Small Business Website, Revisited
Analysis of Spokes & Saddles website
The website had several problems that made it ineffective in showcasing the business. First, it didn’t have any meta tags, which are important for SEO, so it was hard for people to find the site through search engines. Second, many of the links on the site were broken, not working, leading to error pages with no custom 404 error page and some functionalities not working e.g filters not functioning on home and products page which will frustrates the visitors which is bad in terms of UX as it makes users thinks unnecessarily. Additionally, the site looked like an unfinished online store e.g filters not functioning , which confused visitors about what the business actually did and visually there’s problem with some spacing. These issues made the website look unprofessional and unclear about the business’s purpose, failing to properly represent the company to potential customers.
Summary of improvements
The website demonstrates several notable improvements:
Maintainability: The use of PHP Server Side Includes for common page elements such as header, footer, and navigation enhances maintainability, allowing for easier updates and consistency across the site.
User Experience (UX): Incorporating a custom 404 error page reflects good UX considerations, ensuring that users are guided appropriately when encountering broken links or missing pages. All of the links are working on the site which leads visitors to the place where they should be.
JavaScript Implementation: The well-considered use of JavaScript, such as highlighting today’s opening times and indicating whether the shop is open or closed with warm welcome, enhances user engagement and functionality, contributing positively to the overall user experience.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The design of code and content reflects good SEO practices, including a clear keyword strategy and effective use of description meta tags, titles, and headings. These optimizations improve the website’s findability and visibility in search engine results, helping to attract more organic traffic.
Overall, the improvements has made the website more meaningful by focusing it’s target and little changes like new content replacing non-functioning filters which brings better UX to the users, these improvements contribute to a more user-friendly, accessible, and discoverable website experience, ultimately benefiting both visitors and the business.