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You don't have to call us "Doctor" ...

In some crazy way we here at Acro vaguely understand what doctors go through when they’re at dinner parties, in social gatherings, or even at the golf course. Doctors - as is famously known - are always being asked about some strange malady while in the company of friends and neighbors (anywhere, that is, outside of the office) and then prodded for a quick diagnosis and course of treatment.

Working in Web development and design, we tend to have similar experiences. No – nobody asks us what the thing on the back of their neck is, and we certainly don’t have to look at people’s blemishes and unmentionables (thank goodness). The questions we get asked on very regular occasions are, “what’s wrong with my Web site?” and “Why isn’t anybody coming to my site?” and “How does my site look to you?”
 
And – quite similarly to what doctors do, we’re sure - we come up with some sort of general explanation and then recommend setting up an actual appointment to discuss the issue in detail. It’s not so much that we don’t want to speak about a Web site’s traffic volume, search engine ranking, conversion rate, or even bounces (heck, we live for that stuff). The truth of the matter is, unless we’re able to give a thorough examination, we can’t actually tell you anything about your Web site.
 
You see, Web sites aren’t just pretty pictures and words on a computer. Web sites are extensions of a company’s brand, and are usually meant to actually do something – you know, like generate business. So, if a site isn’t doing those things there could be any number of reasons why not. Unfortunately, on just a glance, we can only make guesses.
 
Maybe your design is horrific and is better suited to 1995 (Al Gore had invented the internet by then, hadn’t he?). Maybe the layout is haphazard and there’s no rhyme or reason to what visitors are supposed to be looking at. Heck, maybe you have all these great ideas about where you want people to go on your site, but the navigation is confusing and you have no clear Calls-to-Action that will show them the way.
 
The point is, like doctors, unless we’re able to go in and examine your site, its symptoms (the bounce rate is too high, the time-on-site is too low, there’s no traffic finding it), and the issues, we have no way to actually provide you with a clear diagnosis, and certainly won’t be providing any prescriptions based on speculation. To do otherwise would simply be irresponsible, and when it comes to your company and the business you’ve created, do you really want somebody giving irresponsible advice without actually understanding the issues?
 
No, when it comes to a Web site, it’s best to actually get a clear idea about what is precisely happening, and then come up with an appropriate solution to fix it. Maybe your site needs surgery. Maybe it just needs some antibiotics.
 
In any event, whatever the case, don’t just seek random opinions. Give a call to somebody that will actually be able to spend time with you to go through the examination process and then recommend a proper treatment. You’ll save plenty of stress, headache and money that way.
 
And if the Web person you speak to doesn’t want to spend the time to go over these things with you, go ahead and call us. It’s ok - you don’t have to call us “Doctor” if you don’t want to.
 
Author: Patrick Beckerton,  Business Developer