It is a common belief that to be “digitally” successful, all one has to do is to create a website. This is a mistake. Having a website is a necessary condition to participate in the ecosystem of the Internet accessed by the public, but not a sufficient condition. It a starting point, but more needs to be done to fully realise the benefits of the digital ecosystem.
Before we dive into the multi-faceted activities required to participate in the digital economy, one needs to understand the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web (www) or the web, as it is commonly called. Though the two terms are used interchangeably, they mean different things, and are only complementary to each other. The Internet is a telecommunication network that connects multiple computing devices to one another. This network is collaboratively maintained by many parties and is governed by inter-governmental participation under the aegis of the International Telecommunication Union.
The www is a means to access the Internet for the lay public who do not have the technical knowledge to access the Internet; but it is by no means the only way the lay public accesses the Internet. For example, email services use the Internet without the Web. Hotmail, the first Web-based email service, became popular rapidly because it used the www protocols to create an email system.
Three components are required to fully realise the benefits of the digital ecosystem — web presence, native functionalities, and the adoption methods used.
Web presence
In today’s ecosystem, a web presence actually means an Internet presence, which includes having a website, presence on social media, trade and recommendation channels and apps. Depending on the nature of the expected outcomes, all of these or a combination, would be required.
Take, for example, new-age online services for ride sharing, food delivery, and the like. For these services, an app is the most critical element of their Internet presence since that is the primary vehicle through which their customers interact. They may or may not have a website and their social media presence is mainly for marketing and to track their online reputations.
On the other hand, for a shopping site like Amazon, the website is the centrepiece of its web presence, given its large inventory and the varying patterns of shopping behaviour for different categories. The app would likely be supplementary to the core website, more for user and transactional convenience, rather than being the primary means of interaction.
The key to a good web presence is the user experience (UX). UX is often described as ease of use or how pleasing it is to use. Good UX, though, goes beyond just ease and pleasantness. Most online interactions are in a do-it-yourself mode. In such cases, when users are unable to understand instructions or cannot find the information to make decisions easily, the UX can be frustrating. Therefore, by definition, good UX should also include artefacts that help the user engage meaningfully with the web presence.
Think back to the irritation one may have had in instances such as, say, filling up the telephone number in a form and an error message pops up saying “wrong telephone number”, even when repeated checks show that the number you have entered is correct; or when submitting a lengthy form and, just as you’re about to submit, an error message says “session timed out”.
Whatever web presence one’s business demands, it is imperative that the UX is well thought out and focused on providing the user a satisfactory interaction. Such experiences will be more profitable and yield greater conversions.
Native functionalities
The term ‘native functionalities’ refers to the features and functions that are available by default on the Internet. However, these features and functions need to be actively mined to be usable and cannot be expected to be available, merely because one is on the Internet.
Such features help the online business in areas such as marketing, aggregating commonly available information and data, and in rendering content, among other things.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the most ubiquitous feature that anybody who wishes to use the public web should use, but many don’t because they do not know how to use it. This is because using native functionalities requires an understanding of how the technology works. For example, performing SEO is part art, part technology and part content. Without amalgamating these, the results will not be achieved.
Enabling adoption
The third aspect fundamental to web success is an active programme of enabling adoption and, more importantly, tracking the adoption.
It is estimated that there are over 1.5 billion websites. However, only 200 million or so (less than 15 per cent) are active. While even that number is enormous, it shows that only a fraction of all websites built effectively leverage Internet infrastructure.
Adoption of one’s web presence, whether a website, an app, social media or any other, requires an active process of engaging with potential users and getting them to use the product. This engagement is not only for selling goods and services online, but also using services such as banking or payments online. Without a cohesive plan that covers adoption, the digital initiative can come to a shuddering stop.