Paul Rourke  – PRWD

Craig Sullivan – Belron International

Simon Williams – Carat

• Things they can put in place to ensure that people stick around for more than 30 seconds.

• Different things to keep them interested – content to spark curiosity and encourage them to spend time

• Taking steps to build momentum

• Levels and nature of engagement needed is determined by KPIs

• Engagement is only one metric: from this measurement alone you cannot gauge level of engagement or quality of user experience

• From face value it looks like a cluttered and off-putting site.

• The creator has opted for the ‘Marmite effect’ – and in fact this eCommerce site is incredibly successful.

• An opposite of the classic ‘user friendly’ site – but it can be considered persuasive in its eccentricity.

• It delivers a unique brand experience – engagement comes from the personality of the brand.

• She has created a memorable experience – and despite first impressions – it works well in terms of service.

• Metrics prove a 10 of out 10 rating on ‘visitor engagement’.

• Keywords and standard SEO elements are there but users are bombarded with content.

• The huge phone number and ‘Talk with us Today’ call to action come across as a ‘hard sell’.

• Although this critique comes from first impressions and not from a detailed analysis of metrics and customer base.

• Prominence of search facility – Primary navigation promotes key messages (such as ‘free delivery) which falls in line with other eCommerce sites particularly in the fashion industry

• Plus size clothing – SimplyBe are going through a transitional phase and making steps to incorporate social media

• The added Facebook plug-in on the homepage has tripled the ‘likes’ (since they moved from a like button).

• Morgan recommends some experimentation with various methods but not compromising the ‘real estate’ of the home page.

• The ASOS site (as an example of another fashion eCommerce site) has stripped away a lot of choice. You either get drawn deeper into the site or you leave.

• Reminder that if you change any element of your website you HAVE to test it.

Before you Begin….

• Engagement is about emotion – “likeability” – what are the emotional triggers of the audience?

• How can we create the experience and what techniques can we employ to get positive reactions from design/content etc..?

• Customer research is a vital starting point – asking questions such as “what content do you want to see?”.

• Taking heed of the “voice of the customer” and insights gleaned from research.

• Website design can be too formulaic – doggedly sticking to a template without taking into consideration the customer’s needs and emotional triggers.

• It is so important not to lose site of user base opinion.

• Business message is not present on the homepage but navigation looks clear and simple.
• The product has to be showcased to drive customer engagement.

• Point made that this exercise (of critiquing various websites in this manner) is “terrible practice” or at the very least – an unfair assessment as we are not currently customers seeking any of the services offered on the sites.

• Anyone who tells you “people don’t scroll down” they are wrong – this site works

• So minimalist that you don’t know what it is about

• Titles for news stories do not encourage you to click through – they do not tell you what the essence of the story is.

• You need to understand the business – its USPs and customer base.

• Then you need to use the technology to bring these two elements together.
• You must get clarity on both before you select the best mechanisms.

• A lot of ‘best practice’ applies to shopping baskets, buying pages etc… not from the homepage design.

• We should start thinking about mobile as our “primary entry for design” and then work from there (onto desktop).

• Make transactions as simple as possible – “every other element is bespoke”.

• Optimising for mobile is vital.