How can you find out if your website is meeting its goals? Website evaluation will let you know if different audiences are getting what they need from your website and provide actionable information for improvement.

Data collection methods may include any or all of the following:

• Web Analytics—Analytics software such as Google Analytics are easy to install, collect, and analyze. They provide comprehensive data about website visitor behavior, demographics, and visitation patterns.
• Fly-in Surveys—A fly-in survey can be offered to website visitors who have stayed on the site for a specific amount of time (for example, 30 seconds).  If the survey is fairly short and simple to use, this is an excellent way to collect feedback from a wide variety of users.
• Usability Studies—Members of particular audiences are recruited to participate in an interactive session that allows them to explore the website to obtain real-time feedback on the visitor’s perspective.  Activities are aligned with the goals of the website designers.  Participant feedback and behavior during the session are analyzed to provide a rich set of detailed data.