Your website is the single most important channel you have. In fact, 81% of consumers research online before buying (RetailingToday). Targeting business members? 94 percent of B2B buyers research online for purchase decisions (Acquity Group). There are tons of similar stats out there that support the fact that websites are often the first, if not the only interaction, people have with a brand. Whether they’re looking for the best deal on the latest gadget or the best rate on an auto loan, most turn to the web first.

Have you ever made a decision to not make a purchase or do further research on a company if their website is difficult to navigate? I know I have! Your members (and potential members) have too. So, as amazing as your credit union staff is face-to-face, you have to make sure you offer just as an amazing experience online. That can be quite a challenge, though, considering the average attention span online is just eight seconds.

That’s right. You have just eight seconds to deliver your story – who you are as a brand – through your website. Not only that, you only have eight seconds to make sure a website visitor can understand where to find the information they’re looking for and what to do next. If they land on your site and can’t quickly determine where to go next, they’ll leave and go somewhere else. And I hate to tell you, but what worked yesterday, may not work today. You need to be constantly testing and monitoring behavior on your website to stay on top of your member preferences and meeting their needs and expectations online.

So how do you know if you’re measuring up? Outside of the obvious measurements, like whether or not conversions are occurring on  your website (purchases, sign ups, downloads, etc.), here are some simple tests that will help give you an idea of whether or not your website is delivering the member experience both you and they expect.

1. The Five-Second Test by UsabilityHub (fivesecondtest.com): You can’t argue with usability testing. It’s real people giving real responses. Aggregate web data gives a pretty good idea of overall trends, but getting specific feedback can be invaluable. This tool lets you load up a mock-up of your web page and get feedback from real people on their first impressions by looking at the page for just five seconds.
2. Google Mobile-Friendly Test (https://search.google.com/search-console/mobile-friendly): Everyone is on the go and expects access from anywhere. Your website must offer a seamless user experience on any device. Not to mention, Google will rank you higher in mobile search results for a mobile-friendly site. Put your URL in to this Google-powered test to see how you rank.
3. Website Grader by Hubspot (website.grader.com): This is a high-level view of how your website measures up for some key metrics driven by the programming of your site. All of which affect visitor experience, like page speed and search engine optimization measures. They’ll also point you to some tips on how to improve where you may need some work.
4. Ask your members with a survey (www.surveymonkey.com):Sounds simple, but member feedback is often overlooked when it comes to web design. We think we know what members want and what they think, but do we really? Are people easily finding what they’re looking for? Are they identifying with your story or your brand appropriately? Sometimes an old fashioned member survey helps give insight into whether or not your website is hitting the mark or if you need to make some adjustments.