People will Judge You

judging

I meet someone new, hear about a new local company, or get a new email subscriber – these things usually send me in search of their website.

Let’s be honest, I’m there to judge them. You do it, too, whenever you check out someone’s website. But your frame of reference and perceptions will be different than mine. Here’s what I tend to notice:

  1. First impression: It’s that split second judgment that sets the stage for the rest of my critique.
  2. Formatting: Is there white space or is it crowded and busy? Does it have a consistent, cohesive look? How many different fonts are used?
  3. Colours and images: Are they appealing to me?
  4. Grammar and spelling: I’m immediately turned off if I see obvious mistakes.
  5. Social media accounts: Hmm, haven’t made it to Twitter yet?
  6. Completeness of information: Is there an email address and a phone number? Oh no, not one of those ‘contact us’ forms!
  7. Outdated information: Not a good sign when the first thing I see is an event that happened last year.
  8. Do they have a newsletter? I always wonder this, of course.

Your way of judging websites will be different than mine. But you will judge and you will make assumptions – good or bad.

Now it’s time to have a look at your own website and get some honest feedback. How do others view it? Are they making the judgments and assumptions you want them to make?

photo by CraigOppy

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