Buckets to FUNNELS: Website management and conversion explained
"When does a web site cease to be just a web site? When it works for your business, of course...." Web Analyst, Ross Jenkins.

The work of managing a web site is hard enough without a plan. I have long described the process of managing web sites to that of a large leaking bucket. To be sure, web sites are really less design and more about problem solving. The more you know the less you are sure.

Problems are made more evident when you realize that your site is riddled with holes. You know that there are issues, but you simply aren't sure where to start the mending process.

Some would argue that if the bucket is faulty, throw it away and get a new one, but the investments of site design and planning are not easily disposed and even if that was an option, could you be sure that your initial problem would even be addressed?

The holes are the variety of questions that site owners have about their web sites, but they should not include issues of color and flash. Site owners should be concerned with issues of business. They, and they alone are worthy of consideration. Designing for design sakes falls largely under the category of brand.

So what is the work of business driven design? How can site operators begin to build an appetite for the business behind the design? What are the holes that should be addressed and ulitmately filled?

Start by identifying and measuring the following properties of your web site:
Conversion. Revenue. Customer Satisfaction. Cross selling. Upselling. Retention.

None of the preceding attributes of your site can be measured accurately by visible eye or through technographics provided through logfiles. Only a framework for continuous improvement and the necessary analytic tools afforded to business owners can measure them with value metrics.

If you want to be able to measure the business value of your site, consider aligning business goals to your site.

This is part 1 of a 3 part series of articles on web management.

What is the value behind your site? Metaclix can help you begin to measure it accurately through our practice of managing web sites thorugh diagnosis and planning. To learn more about this approach, contact Metaclix.