This survey was given to help inform us as to what our Coffs Harbour clients and perspective Coffs Coast clients valued in a web design agency, in a web design agency’s website and in a new website for their own business. The results of this survey guided the design of our new website (f1rst.com.au).
I interviewed 15 owners of small Coffs Harbour businesses and people who work in the marketing field. The participants were asked several questions and to rate them 1-5 with five being the most important. I chose this interview/survey method because it’s inexpensive, fast, easy and a fairly accurate way of gathering information.
Web Design Agency Related Questions
Question Asked: To you when looking for a web design agency, which is the most important quality? Rank 1-5 with 5 being the highest priority
*Cost: In a study performed by NYU the following was found:
Customers do not regard transaction costs as seriously for high involvement products because the cost itself may not be as important as the quality or their personal preferences. For lower involvement products cost was found to be much more important since the cost might be the single most important factor in this type of purchase.
Internet businesses that focus on high involvement products should focus on trust to increase loyalty because transaction cost does not have as large of an effect. Internet businesses focusing on low involvement products should focus on trust and transaction cost because both values are important. When selling low involvement products, it’s important that there are shared values between the customers.
Website Related Questions
Question Asked: To you what would be the most important qualities when reviewing a web design agencies website? Rank 1-5 with 5 being the highest priority
*Trustworthiness: As I expected, most people wanted to treat this as an open-ended question, below are some of the comments.
- Client lists, referrals, references, philosophy and types of clients are important to help build trust
- Design matters
- Client lists are important for building trust and testimonials
- Portfolio, it’s important to see past work
- I think that the design means a lot
According to the Association of Computer Machinery, trust has been regarded as one of the most important variables in the relations between human and computers. Understanding how trust is established and maintained is critical to a website’s success.
3.0 Your New Website
Question Asked: To you and your company what is the most important when building a new website? Rank 1-5 with 5 being the highest priority
*Usability and Navigation: Does your site provide an efficient and simple navigational experience? Such glitches as broken links and interface inconsistencies can have a large effect on a website’s credibility.
A well-built navigation and architectural schema should make the users feel as if they are in control, allowing them to easily retrieve the information they are seeking. The user should always know where they are on a website and they should be able to predict the results of a given interaction. Similar functions should be grouped and important information should always be visible.
General Comments By Coffs Harbour Business Owners
A few general comments made throughout and at the end of the interviews:
- Name, photo and bio – makes it easier to pick up the phone and call
- Explain your process if it is a good thing. How you do business that’s what most important to me
- I like to get a feel for the capabilities and style
- Client list is most important in building trust
- Quality of the information is much more important than the quantity
- The track record of the clients is not important what’s important is the quality of the work
- It’s important to have a good overview without having to go through the entire site. Get to the point
- The home page should get the person interested
- I am kind of over the flash stuff. It used to be cool, but now I want to just get to the information
