Tag Archives: security

Getting online forms right

Posted in Design on by Paul Boag

At the end of last week, I was integrating an online survey into a client’s site. It started me thinking about how difficult it can be to get online forms right. In this post, I outline just some of the many things you should take into consideration.

With the exception of the home page, online forms are probably the biggest challenge to us as web interface designers. This is largely because online forms require a higher degree of interaction than any other part of a site and so there is more room for error.

Web Forms Checklist

With that in mind, here is my checklist for designing an effective web form:

Make a form look like a form

Too many designers mess with form fields so that it is nearly impossible to identify them as editable. Sure, form fields can look ugly but there visual appearance helps people identify them as a form. Some styling is fine but don’t make them unrecognisable.

Stay focused

Everybody hates getting spam. We are suspicious of giving out personal information online for fear that the information will be used to send us junk. Do not ask users for information that you do not absolutely require. They will tend to see anything extra as an invasion of their privacy and an attempt to spam them.

Keep it short

Marketing departments have a habit of wanting to know everything about their visitors. The result is that forms become overwhelmingly long and users just don’t bother completing them.

Turn long forms into applications

Once an online form goes beyond two screens, it’s often a sign that the underlying functionality is better supported by an application, which offers a more interactive user experience.

Provide timescales

If the user cannot see how long the form is, they will assume it takes a long time to complete. In many cases, they give up before they begin. Reassure the user that the form will take only a few minutes of their time.

Inform of progress

If a form is split over multiple pages, the user can be left wondering how many more screens there are to go. I have seen people give up only one click away from finishing! By telling them how much of the form is left, you encourage them to persevere.

Only show relevant fields

Some fields in your form maybe conditional on other answers given. For example, you may have a question "Do you have children?" and a second question "How many children do you have?" Obviously if they answer no to the first question then the second becomes irrelevant. Make your form appear shorter by either combining these questions or only revealing the second one if they answer yes to the first.

Use the mandatory fields sparingly

Forms failing to submit properly because mandatory fields were not completed can be an annoying experience. It is therefore advisable to use required fields only when entirely necessary and to mark clearly, which fields are required.

Avoid re-entry

There is nothing more annoying than constantly inputting the same information. Store users details so that reoccurring fields are pre populated. Also make sure that information is not lost if the user accidentally navigates away from the page.

Clear validation

It can often be hard to spot which fields you failed to complete correctly. By clearly marking the problem fields, you dramatically improve the user’s experience.

Avoid reset buttons

Personally, I don’t think it is worth having a reset button on a form anyway, but when you do ensure you don’t put it near the submit button. It is very easy for users to click the wrong one and find themselves back at square one.

Highlight the current field

On long complex forms, it can sometimes be hard to spot which field contains your cursor. Use CSS or JavaScript to highlight visually the current field.

Ensure a logical tab order

Many visitors use the tab key to move between fields in a form. Make sure the fields tab through in a logical order and where possible remove tabs from elements such as labels or links where that interrupts the flow of the tab order.

Use fieldsets and labels

Usability for speech and text browsers is dramatically improved by marking up your form with the relevant fieldsets and labels.

Place labels before fields

Because visually impaired users cannot see a form field, they are reliant on the label associated with the field to describe it. However, if the label appears after the field they are not told what the field is for until they have moved past the field itself.

Offer an incentive

Because forms often require users to part with personal details, they are naturally reluctant to complete them. Users need a clear incentive to part with their information. What that incentive is depends on your site. For some it could be as simple as access to site features such as a forum, for others it might be an entry into a price draw or a free reward of some kind.

Explain the need for information

When you are requesting personal information, explain why you require it. For example, if you request an email address for an ecommerce purchase, explain that it is required for informing the user of their orders status and nothing more. If you don’t explain, they will presume the worst.

Clear help

For more complex fields make sure you provide clear instructions. For example if you require the security number from a credit card, explain where this can be found and what part of the number you require.

Saving forms

It is generally good practice to allow users to save forms and return to them later. This is particularly true of longer forms where the user might have to look up some of the information required.

Your opinion

So, that is my checklist for designing forms. Did I miss anything? Do you disagree with anything I have said? Let me know what you think.

Sample site review

Posted in Web strategy on by Paul Boag

A part of my job at Headscape is to provide site reviews for clients. These range from short overview reports to detailed studies on particular aspects of a site. I recently completed a review for a small ecommerce site called TrapAWasp and felt that it neatly tidied together a number of different issues I had been discussing in this blog. The client has been kind enough to allow me to publish it here so hopefully it will be of some use to others. Please bear in mind that this is only a condensed site overview and doesn’t tackle issues in much depth.

Summary

As with all ecommerce sites there are two key factors that dictate its success or failure. These are the number of visitors that are driven to the site and the number of those visitors who are then converted into customers. It is these two factors that Headscape uses to assess the effectiveness of an ecommerce site.

Without looking at the web logs of a site it is hard to tell just how successful the site is at converting users. However, the initial indications for TrapAWasp are good. The site is generally well designed, has few significant usability problems, and addresses most of the major questions raised by users considering purchasing online.

A more important problem exists with regard to driving traffic to the site in the first place. Although good use is being made of Google Adwords the organic listing on search engines (in particular Google) is very poor. We believe there is significant opportunity here as a cursory analysis of the competition makes us believe it would not take much to push TrapAWasp to the top of Google’s ranking.

Visitor conversion

In many ways TrapAWasp is an example of good design. It is clean, simple and focused on enabling users to complete a purchase in the minimum number of steps. However, as with all sites there is always room for improvement and so below we outline several issues which should be addressed.

Design

The site has a strong visual identity. It is well branded: the site name, use of imagery and introduction leaves the user in no doubt as to what the site is about. However, two issues are of concern and should be addressed.

Screen resolution

28% of users are still viewing their computers at 800×600. Unfortunately TrapAWasp has not been optimised for this resolution and therefore requires limited horizontal scrolling in order to be able to read the product descriptions. This also creates problems with the number of products the user initially sees on page load. At 800×600 it appears TrapAWasp only offers 2 products while at 1024×768 the site offers only 4 products. Although users will scroll they tend to make judgements on whether a site has what they want without scrolling down a page. Jakob Neilsen a leading usability expert suggests that key content and products should be visible without the need for the user to scroll. One possibility would be to move the "view details" link to below the description so compressing the amount of space required for each product. Although this wouldn’t make all of the products visible it would help the situation as well as correcting the visual imbalance of white space next to the last two products.

Click here for more on scrolling and screen resolution

Browser compatibility

Although well over 80% of users’ access the World Wide Web using Internet explorer it is a mistake to ignore other browsers. Due to numerous security scares more and more users are turning to alternative browsers such as Firefox. Firefox has now captured well over 8% of the marketplace and is continuing to grow rapidly. Although not serious, http://www.trapawasp.co.uk/ does have some problems displaying in non-IE browsers. Some examples of the problems encountered include text being rendered with the wrong font and images being incorrectly positioned. Although it could be argued these problems do not affect the usability of the site it can knock consumer confidence leading to the belief that the site is in some way unprofessional.

Usability

Usability is an extremely important area of ecommerce design. If a user finds a site hard to use they will often choose to turn to the competition rather than struggle to overcome the obstacles they are facing. Generally the usability on this site is excellent. However, three issues should be addressed.

Delivery address

One minor but very frustrating issue with the checkout form is the need to enter address information twice. Even if you do not check the box marked "Check if you require goods dispatched to an alternative address" you are still required to enter the delivery address. Small problems like this can prove incredibly frustrating and should be avoided if possible.

Deteracat

Another potential cause of confusion is the sudden appearance of a link back to Deteracat on both the checkout and credit card pages. We have no problem in principle to the advert for Deteracat on the right hand side of these pages as cross selling is a good idea and one that should be encouraged. Our concern rather, revolves around the "continue shopping at Deteracat" button in the main body of the page. This immediately generates doubt in the minds of users at a critical stage in the buying process. The user is left wondering if they have selected the right products or whether they have been transferred to another site. We understand the motivation for this approach and the ability it gives the user to purchase products from both sites at the same time however we believe that the confusion this causes outweighs the benefits.

Addressing user concerns

One final issue with regard to usability is the "how to buy" section. It is good practice to have a section that addresses many of the frequently asked questions users have regarding online purchases, but we feel that there is still room for improvement. More information needs to be provided within this section with regard to security. Users are hesitant to give credit card and personal details unless they know it is secure. Although you do provide this information on the credit card page this is late on in the process and after the user has already given you significant amounts of information. On a similar vein it would also be wise to provide some form of privacy statement here. Again we are aware that this information is available from the footer but we do not believe this gives the information the prominence it deserves. Finally we believe that the how to buy section should include information on delivery times as this is another common question and a significant number of users will be unable to view the flash animation on the homepage. In short there needs to be greater emphasis placed on answering users queries and that this section may need a name change to accommodate this kind of information.

Accessibility

It is easy to dismiss accessibility as being an issue solely about the disabled however the truth is that it is a much broader issue than that. Accessibility refers to ensuring a web site is accessible to the widest possible audience including disabled users, those with poor vision or motor skills such as the elderly, and those working within various technological constraints.

Disabled users

Disabled users in the UK have a spending power of £50 billion annually according to the Disability Rights Commission. What is more this figure does not include the elderly who have poor vision or motor skills. Catering to this audience provides a unique way to separate you from your competition. That is not to say that you ignore your abled-bodied users. Rather, we recommend that you make some modifications to your site to make it more disabled-user friendly. There is not time in this report to catalogue every problem disabled users might encounter with this site, but we can say that the site fails to meet even the most basic level of international standards on
accessibility (WAI Level A or Priority 1).

Click here for more on accessibility and business

Technological barriers

As well as creating barriers to the disabled a site can also create technological barriers which force users to turn to the competition. One example of this is in the use of JavaScript. JavaScript has been used in order to carry out the validation of the checkout form. These scripts check that each field has been correctly completed and informs the user of any potential errors. The problem is that 5% of users do not have JavaScript available so these users simply cannot purchase from the site. This is the equivalent of turning away one in twenty customers who try to enter a shop.

Another technological barrier is download time. Although broadband has exploded over the last year still over 50% of users still access using dial up. http://www.trapawasp.co.uk/ takes approximately 17 seconds to download on a 56k modem compared with say http://www.waspbane.com/ which takes only 7 seconds to download over the same connection. With a 10-second difference per page and a 6-page purchase process that is a minute of unnecessary waiting. It may not sound like a lot but website users are incredibly fickle.

Driving traffic

You can have the best website in the world but if nobody is aware of its existence then it means nothing. Unfortunately TrapAWasp does not have the online profile it should have and this will be having a direct impact on the number of sales being made. The problem is the most pronounced on Google where TrapAWasp does not feature within the top 100 results on valuable keywords such as "wasp traps" (results on google.co.uk were slightly more positive but not by much).

Not that things are entirely doom and gloom. TrapAWasp does appear to be supported by a very effective Google Adwords campaign that goes a long way to redressing the balance of poor organic listings. It also has better ratings on sites such as MSN search (listed 7 th) and Yahoo (listed 8 th). However with Google owning 69% of the British search market it is vital that TrapAWasp receives a good listing there. Pay per click campaigns can prove very effective but they also dramatically reduce profit margins and so should only be seen as a stopgap or compliment to organic listings.

After comparing TrapAWasp against other sites listed under rated keywords it became obvious that the problem laid in the sites link popularity.

Google uses a complex algorithm to calculate your position in the ranking. However, two factors dominate that placement. One is keyword density and the other is link popularity.

Keyword density refers to the number of times a particular keyword/key phrase appears in the content of the site. For example the phrase wasp traps appears 17 times in your homepage giving it a keyword density of about 11%. After comparing this to other web sites we discovered that TrapAWasp is on a par with the competition. It is therefore fair to say that this is not the factor that is limiting your rating. That leaves the factor of link popularity.

Link popularity refers to the number of sites who link to TrapAWasp and the perceived popularity of those sites. The more sites that link to you and that you in turn link back to, the higher your ranking. However, it is not just about numbers. It is also about the perceived quality of the site that links to you as well. For example a link from the BBC website would be worth a lot more than a link from an unknown name. Another important factor is the words used in the link to you. The words "wasp trap specialist" will rank you better on the words "wasp trap" than a link using the words "The Jones family business". Currently not a single site listed on Google link to you and this explains your poor ranking.

There is, however, good news. Even the sites ranked in the top positions on Google have very little in the way of sites linking to them. It would not take many good quality links to move TrapAWasp to the top of Google’s organic listing.

Click here for more on link popularity

Below I outline a few techniques that would significantly help your placement on Google:

Look for link partners

Firstly look for as many sites that will link to you as possible and get them to add your site. One way of doing this is to search on Google for the words "add url" and a related keyword phrase such as "wasp traps". Doing so led me to this site: http://www.backyardgardener.com/ph/gardenproblem/gardenproblem.htm which actually has listed a wasp trap that is no long available! There is an add url link at the bottom of the left hand navigation that will allow you to add your site.

Copy the competition

Go to Google and search on a key phrase that is related to your site. Copy the url of the site listed number one in the list and then search again using the following search phrase "links: <url of competition>". This will show you all of the sites that link to that url. Contact each of those sites in turn and ask them if they will also link to you. Once you have done this return to Google and repeat the process all over again but this time with the next site down on the list.

Message Board seeding

Another very effective approach is to take part in message boards on related subjects such as gardening. When posting on these boards you can add a link back to your site and so improve your link popularity. However, a word of warning on this approach. If you just post adverts on peoples forums they will remove them and probably ban you for good. A more successful approach is to contribute to the forum providing useful advice and insights. Almost all forums allow you to add a signature to your post and it is in this signature that you include a link to your site.

Increasing keywords

Although this approach is not related to link popularity it is a vital component of increasing the traffic levels to your site.

One of the problems with securing high ranking is that short keyword phrases such as "wasp traps" are highly competitive. However, users often use much long search terms and it is sometimes easier to target these. The best way of targeting them is to include a lot of copy on your site that is related to the subject matter. This is normally achieved by adding an articles section on your site. This can prove very effective
. Take for example the Headscape site. Web design is a highly competitive sector and competition for the keyword "web design" is immense. However because we have an extensive archive of articles we gain a lot of traffic through longer phrases. Search on "how do I become number one on search engines" and you will see what we mean.

We would recommend that an article section relating to wasps is added to the site. This could build on the existing content which talks about how to find a wasps nest and general information about wasps.

Conclusions

This review has outlined a number of areas in which TrapAWasp could be improved. However, our recommendation is that increasing the levels of traffic should be the number one priority. Poor ranking on Google is significantly damaging the levels of traffic and with a minimum amount of work we are confident that the site’s ranking could be dramatically improved.

When good shopping sites go bad

Posted in User experience, Web strategy on by Paul Boag

I have just finished reading a fascinating article on the BBC web site about the growth of ecommerce. This comes on the sameday that I have watched one of my clients fail to grasp some of the basics of ecommerce.

Today the BBC posted an article saying that since February there has been a 4.2% decline in high street sales while in the same period e-retail has tripled. Apparently 22 million consumers bought goods online in April, spending £1.4bn between them.

Although this is hugely encouraging news for web designers like myself and goes someway to explaining the massive surge we have seen in our sector over the last few months, it doesnt necessarily mean you are on to a sure thing when it comes to selling online.

The reality of ecommerce

Even if you manage to overcome all of the classic problems of ecommerce such as fufillment it is still all too easy to undermine a successful ecommerce site.

Take for example a client we are currently working with. We have had an excellent working relationship with this client and have developed them a hugely successful ecommerce site that has become a major contributor in the success of their business. However today I received a list of changes they are proposing that threaten to undermine the success of their site.

Here are just two of the suggestions they have proposed for the site:

Marketing over functionality

They have proposed removing the search box, telephone number and shopping basket link from the header of the site and replacing it with their corporate strapline. This is a classic example of the kinds of mistakes a marketing manager would make. So often they see a site as a brochure promoting their company rather than a shop front that actively sells their products. By removing key functionality they are simply making it harder for their customers to buy. Why?

The four biggest concerns in ecommerce

Another proposal they are making is to remove some of the clutter from the page. What is wrong with that I hear you ask? Well they propose doing this by removing help on issues like returns policy, privacy and security. This is invaluable information that addresses the 4 biggest concerns users have when purchasing from an ecommerce site:

  • Can I return my purchase if I am unhappy with it?
  • Are there any hidden delivery charges?
  • If I provide you with my credit card details how do I know they are safe?
  • How do I know you aren’t going to use my email address to send me SPAM?

I am sure you can think of more but in my opinion these are the big four.

It is so important to carefully consider what changes you make to your site. Even if you believe you are improving things you can easily undermine what success you are currently having. So what will I be saying to my client? The answer is simple, try it and test it. Before making these kinds of major design changes to your web site create a prototype and test it on a sample audience. See what response you get. This is by far the best way to ensure any changes you make are the right ones.

Ecommerce 101

Posted in Web strategy on by Paul Boag

I am currently working on an ecommerce site and so as normal I have been doing my homework into what improves sales on a web site. Here is a quick summary of the key ingredients:

Watch some real users

Before changing anything on your ecommerce web site make sure you run some usability testing. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Just get some real shoppers, sit them in front of your web site and watch how they buy from the site. If you have time grab as many people as possible and repeat the process making notes on any trends that develop. But remember always test users one at a time and not in groups. The idea is to simulate how they would shop online while at home.

Organise your site

Be sure to organise the products on your site in ways that users will find intuitive. So often web sites are focused more around the companies structure than the users needs. Also be careful not to offer the user too many choices. This can be overwhelming and leads to users leaving the site before purchasing.

Get the product descriptions right

At one extreme product descriptions can contain far too much technical detail that the user simply doesn’t understand. At the other end of the spectrum product descriptions can be full of marketing speak and little in the way of real content. The best solution is somewhere in between. Describe your product in an accessible, easy to understand way but allow users to delve deeper if they want more information.

Ensure you are credible

Shoppers are inherently suspicious of ecommerce web sites. The idea of handing over your money to somebody that you can’t see or touch is disturbing. It is therefore vital that you are considered trustworthy. Add an about us section to your site that shows photos of your staff and premises. Answer concerns about delivery, returns and security. Most of all make sure your web site is professional in appearance and has recently updated content.

Just take their money!

A shopkeeper would never stop a person handing over money at the counter in order to make them fill in a questionnaire. Why then does that happen online. Make the purchase process as easy as possible and ask for only the minimum information up front. Marketteers want the additional information in order to target users with future promotions and encourage repeat sales. However experience has shown us that it is much easier to make additional sales once the customer has already purchased from you in the past. Make the sale first and then ask if you want more information.

Don’t always follow the crowd

Its easy to look at successful ecommerce web sites like Amazon and think all you have to do is copy them. However remember to focus on your target audience. What might be right for one large ecommerce web site might not necessarily be right for your audience.

Cross sell whenever possible

Take the opportunity to recommend other products to visitors which they might not have considered before. But be careful. Don’t make your recommendations look too much like advertisements. Web users have become very adapt at blocking out banner ads.

Why all websites should look the same

Posted in Design, User experience on by Paul Boag

Web designers are constantly striving to create something unique. However, is that really the right approach? I would argue that many websites should conform rather than attempt to be unique.

One of the things I love about my job is the fact that I get to work with all sorts of companies and organisations. Headscape (the company I work for) has just launched www.smallpoxbiosecurity.org which provides information on the threat of an outbreak following the deliberate release of smallpox. Not the average run of the mill web site! Although I have to say that isn’t the most unusual web site I have ever worked on. That accolade would have to go to the chicken incinerator site, but that is a whole different story.

Do different sectors mean totally different approaches to design?

When we launched the small pox site it started me thinking about the variety of sites I get to work on. I have worked on heritage sites, financial sites, IT and tech sites, tourism sites, education sites… you name it I have worked on it. You would expect that all of these different sectors would result in completely different websites. To some degree that is true. Certainly the different target audiences result in different approaches. The branding of the individual organisations need to be taken into account. The content is obviously another major factor. However underlying all of this there are a number of common rules that seem to govern all websites.

The underlying rules of web design

A lot of the rules that under pin most web sites are related to convesions. Users have come to expect websites to work in a certain way and if you choose to ignore those conventions you do so at your own peril. Some of the most obvious are:

The position of navigation

Users have come to expect navigation to appear either on a top menu bar or down the left hand side. To be honest I am not sure how this happened as we are used to tabs on a book appears on the right hand side. Nevertheless this is where users look for it so generally speaking this is the best place to put it.

The position of the sites branding

Users want to instantly know that they are at the right site (or in some cases what site they have arrived at). In either case the logical place to find the branding is in the top left corner. In western culture we read from left to right and from top to bottom. As a result the branding should be in the first place people look… the top left.

The clearly communicated purpose

Users can often be unsure exactly what a site is about and so it is also important to clearly communicate on the homepage what the site covers. This can sometimes be done with a tag line while sometimes a paragraph of text is required. Whatever the approach this is key information the user will expect to find.

Copy conventions

Web users are an impatient lot and never read copy properly. It has therefore become the convention to keep your text short and to the point (unlike this article). Also include lots of bullet points, headings and highlighted text to allow easy scanning.

Section conventions

Obviously each site will have its unique sections depending on the content, however there are some universal sections people expect to find and expect to have certain names. Sections like “about us”, “contact us” and “news” all appear on most sites. Neglect to put them there or call them something unusual and your users probably won’t go hunting for them.

Tools conventions

People expect to find a search box. In fact 50% of people instinctively look for a search box when they first arrive at a web site. Also users will seek out a site map if they can’t find what they are looking for and they use breadcrumbs to identify where they are if they get really lost. As a result all of these elements need to appear in a good design.

The challenge

The list could go on a lot longer but I am sure you get the idea. Visit the www.smallpoxbiosecurity.org and see if Headscape have really put our money where our mouth is and then go and look at some of the big name websites and see how many of them follow the conventions I have outlined above. Finally take a long hard look at your own website and ask yourself if your site makes life easy for your users or if you are more concerned with being different.

Why all websites should look the same ;)

Posted in Design, User experience on by Paul Boag

One of the things I love about my job is the fact that I get to work with all sorts of companies and organisations. Headscape (the company I work for) has just launched www.smallpoxbiosecurity.orgwhich provides information on the threat of an outbreak following the deliberate release of smallpox. Not the average run of the mill web site! Although I have to say that isn’t the most unusual web site I have ever worked on. That accolade would have to go to the chicken incinerator site, but that is a whole different story.

Do different sectors mean totally different approaches to design?

When we launched the small pox site it started me thinking about the variety of sites I get to work on. I have worked on heritage sites, financial sites, IT and tech sites, tourism sites, education sites… you name it I have worked on it. You would expect that all of these different sectors would result in completely different websites. To some degree that is true. Certainly the different target audiences result in different approaches. The branding of the individual organisations need to be taken into account. The content is obviously another major factor. However underlying all of this there are a number of common rules that seem to govern all websites.

The underlying rules of web design

A lot of the rules that under pin most web sites are related to convesions. Users have come to expect websites to work in a certain way and if you choose to ignore those conventions you do so at your own peril. Some of the most obvious are:

The position of navigation

Users have come to expect navigation to appear either on a top menu bar or down the left hand side. To be honest I am not sure how this happened as we are used to tabs on a book appears on the right hand side. Nevertheless this is where users look for it so generally speaking this is the best place to put it.

The position of the sites branding

Users want to instantly know that they are at the right site (or in some cases what site they have arrived at). In either case the logical place to find the branding is in the top left corner. In western culture we read from left to right and from top to bottom. As a result the branding should be in the first place people look… the top left.

The clearly communicated purpose

Users can often be unsure exactly what a site is about and so it is also important to clearly communicate on the homepage what the site covers. This can sometimes be done with a tag line while sometimes a paragraph of text is required. Whatever the approach this is key information the user will expect to find.

Copy conventions

Web users are an impatient lot and never read copy properly. It has therefore become the convention to keep your text short and to the point (unlike this article). Also include lots of bullet points, headings and highlighted text to allow easy scanning.

Section conventions

Obviously each site will have its unique sections depending on the content, however there are some universal sections people expect to find and expect to have certain names. Sections like "about us", "contact us" and "news" all appear on most sites. Neglect to put them there or call them something unusual and your users probably won’t go hunting for them.

Tools conventions

People expect to find a search box. In fact 50% of people instinctively look for a search box when they first arrive at a web site. Also users will seek out a site map if they can’t find what they are looking for and they use breadcrumbs to identify where they are if they get really lost. As a result all of these elements need to appear in a good design.

The challenge

The list could go on a lot longer but I am sure you get the idea. Visit the www.smallpoxbiosecurity.org and see if Headscape have really put our money where our mouth is and then go and look at some of the big name websites and see how many of them follow the conventions I have outlined above. Finally take a long hard look at your own website and ask yourself if your site makes life easy for your users or if you are more concerned with being different.

Can Your Visitors Trust You?

Posted in Marketing on by Paul Boag

More and more, privacy is becoming an important issue with your visitors. They want to know exactly what you’re planning to do with their personal information you collect. This concern can in some extreme cases cause users to give up on your site entirely.

Below I outline just a few ways to reassure users:

  • Create a page on your website called, "Privacy Statement," and let your visitors know your intentions.
  • Explain how you intend to use their information
  • Inform them whether their information is going to be sold to third parties
  • If you collect email addresses explain why
  • If you track a users IP address explain why
  • Let your visitors know that you’re not responsible for the privacy issues of any outside websites you may be linking to
  • Explain why you use order forms and what you do with the information collected
  • If you run competitions explain what you do with the information collected
  • Do you have a discussion forum or messageboard? Let your visitors know that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and they should exercise caution
  • Do you have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under your control? If so,let your visitors know
  • Let your visitors know how they can opt out of your mailing lists
  • Provide your visitors with your contact information, should they have any questions in regard to your privacy statement.

You must do everything in your power to make your visitors feel as comfortable with you as possible. Your success depends on it.