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Before
You Buy - Frequently Asked Questions (home)
How does it work when you buy a report? What can I expect?
What does a Website Evaluation look like? What
does it include?
How long is a typical report?
What kind of testing do you do?
Will I get everything I need to fix my site?
Why should I pay someone to look at my site? Can't I
just ask friends what they think?
Will theSiteDoctor.com fix my website?
Are these website problems and issues hard to
understand?
How do I buy a report?
What
does it cost to get an evaluation from theSiteDoctor.com?
What
does it cost to NOT get an evaluation from theSiteDoctor.com?
Can
I ask you specific questions about my site, or ask you to concentrate
on particular areas in your report?
Will you give me a complete list of everything checked on my site,
or just the problems?
How
long will I wait to get my report?
When
do I pay?
Do
you have a guarantee on your site reports?
What
if I have questions about my report and I want to talk with someone?
What
is included in a website appraisal?
What
can a website appraisal be used for?
How
much does a website appraisal cost?
How
long does it take to appraise a website?
How
does it work when you buy a report? What can I expect? [ Top ]
Within one business day of your order (usually the same day), we will take
a look at your site, and send you a short list of questions to help us prepare
your report. You will not be charged until you have had a chance to look at
your report. Once we have all of these materials in
hand, it usually takes 5-10 business days for us to prepare your report. The
report itself is provided to you as an Adobe PDF file for you to download and
print.
What
does a website Evaluation look like? What does it include? [ Top ]
The report is nicely formatted to print on standard 8.5" x 11" paper,
presented in an Adobe PDF file (we can also provide you with a Microsoft Word
file if that is more convenient for you). Each report has screen prints of
the pages looked at; you are given summary recommendations as well as a page-by-page
breakdown of the problems found and the suggestions for each problem. Finally,
every problem found on your site is provided with highly detailed background
information, explaining the problem (how it comes about and why it is a problem
for customers), the business case for making a change, the severity of the
problem for the customer, and the relative difficulty of fixing the problem.
How
long is a typical report? [ Top ]
The reports vary in length; typically, they are from 20-35 pages in length.
Sites with the most problems usually get the longest reports.
What
kind of testing do you do? [ Top ]
We do two kinds of testing. The first is called "heuristic usability testing" -
which is a fancy name for "rules-based" usability testing. Here's
how it works: we (and many others) have spent time watching people use websites.
We see them succeed - and we see them fail. We then try to figure out what
clearly works and what doesn't. For example, we watch one person after another
go to a particular web page, and then be lost, unable to figure out how to
find more content on the site. We note that this page has no site logo - no
site identification that links back to the larger site. We add a site logo
linked to the larger site and try again. Aha! We have a rule "Every web
page should have a logo or other clear identification linked back to the larger
site" (another way to put is "No orphan pages!"). We test websites
against as many as 400 separate tried-and-true website usability rules.
The second kind of test involves both the site and the company that owns the
site; we have about 200 rules and best practices for sales readiness; how well
does this site sell on the Internet?
Will
I get everything I need to fix my site? [ Top ]
Many of the problems come with detailed background information, showing how
to fix the problem. However, the purpose of the report is to point out and
explain the usability and sales readiness problems to you, including presenting
a business case for fixing each problem. What we have found is that people
who created their own sites have no problem fixing the problems with the
information provided. If, however, you paid someone else to create your site
and know nothing about creating web pages, you will need to contact a web
designer to complete the work.
However, since we categorize each problem by severity for the customer, this
gives you the control you need to fix just the problems that you think will
give you the best possible return on your website investment.
Why
should I pay someone to look at my site? Can't I just ask friends
what they
think? [ Top ]
You should certainly ask your friends what they think of your site; they can
often help by describing their subjective feeling about how well they like
the site. However, unless your friends are website usability professionals
and e-business experts willing to spend hours looking at your site (not to
mention writing the report), in order to provide you with a carefully considered
plan of action for your website, you might want to save time by hiring a professional.
TheSiteDoctor.com provides an objective evaluation of your site; that
is
how
we make our money,
and that is all we do. And if we don't find at least 10 substantial problems
on your site, your
evaluation is free.
Will
theSiteDoctor.com fix my website? [ Top ]
No. Our goal is to provide you with an absolutely objective evaluation of your
website. If we can see a low cost way to address the problems of your site,
that will be our first recommendation. We always prioritize the problems
to help you select the worst problems (from the point of view of your customer)
to be fixed first.
And, although we do not fix your site for you, each problem identified is
provided with extensive background information to help you understand it
and in many
cases,
how to fix it.
Are
these website problems and issues hard to understand? [ Top ]
No; for the most part, you won't even need the background information we give
you to see the problem. There are two reasons why you can't see these problems
for yourself. First, you've been looking at your site for too long; you no
longer have an objective viewpoint. Second, these usability problems were
first discovered by watching people as they actually attempted to use websites.
When difficulties were uncovered, the causes were rooted out. We know a lot
more about how to make usable websites than we did just a few years ago.
How
do I buy a report? [ Top ]
Easy. Just select Buy Report from the top of any page. However, if you are
reluctant to buy over the Internet or do not wish to give your credit card
number, you can either call us at 866-SITEDOC from 9-5 ET Monday through
Friday or email us at sales@thesitedoctor.com.
What
does it cost to get an evaluation from theSiteDoctor.com? [ Top ]
Business website evaluations are priced at $395. See our product
page for all of the details about the service options.
What
does it cost to NOT get an evaluation from theSiteDoctor.com? [ Top ]
That is hard to tell; how much does it cost to have a poor user interface that
causes potential customers to leave? You've been looking at your own site
for too long to be objective; if potential customers can see the problem
and you don't, you'll never know.
Can
I ask you specific questions about my site, or ask you to concentrate
on particular areas in your report? [ Top ]
Yes; all of the reports are done manually; we take the
time to understand your concerns. The Website
Excellence report is probably the best choice if you have a number of specific concerns.
Will you
give me a complete list of everything checked on my site, or just
the problems?
[ Top ]
The report does
not list all of the different problems; the problems are very specific
and don't usually apply to every website. For example,
some of the problems apply to business-to-business sites, others
to business-to-consumer sites. Some of the best practices apply to
site maps, Contact pages, About Us pages, and so forth; not all sites
have
these features. Also, some of the problems that we look for are more
complicated; it takes an experienced eye to see them, and it is difficult
to reduce them to simple rules.
Finally, TheSiteDoctor.com
evaluates websites based on the most recent studies available;
ourdatabase is continuously updated to give you the most complete
evaluation possible
How
long will I wait to get my report? [ Top ]
That depends on our workload; reports may be available in just a few days,
but we will usually prepare your report within 5-10 business days.
When
do I pay? [ Top ]
Payment is due upon completion; when you pick up the report you will be charged.
Payment by Visa or Mastercard is preferred. We wait to submit the charge;
this charge will be taken back if you do not believe that the report is helpful.
See our
comment
on guarantees
below.
Do
you have a guarantee on your site reports? [ Top ]
Yes. If you read through our report to you, and you truly do not believe that
the report adds to your understanding of your online business, that it does
not offer any suggestions that are really compelling and want to implement,
then your report is free - you will not be charged. Read
more.
What
if I have questions about my report and I want to talk with someone? [ Top ]
Please call us at 866-SITEDOC; an analyst will address your questions.
What
is included in a website appraisal? [ Top ]
A typical appraisal is between 15 and 25 pages in length. Every
distinct page on your site is examined, including administrative
areas and members-only pages; this is necessary for the Cost
Approach estimate (the cost of constructing an equivalent website by a skilled team of web developers). Your domain name is also
appraised; the worth of the work that you have done in making
your site known on the Internet is also considered.
What
can a website appraisal be used for? [ Top ]
Clients have used website appraisals for use in obtaining necessary
expansion funds from investors, for verifying the value of
an asset for the government, for determining the value of work
done by web designers in contract disputes, and valuing websites for intended sale.
How
much does a website appraisal cost? [ Top ]
Most website appraisals cost $395. We reserve the right to look at
your site; as you can appreciate, some websites are huge while others
consist of only a dozen pages. Payment by Visa or Mastercard is required.
How
long does it take to appraise a website? [ Top ]
Website appraisals take from 5-10 business days, depending on
the speed with which our questions about the site are answered.
What
if I still have a question, and can't find the answer in this
FAQ?
[ Top ]
Please contact us.
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