How do users find information on your website?

There are three primary methods for accessing, finding and exploring information on a website and each method must be optimized for usability standards so that they are easy and intuitive to use:

1. Access: The website’s first and second level information architecture;
2. Find: Search and information access through search engines
3. Explore: Guided navigation using content indexes to drill down to explore, find and access desired knowledge and information.

When is it time to refresh or create a new website?

There are some important new trends related to user needs and website usability factors that contribute to the decision to refresh and redo an entire website:

• Evolving User/Customer/Stakeholder Needs:

• User needs and audience expectations change due to organizational priorities, new methods of working, and new information.

• · Continually improving website usability standards

• Websites must remain fresh and relevant to users and potential users in order to have them continually return for knowledge acquisition and to want to contribute information and knowledge;

• User expectations for information acquisition, search, retrieval as well as usability standards change frequently as the world wide web grows and adapts therefore it is important that website managers respond to this by undertaking reviews of content, usability and bringing the system up to date regarding the most current standards for KTE (knowledge transfer and exchange) and usability.

• Other tools and information sources become available, therefore organizations wish to remain leading edge in understanding their audience and user needs for information in order to remain relevant; and 
•  Importance of establishing website goals: Organizations that wish to remain the leading or premiere sources of information and by extension have their users and stakeholder continually returning to their website must be cognizant that there are three primary methods for accessing, finding and exploring information on a KTE website and each method must be optimized for usability standards so that they are easy and intuitive to use:

1. Access: The website’s first and second level information architecture;
2. Find: Search and information access through search engines
3. Explore: Guided navigation using indexes to drill down to explore, find and access desired knowledge and information.

• To remain fresh, appealing and bring users back the website must have an easy, intuitive means to upload new knowledge and information in a variety of formats;

• That usability standards are present and systematically accounted for on the website to make the user experience as easy, simple and rewarding as possible.

It is important to note that new technologies and indeed a refreshed design may help to increase the awareness and penetration of the ideas, practices and methods as part of a broader marketing strategy. The corporate or product marketing strategy and any new directions for the website need to be aligned carefully.

Websites are living, breathing and need to be fed

To remain the premiere source of information and knowledge on a given topic, managers of web technologies are increasingly recognizing that their websites need to be living, dynamic tools which must be “fed” very regularly with the best and most current information.

These websites must be so useful to visitors by allowing efficient access and discovery such that their audiences and stakeholders continually want to return to retrieve information or offer new information to keep the website populated, dynamic and continually living, taking in and breathing out new knowledge and insight.

Establishing website goals

There are usually three over-arching goals for organizations that either want to refresh/redevelop their current site or plan a new website: 

• Goal No. 1: A website should have a detailed roadmap that sets out what new content should be added, the new fields required for its database and a set of detailed requirements that will guide the enhancement of the site’s user experience, web interface, its functionality and plot out the information architecture.

• Goal No. 2: Existing stakeholders and users should have access to the most current and robust information and research available that is easily accessible, easily found and available to them in a variety of formats that serve their needs and purposes.
  

• Goal No. 3: New customers, new users and new stakeholders should be able to easily find and access your website's information because the site and its content are optimized to return first page results from the leading search engines and because compelling marketing strategies are in place to promote the website and direct new users to the site.

By satisfying these three goals, your website becomes a leading source of information populated with relevant, timely, comprehensive, and current information that is available and published to the web in a variety of formats so that your users access your content in the way they want, in the format they want, when they want it.