The entry here that caused the most discussion was the posting from New Year’s. I briefly discussed the sad and unfortunate O’Hare Airport and the comedy they call a food court. Oh, my. I mean, seriously, who would create a space with big windows that overlook one of the most exciting views in the USA and then cover them with metal screens so the patrons can’t see out?
Ah, wait, I get it. You know, when the original McDonald’s model was created the design of the seating was chosen because it kept people from lingering beyond a reasonable time and thus promoted turnover. There’s nothing like people hanging around a fast food joint and not actually buying something to cause the profits to go down. You want people to get in, turn over their money, and then get out. The so-called O’Hare food court is a designed so that people don’t want to hang around in it. Is that on purpose? Hard to say. Your guess is as good as mine.
On the other hand, you could have a problem such as the one at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. Sea-Tac has a great central court with eating establishments, nearby stores, and a great view of the tarmac action from gigantic windows. They also have chairs, tables, and benches so there is a strong temptation to linger. What happens at Sea-Tac is that it is very difficult to find a place to sit and eat if you visit one of the fast food shops. The tables are filled up with folks lingering over their books who just stay, and stay, and stay. These people are costing the fast food places money because they drive business to the “sit down” restaurants.
What happens if you have only an hour or so between flights? That’s easy; no food. West cost speed is much slower than elsewhere. So service tends to be slow, even in the fast food places. To eat in a regular restaurant you need at least three hours between flights. To visit a fast food counter, wait for a table seat, and all that you need at least an hour and a half between flights. Sea-Tac service is slooooooow.
How do I know? Well, I can’t tell you how many times I have flown to or through Seattle-Tacoma over the last 25 years. I usually end up starving there. What a pity.
OK, what does this have to do with Web sites? Imagine your Web site to be like an airport. People sometimes are going directly to it, others visit it on the way to someplace else. If you cannot give them a good experience. That means you have to make sure they can get the info they need quickly and easily. You want your site visitors to get to your site and not hang around unless they are taking in your message, buying your product, joining your group, or whatever it is that you want them to do.
If you want your site visitors to take away some sort of knowledge, don’t obscure the details with trivia or fru-fur (this is similar to how the screen over the windows in O’Hare), make sure your navigation is obvious and easy (so the “passengers” don’t get lost on the way to the gate), and be sure that if the site visitors contact you that you can get back in touch quickly. Don’t make then wait any more than necessary.
Know that people who visit your site are like passengers in the airport. Some are merely passing through. Others selected it as a destination. You want to grab as many of them as possible and give them a positive experience so they can understand your message, buy your product, try your service, or do whatever it is that you want them to do.