Cover Story : How Engaging Is Your Website Design?

Take the test: best practices revealed

During the past two decades, the Web has grown from an interesting academic oddity to one of the most powerful platforms for commerce in any era. Through it all, marketers have been playing with the design of the basic website to come up with the ultimate digital sales tool.

Target Marketing checked in with three online marketing professionals who are tops in their field to find out what works—and what doesn't—when it comes to wooing the ever-elusive, and increasingly multi-tasked, Web cruiser.

Their insights form the basis for the best practices quiz shown below, which offers you the chance to see how your website design stacks up.

In addition to expert advice, you'll also find examples of best-of-breed Web design in each best practice area to study and pick up a few good ideas for adaptation or adoption.

The Questions
1. What is the maximum number of clicks until a visitor reaches a piece of information?
a. Two b. Three c. Four d. Five

2. What should you avoid placing in the right rail?
a. Navigation b. Search box c. Text modules d. E-newsletter sign-up form

3. How often should promotional content be tested?
a. Daily b. Weekly c. Monthly d. All of the above

4. The best time to ask buyers to register during the shopping process is?
a. Before they can place items in the cart b. At the start of checkout
c. Just before completion of the order d. After completion of the order

5. How fast should a page download?
a. Five seconds or less b. Ten seconds or less c. Thirty seconds or less  d. One minute or less

The Answers
1. What is the maximum number of clicks until a visitor reaches a piece of information?
Answer: b) Three

In general, website visitors should be able to find most information within three clicks, says Tom Goosmann, chief creative officer at digital direct marketing agency True North, based in New York and San Francisco. "I don't want to spend all my time hunting the site for information that may or may not be there," he says, noting the same is true for today's consumer and business professional.

Goosmann subscribes to the concept of "threes" for other aspects of Web design, too. "Whenever we build a site, True North applies what we call the 'three-thirty-three rule' to direct both our strategic thinking and creative work," he says. In three seconds, the site needs to connect viscerally with an arriving prospect, to intrigue them enough to stay put and not click away. In 30 seconds, the site needs to communicate the company's core message and make clear that its pages contain good content to explore. And in three minutes, the site needs to provide enough succinct, relevant information in an emotionally satisfying format that persuades the prospect to take the desired action.

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