- Can you tell someone how to get to your site without having to spell anything?
- Are the URLs human-readable or are they full of special characters and dynamically-generated gobbledygook?
- Do you have an About page?
- Can visitors tell what your site is about without visiting your About page?
- Is your contact information readily available on every page - or at least from every page?
- If not, what are you hiding from? Your customers?
- Is your home page doing you any favors or is it merely an “Enter Site” gateway?
- Do you have an RSS Feed?
- Did you decorate for the holidays?
- When is the last time you added new content?
- Why has it been so long?
- Is your site ranking highly in search engines for relevant keywords?
- What about for your name? Or your business name?
- What are your relevant keywords, anyway?
- Is anyone linking to you these days?
- If not, what can you do to make this happen?
- Who are you linking to these days?
- How long does it take your site to load at your mother’s house?
- Do you need to download anything on her computer to even see your site?
- What is the single most important thing you want a visitor to do?
- Is that clear from looking at your site?
- Does your site look professional, or does it look like a teenager’s MySpace page?
- Do you link out to your other web presences (social network profiles, Twitter account, YouTube page, Flickr photostream)?
- Is it clear what content is protected by Copyright and what is free to take and re-use?
- What one thing can you do to your site today to increase visitors?
- Are you commenting on blogs and building relationships with other site-owners in your industry or niche?
- How does your site look on a mobile device?
- An iPhone?
- Blackberry?
- Cheapo-plastic-freebie phone?
- Amazon Kindle?
- Is your site usable with images turned off?
- On a computer with no Flash or Javascript?
- In every web browser?
- How many clicks does it take for a visitor to give you money?
- Is your site “fine for the moment” or is it flexible enough to be fine for the next 5 years?
- Are your ads annoying?
- How easy is it for a visitor to leave a comment or write a review?
- Can your site run without you?
- Is the entire site backed up?
- Is the important stuff backed up multiple times in multiple formats in multiple physical locations?
- How long would it take to turn your entire site navy blue with white text?
- Is this time measured in seconds (awesome), minutes (good), or hours (you’re doing things wrong)?
- Is your branding consistent between your site, your printed material, your storefront, and you as a person?
- Do your product descriptions sound like they were written by a person or by a mentally-ill robot programmed with the vocabulary of an out-of-work Madison Avenue ad guy whose last account was for one of those food processors they sell on TV at 2am?
- Do you care about your website?
- Is it important to you?
- Are your readers and customers important to you as people, not just as eyeballs with wallets?
- Would you be sad - actually sad - if your site disappeared tomorrow?
- What would you do if it did?
12 December 2007
50 Critical Questions About Your Website:
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40 comments:
If my site disappeared tomorrow I would most likely try and climb over the suicide railings in Toronto and be the first person to have done so and not get caught. Then I would soon realise that they weren't suicide railings, but fences to the Prison. All of a sudden I wished I had gone in front first.
Great light-hearted list that I could on the most part say yes to.
This is a great list! I'm new to some of these things, and hoping that you are going to post answers to some of the questions you've posed.
Thanks!
Disagreed.
"1. Can you tell someone how to get to your site without having to spell anything?"
Frivolous.. not the easiest word to spell.
Touche, Anon. I guess I let my middle school spelling-bee self get the best of me!
Suzanne and Zura - thanks so much for the comments. Zura, what would you like to hear more about?
I've had a lapse in blogging the last couple months (new job, new apartment, etc...excuses, excuses), but hope to get back in the saddle in a big way soon. Hope you'll check back!
Well worth the read.
To counter the comment on spelling "frivolous" - how about relocating to domain frivmo.com?
Dizzley,
That's the plan, but I'm taking time to build up SEO for Frivmo.com before making the switch and taking a hit in Google. frivolousmotion.com ranks decently well in the search engines, so I don't want to lose the Google Juice just yet.
But a shorter, easier to say, and pretty intuitive to spell domain name is part of why I'm gradually working up to a move to Frivmo...
Nice list. Made me think of several things I could do to improve my own site... However I would never decorate for the holidays. :)
Emma
Nicely put and well written. I was wondering if you would be interested in submitting a design tutorial to my site which is set for launch on June 1, 2008. Would be of benefit for us both.
great list.
Great list! My University educated sell had trouble spelling "Frivolous" - off the cuff anyway. We're a spell-check generation.
Hey, I have a website and...
it's not the best (http://www.campfireghads.org/)
I was surprised that the first one FIRST ONE insulted my site. I always have to spell-out GHADS (pronounced like gads) when I want someone to visit my site...
I learned HTML when I was 10 though, so I'm pretty cool
meh... I learned Java, HTML, C++, PHP AND a decent amount of ASP when I was 7. Beat that.
Seven huh? Pretty cool. When I was seven, there was no such thing as PHP or CSS, I was still forced to work in DOS. I was one of the first to buy Windows when it hit the market. Back in the day, that was the ultimate. Who knew I would be looking back on those days wondering how I ever made a living with a keyboard?
And when I was seven, I was copying code out of Commodore 64 books I got at the local thrift stores, drawing comic book characters, and thinking that I'd someday be a brain surgeon. :)
Times change, eh?
Unity - shoot me an email (kevin@frivlousmotion.com) with details about your soon-to-launch site and what you're thinking I could contribute.
nice list, but practicaly critical to use.
Good list, gave me a few pointers for my own site to think about.
greate list
Great list. I'll definitely be asking these questions.
if my site disappear tomorrow, i will buy another host and publish it again with my backups
...after mourning its loss on your blog, you mean. :)
This is a very thoughtful list. Regarding #35, would that be something like a Paypal donate button?
I thought the first question was ironic in consideration with this sites name.
thank you for the great list
great list! thank you for the post
Great list, I think my website passes most of them. It's amazing how many websites would fail some of the easy things on this list.
very nice article! made me re-think about my sites =)
very nice article!
really made me think =)
come on guys,
no. 1 is so not true.
ever told someone about digg.com
Not a bad list. I score pretty well on most of these things, and some I disagree with. I hate sites that get cute for the holidays. Only google does this well. Everyone else beats me about the eyes in a way that is already happening everywhere I go.
This is a great list. Each question is an essential ask if you are a webmaster, Thanks. I totally agree with the first question it can be very frustrating spelling out domains!
Knowing HTML when you're 5 means nothing if your web site does not look professional, rank well, and market you in the way that it should. Which is really the point of this list. If your web site is a commercial site that will somehow help your business generate revenue, a 10 year old better have nothing to do with it.
Some great stuff here. The answer to #50 is, put it back up :) Would probably have to get another domain name though :(
I guess it really comes downto your definition of disappeared....
First, I think I enjoyed the playful banter of the comments as much as the list! All good questions; another pet peeve of mine is really LOOOOOOOONG domain names and coordinating email addresses. It's a pain (I'm one to talk; my web address is www.SavvySocialMediaMarketing.com).
My website isn't great, but I've spent less than $9 on it and I do update my content at least several times a week. I've been out of work for 7 months now so I couldn't afford to spend much to market myself. Fortunately, my audience (CPA firms) isn't very web-savvy either. I'm a much better writer than web designer (I was at the mercy of GoDaddy's website tonight web builder).
My site has only been up a few weeks and I'm still working on it regularly (as well as other social sites like my blog, Twitter and Facebook). I would love your input and/or comments on my site. Thanks!
This is a great post! i just stumbled onto your site and I love this article. I think every Noob should read this.
great read. as long as have fun with what we do on the website, success to follow. just running for money isn't really all that works.
Nice article. =)
#1 damn right hit on the spot.
i agree with this.
1.We did some dealing to get address but was worth it
2.All standard ANSI letter set. Causes problems overseas but works in majority
3.On front page. Where it should be
4.It's obvious from start. Doesn't need explaining
5.The entire menu and contains only few links
6.Nothing to hide, contact address is generic mod address to make mail flow more manageable
7.Everything accessible from front page. There is no gateway
8.Yes, for news
9.Always tricky catering for people of different backgrounds but we work harder than most
10.Users and sub mods adding content every minute but hub mods add new features monthly and web content daily
11.The mods are often preoccupied
12.Keywords, directory and context searches easy but site mistakingly removed from Google, Yahoo and MSN, not good
13.Very catchy and memorable. Hub themed on concept
14.I personally don't know but I'm told they are obvious words, including directly related words, and are numerous
15.Plenty of people: members, affiliates, curious people, adverts, etc
16.Kinda said that. Advertising, affiliate programs, site rankings, search engines
17.We are search engine. Regardless, users post links in boards and web space, we have affiliate programs, do subs count
18.Very quick. Pages simple with little text. No Flash or anything slowing it either
19.No but some features like games require javascript or Flash
20.Use the search feature
21.It's obvious. Most of front page about it and it's on every page
22.It's bright, trendy and looks professional with simplicity, like Twitter
23.Of course, not my personal ones but with traffic we have generic mod account is only option
24.Yes, we make big issue of it. Many tried to steal and subs forget (c)
25.Adding something every day is hard ‘cause we have many features but we always doing something
26.Trying to but the fact we're not on Google is not helping. Commenting on blogs is below our standard
27.Had problems but now works. That is, it works on every phone, even from when first supported
28.Works great, no prob
29.Haven't tested yet but don't see reason why wouldn't work
30.Already said so
31.Not sure. never heard of it
32.Have great Alt tags for screen readers too
33.Some features won't work without javascript but most should work fine
34.Yes, even WebTree, Safari, AJStar, Pipes and HTML 1.0 format
35.2, 1 to get to form and 1 to send
36.Been here for past 14 years. The address changed but there always something interesting going somewhere. So up-to-date we often have things before they known anywhere else. This one of our major selling points. We ahead of times and therefore always up to date
37.Hell no. We make big issue of it. Ads have set of rules and then have to be checked
38.Comments posted to boards and that includes news. Reviews page accessed from front page
39.Can run but cannot be scanned without help of mods. If owner was to leave other mods would maintain
40.Yes, very much so. On server, back-up server, DVD shift rack and zip drives
41.Yes, yes and yes. See before, there are multiple copies and they are stored in Tokyo, Okinawa, New York and Los Angeles. Subs advised to keep own backups
42.A matter of seconds. To alter style sheet and broadcast
43.Archived data like when user posts submitted measured in milliseconds. The clock and all public times measured in seconds
44.Subs have own branding but hub is consistent. Even though there are multiple copies of central files they are programmed to change in unison
45.Person, definitely. Light hearted, light headed, lively people chosen to describe on purpose, makes it sound nicer
46.Yes, very much. I spend most of time there or doing something related to
47.Yeah. It provides endless source of entertainment and all my friends there
48.Ones I talk to yes but can't be friends with everyone, there's too many
49.Not really. Everything backed up so would probably reappear soon after. If permanent I would be completely distraught
50.Find new location and upload again. If were permanent then just start again from scratch
brilliant- simply super smart - I will pass this one to my web clients - in helping them and me in designing their websites... cant tell you how often my clients havent a clue as to their web needs.
This is brilliant - thank you.
I'm now off to ask myself those same questions of my own site.
Thanks for the kick up the proverbial bum.
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