World Wide Worx | Business Technology Research South Africa

Website Benchmarking and Evaluation

We conduct web site audits, benchmarks and evaluations using the Webagility system, which has been developed over the past eight years. It is a unique and industry-leading methodology of auditing web site effectiveness. Webagility is designed to benchmark web sites against best practice and against local and global competitors. The audit can include usability, content strategy, transactional effectiveness, investor relations and brand strategy.

Webagility produces a snapshot of current strategic performance of a web site, as well as a roadmap for improved performance and effectiveness. The analysis is broken up into three core modules:

• Usability and navigation: The usability analysis evaluates a range of elements of the visitor’s experience in accessing a site, navigating through it, finding information quickly and efficiently, and making use of facilities on offer on the site.

• Content strategy: The content and strategy analysis examines a range of aspects of web site strategy, including organisational and service branding on the site, relationship between branding and general content, appropriateness of content, ability of content to retain visitor interest, investor relations, e-mail content strategy, and extent to which the site meets the strategic objectives of its owner.

• Transactional effectiveness: The transactionality analysis evaluates the effectiveness of the site in facilitating transactions, from service presentation to account management and customer interaction.

Webagility Monitor

For maximum effectiveness of the Webagility audit, we offer an ongoing service, namely the Webagility Monitor, which offers monthly or quarterly feedback on ongoing performance of the site relative to that of competitors. It is flexible, and can be tailored to your needs. The basic service comprises:

• Quarterly benchmarking and quality control of key elements of the client site against best practise;

• Quarterly benchmarking of key elements of the site against key competitor sites;

• Quarterly update on key online developments that have an impact on the competitive environment.

These updates are in effect online temperature gauges, providing a broad measure of effectiveness within the competitive environment. Less detailed than the initial Webagility audit, it identifies emerging opportunities, quick wins and emerging weaknesses, either on the client site itself, or relative to competitor sites or the competitive environment.

Specialised Webagility Benchmarks

Webagility is also applied to specialised requirements. Established benchmarks include:

• Webagility Intranet – evaluation of usability, content, strategy and integration of business and human resources processes, among other.

• Webagility Legal – evaluation of web site compliance with relevant laws, in particular the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, conducted in partnership with Michalsons Attorneys;

• Webagility Investor Relations – evaluating of performance of site as a tool for investors, analysts and the media;

• Webagility Corporate – evaluating strategic congruence across a range of sites belonging to the same holding group.

• Webagility E-mail – evaluating e-mail strategy on a web site and in corporate e-mail communications, with emphasis on brand and format consistency, and legal compliance.

• Webagility 2.0 - evaluating readiness for implementation of Web 2.0 strategy, including social media, social networking and interacvtive architecture.

Technical performance testing and analysis

We offer technical testing and analysis of communication infrastructure and the applications used in supporting these web sites. Through our strategic partnership with Qualica, market leaders in network and web site performance testing, we are able to offer Webagility clients a further service that plugs into Webagility. Qualica’s services represent a powerful set of tools to align strategic goals with technical capacity and network implementation. World Wide Worx analyses Qualica’s performance testing data to highlight gaps in network implementation, which addresses slow response times, broken links and missing data that degrade the end-user experience.

Clients

The Webagility service has been provided to a wide range of clients, from large corporations to niche retailers to parastatals organisations. These have included most of the major banks, the CSIR, the City of Johannesburg, and a range of JSE-listed companies spanning sectors as diverse as health care, mining, industrials and consumer services. All clients have one thing in common, namely the need to improve the user experience and strategic performance of their sites, in order to enhance their business offering. Webagility offers clients one of two outcomes: a strategic blueprint for refinement or redevelopment of the site, or validation of existing strategies for the site. The goal of Webagility is a roadmap for a more effective online presence.

For more information on Webagility, contact  World Wide Worx.