Websites are a work in progress. They are launched with the hope that they will work properly, but problems inevitably arise, ranging from the minor "this is an annoyance" variety to an all-hands-on-deck, "red-alert!" crisis.
The way to move beyond any of those problems is, of course, to solve them. But many online marketers lack the requisite skills—or, in some cases, direct control of the site—to make website fixes themselves.
So what should marketers do when they encounter a website problem?
1. I'm afraid I'll ruffle feathers by presenting problems I've found
Your developer, Web team, manager, or contractor is responsible for your site, and—as defensive as some of them may be when a problem arises—many appreciate knowing when something is wrong. However, the effort required to come up with a creative fix to a problem can often be more taxing than actually coding the fix.
Therefore, always offer a potential solution. Drawing attention to problems without offering suggestions for correcting them could come off as nitpickiness. On the other hand, presenting a fresh idea moves problem-solving one step forward and takes pressure off the person tasked with implementing the fix.
Even if your idea does not ultimately solve the problem, voicing it can help spur creativity to identify an approach that does work.
2. But I don't know what the solution should be!
Often, a problem has no single solution. Design is a creative endeavor, not a mathematical equation. When something doesn't look right on your website, there must be a reason.
Some fixes are obvious (e.g., a misspelling, a broken link, a broken image, wonky layout). Simply showing someone certain problems can produce a self-evident solution, and many of those minor "tweaks" can be made in a matter of minutes.
But other website issues can be more subtle. If you aren't sure how to fix a problem, consider where you've seen a successful (non-problematic) version of the design. Competitor websites (or, really, any other website) can be fantastic sources of information about effective design.
