WebWatch 2014 Prayag’s Annual Website Benchmark Analysis Report
From the Principalâ€&#x;s desk The annual Prayag Website study benchmarks websites of companies operating in the Indian IT and BPO sectors against global best practices for website design, navigation, content strategies and online marketing The study showcases websites that stand out for their innovative design, navigation and content strategies Best-in-class tactical ideas and practices are also highlighted
Prayagâ€&#x;s Annual Website Benchmark Analysis Report
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Corporate websites in the study Number of corporate websites analyzed 13 10
10
10
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• Integrated Service Providers (IT Services): Companies with revenues flowing from diverse vertical and horizontal services. • IT Products: Companies with revenue attributable mainly to software product sales.
Integrated Service Providers
IT Products
Emerging and Mid-size players
BPO
Other
• The study examined 54 corporate websites.
• Emerging and Midsize Players (E&M): IT companies with increasing presence in the IT market.
• The companies studied represented the typical mix of technology companies.
• BPO: Companies deriving a major portion of their revenues from BPO services
• The study included both domestic companies and multinationals operating in India
• Others: Miscellaneous technology companies
• List of companies studied is available at the end of the report Prayag‟s Annual Website Benchmark Analysis Report
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Assessment criteria Navigation
Content
Design Aesthetics
SEO
Interaction cues
Highs and lows
Hygiene habits
Page Title
Flexibility and search
Content style
Packaging
Meta Description Tags
Sitemap
Value proposition marketing
Hall of Fame
Content & Structure
Contextual Navigation
Employee and client speak
Mobile responsiveness Personalization
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Navigation • • • • • •
Interaction Cues Flexibility Sitemap and Search Contextual Navigation Personalization Mobile Responsiveness
Prayag‟s Annual Website Benchmark Analysis Report
Forrester Research estimates that approximately 50% of potential sales are lost because users can't find information and that 40% of users do not return to a site when their first visit is a negative experience.
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Attention deficit syndrome Interaction cues feature in the websites studied and their purpose is to capture the attention of the users and provide them with ways to engage with the company.
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No more wild goose chases Flexibility
Case In Point
• Flexible navigation features allow the visitor to steer through the site effortlessly. • Breadcrumbs afford one-click access to higher site levels allowing for easier and quicker navigation.
• The Aegis site with dynamic menus, breadcrumbs, sectional and contextual navigation makes it easy to use the site.
Navigational features
% using this feature
Breadcrumb trail
65
Breadcrumb trail with backward navigation
63
Dynamic menus/ Tab Metaphor
94
A combination of Breadcrumb trails and dynamic tabs are key to a good website
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A blueprint of the website Other than IT product and E&M players, most others had them thus organizing information in a structured manner
Zensar’s detailed sitemap
Who has included sitemaps? Without sitemap With sitemap
20 46
42
54
58
IT Products
Emerging and Mid-sized players
80
IT Services
30
27
70
73
BPOs
Others
A combination of Breadcrumb trails and dynamic tabs are key to a good website
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Different strokes for different people B2B sites reported that between 8% to 15% of visitors, accessed their site from mobile devices and this is bound to increase. Given this statistic, it is surprising that almost 70% of companies studied in this report had NOT enabled their site for multiple devices.
An example of a site with a mobile responsive website: TABLET VIEW
Prayagâ€&#x;s Annual Website Benchmark Analysis Report
DESKTOP VIEW
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Information – no further than a click or two away The majority of websites surveyed were structured for optimal navigation and provided critical information within 2-3 clicks
How many clicks to your critical information? ISPs
IT Products
E&M Players
BPOs
Others
% Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
1-2 clicks
40
60
0
100
46
54
20
80
9
91
2-3 clicks
50
50
50
50
54
46
80
20
55
55
3-4 clicks
0
100
40
60
0
100
0
100
18
82
Inconsistent
10
90
10
90
0
100
0
100
18
82
Note: Critical information represents web pages that provide important information on the company and do not include any downloadable material
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The Related Zone Contextual Navigation
Case in Point
• Contextual navigation bars encourage users to visit more pages. It promises improved user experience as it provides relevant content. A win-win for all! • Niche company sites displayed increased contextual navigation as they need to present relevant content owing to the specialized nature of their business
• All things related to business are available a click away – encouraging the user to learn more about that offering.
Category
Websites with contextual navigation(%)
IT Services
70
IT Products
100
E&M Players
85
BPOs
90
Others
100
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Appealing to the global user
Site localization which was seen more prominently in the websites of larger companies is now featuring in the websites of emerging and medium-sized companies as well. Unity in Diversity Category
% of sites with personalization
ISPs
70
IT Products
90
E&M Players
46
BPOs
80
Others
100
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CONTENT
The highs and lows Content style Value proposition marketing Employee and client speak
Prayag‟s Annual Website Benchmark Analysis Report
Technology creates the context for persuasion, but content persuades
– Colleen Jones
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The highs and the lows Hits
Misses
• Acknowledgment and acceptance that content is key to an effective website • Use of multiple ways to communicate a message and going beyond text to attract a reader and retain their attention
• The content on some websites were overloaded with technical details, making it hard to read. • A text-heavy style without diagrams or tables was another reason making the content a difficult read.
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Content is King Most sites contained case studies, whitepapers, and articles. Some included reports that were results of academic or other collaborations. Diagrams, charts and animations were used extensively, for greater visual impact, especially among IT services companies.
Use of Diagrams
% of Limited
% of No
Wiproâ€&#x;s array of collaterals have images and illustrations that go with each of them
% of Yes 72
60
60
60 40
30
30
30 30
20 20 10
Integrated Service Providers
10
Product
Emerging and Midsized Players
14
14
BPO
Prayagâ€&#x;s Annual Website Benchmark Analysis Report
Others
IBM has showcased its significant collection of case studies effectively
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A potpourri of content Content Mix
Case in Point
• All company sites in the survey provided content through a mix of technical and nontechnical topics. • Technical content was limited while contextual and diagrammatic representations were popular.
• Accenture illustrates its solutions with illustrations and graphics that captivates the reader.
Content presentation across segments % of Partly/Limited
% of No
% of Yes
63.2
60.2 32.8
38.4
28.8
18.4 18.4
Contextual Use of Resources
25.8 14
Use of Diagrams
Technical Style of Contents
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Case in Point
What they said and What I heard It is essential to convey your value proposition clearly.
Adobeâ€&#x;s site announces its message in a simple and clear manner along with key information required for the site visitor.
All the basic details needed to inform and attract customers
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Your brand ambassadors Brand promotion
Case in Point
Companies used employee quotes and even videos to showcase their work environment
Product offerings and solutions too were introduced through client testimonials videos or quotes by some companies like SAP.
Link to customer specific solution details and testimonial
For professionals seeking jobs
For jobs in customer service
For interns and freshers
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DESIGN AESTHETICS Hygiene Factors Packaging Hall of Fame
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A tricky affair •
Judging website designs can be highly subjective. We structured our review into two parts. In the first part, we graded the reviewed websites according to different hygiene parameters • • • •
•
Color Impact Legibility Readability Consistency
In the next part we looked at a few sites, which had that “certain something”, that warranted a second look.
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Just the basics The winning design attribute once again was • A white backdrop with either black or grey font. An overwhelming 97% of the websites surveyed had used this background.
Other observations • Use of the company‟s brand colors in all websites. • A shift to brevity in content. • Only 19% of the sites maintained page length consistency. • Three out of four surveyed sites maintained a clutter-free homepage • Shifting trend towards increased content in the menu.
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Thinking outside the box... Engaging the user • •
More use of visuals and colors Tables and images to break monotony of long explanations
TCS
Adobe
•
•
Running TATA logo in the background reinforces the brand association
Prayag‟s Annual Website Benchmark Analysis Report
Marketing the cloud with creative design enhances the appeal
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Home sweet home: Pages that are easy on the eye Sitel
Intel
• Uncluttered homepage with bright image sliders that highlight what they do
• Site has all the right elements- from a simple design to use of brand colors to introduce their key services
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Beauty in simplicity Mindtree
Capgemini
Pleasant mix of brand colors makes the site appealing
Provides all information creatively despite the absence of a slider
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ZenSar and Global Logic A catchy caption combined with the right colors, visuals and placement hit the bullâ€&#x;s eye
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THE HALL OF FAME And the winners are…
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Aegis Crisp copy, effective use of brand colors, and well spaced out – the Aegis homepage has it all.
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Cognizant Content flow has been designed to sustain reader interest.
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NetApp Clever use of illustrations without compromising on business context to add appeal in the NetApp website
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Search Engine Optimization
Hygiene Factors •
Bigger companies appeared unhindered by rules on search engine optimization.
•
A surprise observation was the absence of blogs in over 70% of the sites studies. Blogs are a „must have‟ feature for SEO as they enrich the content on your site.
•
Whitepapers and case studies which play the same role, were however, used more commonly.
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Thank You Have a question? Suggestions? Feedback? We would like to hear from you
Team Prayag
Companies covered in this study Integrated Service Providers 10 • • • • • • • • • •
TCS Infosys Wipro Cognizant HCL technologies IBM HP Accenture Capgemini CSC
IT Products • • • • • • • • • •
10 Tally SAP Oracle Microsoft Cisco Citrix Intuit McAfee Adobe NetApp
Emerging & mid-size players 13 • • • • • • • • • • • • •
InMobi Zensar Mindtree 3i Infotech Aditya Birla Minacs KPIT Cummins Persistent ITC Infotech India Aditi Global Logic L&T Infotech Tech Mahindra Hexaware Technologies
Other
BPO • • • • • • • • • •
10 Aegis EXL Services Genpact WNS First Source 24/7 Customer Sitel Convergys Hinduja global Serco
• • • • • • • • • • •
11 Dell Honeywell Symantec Quest Qualcomm Lenovo Avaya Nokia Intel Samsung Nvidia