Surveying Clients About Your Website

In a previous article, I talked about determining when and if a website should be redesigned. One of the suggestions I made was that to help you determine if your website should be redesigned is to send a survey to your top fifty clients or so.

I thought I would go ahead and list some sample questions that could be included on such a survey. Keep in mind that this survey can be used not only to determine if your website needs to be redesigned, but also to determine generally how effective your website is.

I suggest the following comments/questions be answered on a 1-5 scale, where 1 means strongly disagree, 3 means neutral and 5 means strongly agree. An N/A option could be included as well. You should also include a section for comments at the bottom.

* I find it easy to navigate the website. * The content on the site is appropriate. * I find the site's content interesting. * The site's design looks dated. * I like the site's color scheme. * The site should be more interactive. * The site design is appropriate for the subject matter and content. * The title of the site is appropriate placed on each page. * The header of the site is an appropriate size. * The amount of space the navigation takes up is appropriate. * There are too many images on the site. * The site takes too long to load. * I will visit this site again.

In addition to those questions, the following may help as well.

* I visit the site: A. Less than once a month B. 1-2 times a month C. 2-5 times a month D. 5-10 times a month E. More than 10 times a month F. I have no idea

* I have recommended or talked about something on the site to: A. No one B. 1-5 people C. 6-15 people D. 15-30 people E. More than 30 people F. I have no idea

* I spend the most time in the following section of the site: A. Section 1 Name B. Section 2 Name C. Section 3 Name ... Z. I have no idea

* List five other, similar websites to ours that you frequently visit.

* List five things you'd like to see on our site.

* If you had to eliminate one section of our website, what section would it be?

* Where did you first hear about our website?

* Have you ever clicked on an advertisement that was displayed on our site?

There will probably be questions that are specific to your website that you should also ask. An arcade might ask whether the survey taker prefers arcade games or redemption games. A news publication might ask if the survey taker also receives a hard copy of the newspaper or magazine.

If it is possible, you should send out paper copies of the survey, but also make an online version available. Make sure you have the same questions and options in both places.

In addition to sending the survey to your clients, readers and/or customers, give them incentive to fill it out. Tell them they will be entered into some sort of drawing for filling out the survey. Make sure you include space for their name, address, phone number and email address so you'll know who turned in what survey.

Once you get the surveys, use Excel or a similar program to gather and analyze the data. Then you will know some ways in which you can improve your site.

Tim is the owner and senior web designer at T&S Web Design. His company has developed and maintained website for dozens of small businesses and organizations. Tim also maintains a blog with free website advice for small business owners, GetASiteOnline.com