Whilst updating the FormFunction fan page I came across a few interesting Facebook applications for fan pages and profiles you might find useful.

• The News24 app helps you stay up-to date with the latest breaking news from News24.com.
• Want to connect with others who enjoy reading and writing about the same topics as you? Join Networked Blog’scommunity for bloggers and blog lovers to promote your own blog and discover new blogs.
• Testimonialsis a handy app that gathers your professional, academic and personal references in one place.
• The Slideshare app adds all your SlideShare presentations to your Facebook fan page and you can upload presentations from either Facebook or SlideShare.
• Want to know how your fans feel about a certain matter? The Poll app allows you to customise polls and shows you graphs of user responses.
• Make the most of your current network and add a LinkedIn badge to your Facebook profile. The LinkedIn Profile app links to your business profile from Facebook.
• The EasyCV app allows you to insert a summary of your CV onto your profile page and will link to a more detailed version on a dedicated page.

Are there any other Facebook applications that you use and find worthwhile?

We are taught “don’t judge a book by its cover” yet it is human nature to decide within moments whether we like something or not. Whether it is a person you have just met or a new restaurant – often we do judge a book by its cover.

The same goes for your representation in the online space - your website.  As soon as a new visitor lands on your website, they will decide whether they like it or not based on what they see. Perhaps they will stay on your website for a while in the hope of finding the content they are looking for, but if they don’t find it quickly, they’re bound to look elsewhere. For this reason, it is very important to think about what visitors would like to gain or take away from your website.

Nando’s website is a good example of a pretty but impractical website. Nando’s is a fast-food restaurant, so one can assume that the main reason why someone would visit the Nando’s site is to look at their online menu. Not only does Nando’s not have a menu listed on the site, but the website is built in flash and the navigation is atrocious. So really, other than being visually attractive, there is not much use for the website.

We have previously covered usability and design factors that influence user perception in “How important is your website’s target audience?” and Web development pitfalls to avoid Part One and Part Two.

For actual examples of what not to do, here is the world’s worst designed website and a list of 20 very badly designed websites.

There is a definite link between website usability and customer satisfaction, especially for e-commerce websites. When customer satisfaction converts to customer loyalty, one can assume there is going to be a long-term relationship between the business and customer, providing the level of service stays the same. So if this is true, have you ever considered to what extent usability influences customer loyalty?

Essentially satisfaction and ease-of-use will ensure repeat customers for your website and positive word-of-mouth. Usability can be explained as the quality of a user’s experience when interacting with a website. Your website’s usability score can be measured through the System Usability Scale (SUS), a questionnaire that determines how well an interface serves its users. The questionnaire comprises 10 questions and yields a score in the range of 0 – 100.   According to Wikipedia the measurement of usability focuses on:

- Effectiveness: Can users successfully achieve their objectives?
- Efficiency: How much effort is expended in achieving those objectives?
- Satisfaction: Was the experience satisfactory?

Positive word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools and it is generated based on your customer’s brand experience. The customer experience can either be in-store, face-to-face, over the telephone or on your website. Since there are so many customer-brand touch points it is important to cover all your bases.

As part of your web strategy a goal can be to increase leads and sales through your website but, that being said, it is important to not focus purely on making the sale. Repeat customers contribute to the success of many businesses therefore it is important to attract visitors to your website, provide them with what they are looking for quickly and easily and make the experience memorable so that they will come back and tell others about their experience.

Some usability factors that can influence a user’s experience include:

- Page load time
- The website’s overall look and feel
- Easy navigation
- Informative content

Read more in Why You Should Invest in Good Development.