Making your website as effective as it should be
Websites are not cheap to set up and maintain. They also say an awful lot about your organisation. Some housing websites are brilliant, and some are... not. Appearances can be deceptive, but a few simple questions can probably indicate which group your website falls into:
- How much marketing analysis have you done around it? Do you have a good feeling for who does and doesn't use it - and why? A surprising number of websites reflect their creators' best guesses rather than feedback from consultation and active monitoring of usage
- What does it offer current tenants, and what does it offer prospective tenants? Is it fully transactional, or simply 'brochureware', or somewhere in between?
- How about other stakeholders? Does your website embody the transparency and accountability expected of Housing Organisations today?
- Who in your organisation actually drives the website in terms of governance, direction and maintenance? What control is there over strategy, content and return on investment?
If your answers to these questions suggest you might benefit from an expert, independent view of your website, we would be pleased to provide it. Over the last 13 years, Socitm's Better Connected annual survey of public service websites has become the de facto standard for best practice, and our consultants work to an efficient and proven methodology. We can identify areas for improvement in content and functionality, advise on whether you are paying over the odds for technology and hosting, and help you align your website with best practice in business strategy, governance and transparency.
If you are interested in making your website an effective business tool as well as a vehicle for transparent corporate accountability, producing a worthwhile return on your investment, please reply to this email or call me on 0845 241 2770. An expert review including a results workshop at your offices could cost as little as £ 1500.