Editorial Articles

Web Stickiness from WebFusion

A 'sticky' website is one which really engages people. However, stickiness is different for different sorts of sites.

For instance, sites which get their revenue from advertising will often want people to explore and look at many different pages. That way, the site's visitors will be more likely to click an advert. Ecommerce sites will want people to look at fewer pages, so they complete a transaction quickly. For these sites, stickiness is all about giving people what they want so they return and purchase again.

Here are our top ten tips for making your website sticky:

1. Great content. The content of your website is crucial. Everything should be tailored to your audience, so think hard about what the people who visit your website want. Tell them how you will make their life easier and save them money, or give them something they can't find anywhere else.

2. Keep it fresh. Give people a reason to return to your website by updating the content frequently. For instance, woot.com shows a new offer on its homepage every day, encouraging daily return visitors. If people see the same things on your site each time they visit, they'll soon stop showing up so often.

3. Social media. Blogs and forums are a great way of letting people interact with your website, and each other. They can also demonstrate the personality behind your site. But remember: web users are a savvy bunch. Censor negative comments or pretend to be someone you're not at your peril. These are powerful tools, but use them honestly.

4. Enjoyment. Regardless of your target market, an element of enjoyment is crucial to website stickiness. Sites like Facebook and eBay are successful, in part, because they are fun to use. Can you add a game, a community, or useful video or podcasts for your target market?

5. Control. Don't make your users do things your way. Give them the freedom to interact with your site how and when they like. Allowing this element of control shows trust and provides a much more personal experience to keep them coming back.

6. Call to action. Your website has to engage your audience. That means getting them to do something. At every stage make it clear what you want the visitor to do next and how they do it. Crucially, always give them a reason to return - perhaps a promotion or time-specific offer.

7. Web 2.0. Don't worry about jumping on this particular bandwagon. Fashionable technologies and flashy animations may make your site look nicer, but only use them if they improve the user experience. And always, always get the core content right first.

8. Web analytics. Don't drift off - this sounds dull, but a package like Google Analytics can show you exactly what people do on your website, answering important questions how they found you and what makes them stay. Analytics is key to making improvements and measuring the success of your online business.

9. Accessibility. Think about how accessible your website is. (An accessible site is one which is usable by as many people as possible.) It’s good practice to adhere to accessibility guidelines, so people with disabilities find your website easier to use. If you don't consider this, you could be excluding whole groups of people from using your site.

10. Links. It’s easy to get links right initially, but as your site grows, pages change. Avoid broken links by scanning your site with a link checker (like this one from W3C). Keep an eye on who links to you as well - this will help you determine how people find your site.
WebFusion supplies business web hosting, virtual private servers, dedicated servers and other internet services.

Thomas Vollrath, Managing Director, WebFusion