Prayag webwatch 2014

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

11

• 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



   13

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

Prayag‟s Annual Website Benchmark Analysis Report

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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