web site design and managers who influence the look and feel of the web site. 17 respondents co-operated, 5 of whom were designers and 12 of whom were Directors, Senior Managers or Marketing Managers.  They represented varied organisations, which included Internet Service Providers, Internet Publishers, Government Departments, Computer/Software companies, and design groups.  The fieldwork took place in early May 1999. Thematic analysis (Aronson 1994) was used to analyse the primary results and to merge them with the secondary data.  

Electronic Commerce

Organisations using the Internet have passed through several phases (Sterne 1999:46).  In terms of its use as a promotional vehicle these can be divided into six stages:

1.     Giving corporate information

2.     Giving Product Information

3.     Giving support

4.     Generating sales-leads

5.     Carrying out transactions on-line

6.     Allowing payments to be made on-line.

Examples of web sites that show each of these stages of Internet presence, were found throughout the research.  (Net Marketing Survey 1998. ActivMedia 1998). The aim of the study was to examine electronic commerce, which concerns more than sales-transactions (Gill 1998), indeed it embraces each of these six steps.

In a survey of 200 business-to-business web sites (Net Marketing 1998), 96% focused on customer service, and 66% emphasised order-taking and payment processing on-line.  This sample was based on top companies in the United States and illustrates that businesses recognise the importance of the Internet for customer service.

The Importance of Design

The importance of design was pointed out by a Marketing Executive of a UK Government Design Department who said "eCommerce gives efficient and effective means of getting hold of products/services, this can give added value through good use of design.  The design improves the whole shopping experience.  If you get this right, you will have loyal customers".

The new media manager of a UK design consultancy added "if it's out there, you can buy it on the Web.  However, the real success stories will be those who use design to build their on-line brand and maintain it". According to a Marketing Manager of an International ISP, "working with basic principles, design on the Internet can create a level playing field.  For small companies, good design puts them in the same league as their large competitors".  The Operations Manager of a web software company supports this view by adding, "Webmaster design raises a company's standing."

Designers interviewed for this paper were in agreement that Design on the Internet has a unique role in that it can "lead the visitor through information easily" and "can enhance their experience." One respondent elaborated on this "there are two opportunities that the internet offers that printed media cannot: Immersion, which starts with multimedia, even the simplest animations; and Interaction, even at its simplest level. For example a mailto: link for immediate response"

The internet allows the marketeer to "reach people you couldn't reach before" Perhaps most interesting is that web designers said that it was their practice to "anticipate likely thought patterns." This allows the user to be guided through the site and enables them to act; whether the action be one of learning, being entertained, buying or communicating.

The real value of design in this medium is related to the choices available to the designer. Multimedia, moving images, sound, colour, animation. All of these tools, set in the internet environment can "make or break the site". This is particularly the case when we appreciate that there is substantial competition for the user's attention on the Internet. Of course this may be direct and indirect competition.

The designer therefore has a great responsibility in this sphere. There are several  methods or models that can help minimise the risks. For example Siegel (1998) proposes that the process of web design falls into four distinct phases.  These are outlined in Table 1.  The web-designer can be guided by such a sequence.

Table 1.  Siegel's Phases of Web Design

How Web Site Effectiveness is Judged

From the sample interviewed it is clear that the criteria used for judging web-site effectiveness are many. At one extreme precise numerical measurements may be taken, at the other, judgements may be verbal, subjective, even anecdotal. For example a precise measure may be the number of visitors,  wheras a "less precise" measure may be the comments from co-workers. Table 2 below is a list of the different responses to the question "How do you judge the effectiveness of your web site?" Such differences may be explained by the fact that different types of web-site are associated with each respondent. Each organisation and each web-site have specific aims and objectives; indeed different resources are available to monitor effectiveness.

In addition to the audience and transaction measures reported in Table 2 other hybrid methods were mentioned. For example: Ratios based on transaction or/and audience measures; Unsolicited feedback; Comments received; External Market Research  (ad hoc); External Market Research (monitors); Increased brand awareness; Page Load Time; Confirmation that set objectives are achieved.

Table 2. Methods of judging web-site effectiveness.   

(n=17 web designers/owners)

Common Pitfalls in Design

If there is such a thing as "good" design, then it is possible that it may be achieved by avoiding the common pitfalls in web-site design. Indeed the views of the sample on the topic, with specific reference to e-commerce, allow us to see both cosmetic and structural issues. Respondents were asked "What do you consider common pitfalls in Website design focussed on eCommerce?" Responses have been categorised into user-related and marketeer-related points. They are shown in Table 3 and Table 4 below.

Table 3. User Related Pitfalls in Web-site Design

(n=17 web designers/owners)

Impossibility to find the site (Directories/search engines not suitable)

Design unsuited to customer's browser

Too much to download  or  too slow to download

Complex User Tasks

          -Poor navigation/indistinct hierarchy

          -Obtrusive registration process

          -Hard to take in the amount of information

'Busy' pages / too complicated

Lack of security or perception thereof

Inadequate/ no on-site search facility  

Table 4. Marketer-Related Pitfalls in Web-site Design

(n=17 web designers/owners)

Meagre product detail/ descriptions

Limited choice of products

Not current / not updated

Site driven by technology/graphics, not customer

Customers taken to purchase point too quickly

Misunderstand the medium (web is pull not push)

Not addressing business objectives

Belief that site will replace physical shopping (with social interaction)

Overlooking more 'user-friendly' competitor web sites

Key Design Features

Respondents were asked to name the key design features for web sites. This was asked in two ways. Firstly relating to web site development in general and then with specific reference to an eCommerce site. A synoptic analysis appears in Table 5 and Table 6. There are similarities between the two sets of responses, particularly with regard to ease of navigation. Many of the responses referred to "sticky content."

 At the time of this research the term "sticky content" had been coined to refer to features that catch attention and keep visitors. Butcher (1999) said "There is a danger of losing the user once they've found what they are looking for. What's required is not "deep" but "sticky" content. According to Austead (1999) "Static pages won't attract repeat custom, instead content must be tailored for repeat business." Additionally, Hunter (cited by Austead 1999), a practitioner in the field, and an advocate of sticky content said  "You may get visitors, but if your site consists only of static pages, there's no reason for them to stay. Surfers will not tolerate the boredom."

Table 5. What do you consider to be the key design features of Web-site Development?

(n=17 web designers/owners)

a)     Ease of navigation

b)    Visual look and feel, graphics

c)     Fast response for easy access

d)    Content, copy

e)     No flashy animation, clean looking

f)      Good indexing

g)     Security

Table 4. What do you consider to be the key design features of an eCommerce site?

(n=17 web designers/owners)

a)    Security and privacy

b)   Good navigation. The ability to guide the customer through the ordering and payment process and allow easy access to the shopping basket

c)    Feedback, customer's ability to monitor the order process

d)   Credibility

e)   Clear registration so further purchases are quick and easy

Concluding Remarks

This paper has limited itself to the comments of 17 players in the field of Internet web site development, in 1999 with particular attention to the UK. Despite this small sample size, it is probable that these were the prevailing views among web designers and their clients with their technology at its state of development in the late 1990s.

Technology will cause major changes in the tools available. There are indications that voice and handwriting recognition will be developed; similarly ways of accessing Internet information will change, whether by hand-held units, body accessories, television and so forth. The medium itself is likely to be modified substantially with the use of sound, holograms, virtual presence and other ideas which are being discussed.

The comments from these respondents highlight the fact that design has the ability to act both positively and negatively on an audience. This is an underlying principle that is unlikely to be affected by technological developments.

Reading

Web-site Awards

Cool Site of the Day 

Bill Cheswick's Web Non-Awards Page

Craziest Site of the Week

The High Five Awards 

Web Awards                     

The Yell Awards          

UK Internet Awards

Awards for Innovation in Electronic Commerce

British Interactive Multimedia Association Awards

Internet Professional Publishers Association

The Webbie Awards

Best of The Web

T he Web 100  

Authors

Copyright 2000

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Last updated 11 Nov 2003. Please report any corrections to this email address bradlen@wmin.ac.uk

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