Website performance...what is your experience?

Posted by Steve Cole on Monday, June 25, 2007  
Category: , , , ,

Have you every thought about our website performance?  We do all the time in Web Operations.  But first, what does that really mean?  In case website performance doesn't mean anything to you, let me put it another way.  When you visit our websites on the Internet, do you think they are fast, slow, average in comparison to other retailers on the web?

 Personally, I wish everything on the Internet was faster!  Wouldn't it be just wonderful!  Unfortunately we are forced to work within the constraints of the Internet, such as provider speed and everything you have to go through in-between there and the website.  Fortunately, there is still a lot a website can do on our side, like some of the basics...

  1. Work to remove holdups on our own equipment. So respond as quickly as possible to your requests.
  2. Make the data\files as small as possible.  By small, i mean disk space size, not dimensions, like in the case of an image.
  3. Use compression.
  4. Using caching where it is reasonable and possible.

I think overall, we do a pretty good job on covering the basics and then some.

Internet Retailer frequently publishes Performance Indexes that rank the top Internet Retailers on website speed.  Quixtar.com has ranked very well for a long time, which is a good sign we are on the right track.  Although, these site performance rankings do not go deep into the website, such as to place an order or view Lines of Sponsorship.

So that leads me the point of discussion.  How would you rank our web site performance, especially as compared to other popular retail sites you visit?  How is the website overall?  Are there specific areas\pages of the website that you think we are doing a great job on or could use some more pep?  It would also be helpful to know more about your Internet connection, for example if you use dial-up, DSL, cable, etc...to put your experience in a little more context.

This may be one of those, "You asked for it." questions, but it is better to know than assume all is well.  Although, if no-one posts, all I can gage from that is either no one cares (too geeky) or we are doing an OK job.  : )  Thanks to anyone to posts!


Comments

# Joe Hanson said on June 25, 2007 at 2:31 PM:
I use cable. No problems. Works great.
# Tom Shannon said on June 25, 2007 at 6:40 PM:
I use a wireless USB modem w/ my laptop. Works great! I know you're looking for comments/suggestions, but I just want to take the opportunity to thank you for the incredible efforts and priase for a kick butt site. If I think of any comments with substance I'll definetly shoot them your way.
# Deanna Gilmour said on June 26, 2007 at 10:57 AM:

Thanks for asking.  I love our site. The difficulty you must have is getting all of the reams of information tucked in without overwhelming people. I think the personal websites are fantastic.  The graphics are wonderful on our site too.

Speed for me has not been a problem at all.  I have DSL and wireless in my home. One area I would like to see improved is the Ditto area... the process is a little cumbersome and for such an awesome service I think that the set up could be easier to use. One other thing that puzzles me is that we don't have anything on the front page that actually says "shop" I think that most sites use that word and so our site actually is not as easy as others until you get used to it... but I think the actual "finding things" functionality or "shopping" could be labeled better.  hope that helps. I love you guys!

# Steve Johnson said on June 26, 2007 at 7:00 PM:

It seems that the trend is towards mobile content to access the web on mobile devices such as smart phones.  Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, USA Today, Fidelity & Amazon are a few that have mobile content available.  I think it would be great for our site to have mobile content as well.

# Gina Shipp said on June 26, 2007 at 10:53 PM:

I agree with Deanna that the Ditto area could be made easier.  We should be able to have a display option for only the things that are currently checked.  That way we can see what's coming.

Also, make the path to the partner stores a lot more obvious.  You can't really tell they're there.

Thanks for all the hard work, and a nice look over all.

# Steve Cole said on June 27, 2007 at 8:08 AM:

Thanks to those who posted!  We can't get any better feedback than from the people out in the community who use the site!

To Deanna...I have similar sentiments about Ditto.  The actual service it provides is really great, although there are many areas on the tool that we could improve to make it easier.  Speed is another area we could improve in Ditto.  We have used AJAX to speed up many areas of the site.  (AJAX is a method for sending small portions of data to refresh a block of information on a web page.  In contrast to sending the entire page each time.  Hence, faster...)  In fact AJAX is used extensively in the new View & Manage Line of Sponsorship for the purpose of speed.  Using AJAX in Ditto along with some functional improvements to make it less cumbersome would be great!  I will pass along your comments right after this post...now.  ;)  Thanks!

# Russell Hogan said on June 27, 2007 at 2:29 PM:

Steve,

Quixtar's website performance is excellent.   I am stationed in Iraq with a very slow bandwith connection; however, quixtar website still performs well.  

Thanks for you support.

Russ

# Kevin said on June 28, 2007 at 6:24 AM:

I have DSL and the speed is no problem for me.  My comment is that the site should be more product focused, and less business opportunity focused.  It doesn't call out "Buy from Me"  It would be nice on the home page to see brand blocks to click on and shop from our main brands.   The business tools could be accessed from a link IBO's log on.  I agree with Gina that the Partner Stores needs to be more easily accessed.  A Partner Store Link could open a page of Partner Store brand blocks that can be customized. To get to any partner store needs to be fast and easy.  Otherwise, it's easier to just go straight to the site and bypass us. The partner stores add credibilty and help drive traffic to us. I feel the site should be heavily invested in.  I think a knock-out shopping site and IBO access to a great business site would have a major positive impact on the future name change and erase some Amway sterotypes.

# Tracy said on June 28, 2007 at 10:57 AM:

Cable 6 MBS. Speed on this end is not a chellenge; however, when getting  into the site some areas drive me crazy.  The Ditto portion  is  really difficult,  slower than molasses, and make one over  the top.  If we know  the name, why can't we search for SKU within Ditt to add it?  Why, for items already on Ditto, can't we search to find  them?  Scrolling down and reading every line is time consuming and leads to errors. I use every product in the Choices catalog so the Ditto is extremely long, some items are once a month, some are once a quarter, some once a year, some whenever  I need them again.

Noted on IR Perfomrance Index that we are slipping and about to drop out of the top ten, don't think we are slowing down, think the others are speeding up.  Catch up!!!

Yesterday a customer wanted an order sent to an alternative address.  Worked on it for an hour, sent it to the address of record.  I could get  the alternative address in, but never could make the switch.  Hope they are home when it arrives!!!

# Donald Holmes said on June 28, 2007 at 1:20 PM:

I think you guys are doing a fantastic job--considering all the details of the site!

However, one step that slows me down a little is when wanting to return to the IBO Homepage (OR Quixtar's Homepage) from anywhere on the site, I must Refresh in order to get the tabs (starting with My Links) to show.

Aside from that, I think the design is well-laid out, and very easy to use.

This is a big plus for the newest IBO, as well as those of us who have been around a while.  My hat off to you all.  Keep up the good work!

# Steve Cole said on June 28, 2007 at 2:57 PM:

Replies...

Russ,

The site performs well from Iraq, wow!  Thanks for the feedback and thank YOU for your support!

Kevin,

There are some really exciting changes coming down the road to help with retailing and make your customers feel more at home within the web site to purchase product.  We are learning a lot from our Focus Groups with IBOs and feedback like this.  Working together, that information is being put to good use to steer the direction of the Business Transformations!

Tracy -

Ditto...I agree on your comments about Ditto.  I have forwarded your comments to the Ditto team.  Knowing it is time for improvements is only half the battle...hearing it from our IBOs...well that is really what can help set direction!

Yes, we have slowly dipped to 10th in the IR Performance Index.  :(  In response to the dip, we made some adjustments in late May, so we'll see when the June rankings come out.  Never the less, we will be going back up soon!  It is very important to us!! ;)

I would recommend calling our Customer Service 800 number.  I know many of them and they are so helpful!  Plus, they will report those issue to IT to fix any reported difficulties or problems!

Donald,

What Operating System and browser are you using.  I am not aware of the IBO homepage navigation (tabs) issue.  Thanks!

# Donald Holmes said on June 28, 2007 at 4:10 PM:
I have Windows 98 OS; I have Microsoft's Internet Explorer. (PS -- I also have a Dial-Up connection.)
# Brad said on June 30, 2007 at 1:16 AM:

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the solicitation for experiences from the field.  I send many issues, requests and feedback through the customer service e-mail program.  I get back the lovely reply of "Your feedback has been sent to the proper department.  Thanks"... What am I supposed to tell customers and IBOs about that?  Did someone actually look at it?

But, this forum seems a good place to discuss items, here are  a few from my end:

-  Speed: with a cable modem/wireless home, no problems.  Ditto has gotten faster, I noticed that, but it is still much slower than the rest of the site.

-  Ordering/Addresses:  I just put in an order for a customer yesterday, and her address block is supposed to be 5-6 lines long, and more characters per line than the address fields allowed.  So... I condensed as much as possible and tried to put the most important parts.  If it doesn't get there by tuesday, I'll let you know :-)

-  Using my saved CC'ds for customer orders:  It is time consuming to re-enter my credit card information just because I am sending an order to a customer.

-  Any thoughts of "direct from account" payments like paypal has?  Where we could verify a checking account, and payments made that way?

-  Mobile web page: someone already mentioned this, but I think a version of the website that can be used on a mobile device would be incredibly useful!

-  Ditto:  And, to the area I believe needs the most improvement.  More flexibility in viewing and editing basically sums up what needs to be done.  Allowing you to see what is checked is good.  A Remove All/Select All option is good too.  I would personally like a way to string together some seperate ditto profiles to the same order: I can put a ditto together for customers I personally service, and then my own homes ditto, and select them to process on the same day in the same shipment WITH the same shipping.  This way, I have a seperate record of my customers orders and I don't have to project out an intermingling of their orders with my own.  (Like they want XS every third month, and I want it every other month... sometimes it is 1 case, sometimes 2, and sometimes 0!!! it is a headache on product lines such as SA8 and Artistry where the usage is different for each person.)  But ordering more at once saves shipping, and allows a lower cost to the customer, and more profit for my business.

Well, those are my suggestions.  Thanks for the work you do in support of this great site.  I am very much looking forward to the "customer view" of the site improving.

# Brad said on June 30, 2007 at 1:18 AM:

One more thing:  Quixtar.com seems to goof when using Mozilla every once in a while.  The left frame when looking at "Products" center justifies, and product description and text start running together.  It is a little annoying.  It was really bad about a year ago - then seemed to be fine for a little while - but now I get it about one in seven times at the site.

# Karen-Leigh Beatty said on June 30, 2007 at 4:09 PM:

I'm amazed at the real-time updates in ordering & checking volume that your (our) system produces! Thank you for all the hard work you do & the end-result of a very professional business platform.

I use cable modem at home and the only difficulties I've had is when the cable system is overloaded (busy times of the day). I also use a wireless in-home network and have no speed issues.

# Jeffrey said on June 30, 2007 at 8:03 PM:

It works great.  Fast, easy to order.  The only thing that drives me crazy is if I check my PV and then hit the back button, then it says the page has expired. Sometimes I have to press back several times to get back to the site. Other times I have to exit completely, then go to the home page that I have bookmarked and re-enter that way.

# Steve Buerer said on July 1, 2007 at 8:28 PM:

I am on DSL.  I have fantastic results at Quixtar.com.  I use a Mac 10.4.10 with Safari Version 3.0.2.  I do have a little challenge much of the time accessing the links under myLinks.  When I scroll down, the link options disappear.

The other suggestion is that it would be nice to have a "live chat" option when we have a question or challenge.  I have noticed many site adding this feature and have found it most helpful.

Your the best.

Great site!

Steve Buerer

# Jeffrey said on July 2, 2007 at 2:05 PM:

A comment on the personal retail sites: (a little off topic, I know): I would still like to see 3 things: Contact info that the customer or potential customer can see, such as IBO name, voice mail number, and e-mail address. It could be optional so if an IBO didn't want it there, it wouldn't have to be. Second: on the "contact us" page, why not have the customer be able to contact us directly? Where does that message go? Does it go to Q and they handle it, or what? Third: I would like to see a link to the Partner Stores. We are only able to present half a shopping experience on the personal retail sites. Also, will the web addresses change when Q reverts back to A?

# Steve Cole said on July 3, 2007 at 11:33 PM:

Lots of great comments and feedback!  On with replies....  ;)

Brad,

On the overall topic of ordering...that is good feedback.  There are definitely going to be changes in the area of ordering and I would would expect several in the direction you were suggesting.

Mobile web...yes...I would watch for something on this subject in the not too distant future...  ;)

Will continue to pass along Ditto feedback...

There has definitely been a resonance about a less than perfect web experience on Quixtar while using Mozilla.  I'll see what we can do to have some people look at that!

Jeffrey,

Ah, the back button...  One of the great pitfalls of browser technology...  Transactional pages that send (POST) data from one page to the next will often work this way...out of necessity.  I would recommend using the navigation within a website when ever possible.

Great feedback and good ideas on communication with your customers.  There is a lot of work being done to improve and build better retailing tools for our IBOs, including more effective communication.  I will pass your comments on to the retailing focused teams.

I don't think we know yet what we are going to do when the brand name changes back to Amway.  When a decision is made, I am certain we will do everything we can to make sure customers still get to the correct site, whether it be requested by the old Q or the new A.  :)

Steve,

I have seen the same issues with myLinks even on Windows with Internet Explorer.   Definitely something we should work to improve.

We are definately looking at live chat.  I suspect the primary decision factor is not whether we should do it...but when should we do it?

# Rick Flynn said on July 4, 2007 at 9:06 AM:

We have cable, so 99% of the time the site works well.  One thing I would like to see changed is with our personal websites.  I have people going to the sites without being able to tell who the person was.  It would be great, if before being able to view the site, they would be asked to provide their name and email address.  

# Tom Fraley said on July 5, 2007 at 12:12 PM:

Other retail sites?  WHAT other retail sites???

# Tom Fraley said on July 5, 2007 at 12:16 PM:

I have a TERRIBLE time logging into my eCelerate account.  Even with popup blocker off, I rarely am able to get in.

# Ron Martinez said on July 6, 2007 at 12:49 PM:

Fantastic work thus far.

I would like to see improvement getting to a personal ibo website.  Getting to the first page of my business site takes patience.  I have a wifi ISP connection.  I can reach quixtar and katewwdb within 15 seconds.  I'm presently in El Salvador.  My personal business site seems to be the only one that takes a long time.

Thanks for your efforts.

# Steve Cole said on July 6, 2007 at 1:08 PM:

Ron,

When you are talking about your personal ibo website, which site specifically are you meaning?  I want to make sure that I clearly understand which website you are talking about.

Thanks for the feedback!!

# Ron Martinez said on July 6, 2007 at 1:30 PM:

I take one minute thirty seconds to reach www.yourchoiceinternational.mychoices.biz and I take 30 seconds to reach www.yourchoiceinternational.wwdb.biz

# Steve Cole said on July 6, 2007 at 1:54 PM:

Ron,

I thought you might be speaking about the mychoices.biz and wwdb.biz websites.  Does it take that long for most\all pages to come back after you request them or is it just specific pages or processes with-in those sites?  I can (and will) pass along this conversation to WWDB, although those websites were created and are hosted by WWDB, not Quixtar.

The retail personal websites Quixtar wrote and host are

<your_registered_site_prefix>.qbeautyzone.com

<your_registered_site_prefix>.qhealthzone.com

<your_registered_site_prefix>.qhealthbeauty.com

<your_registered_site_prefix>.ordermygift.com

# Brad said on July 6, 2007 at 2:38 PM:

Thanks Steve for the reply.  I am very much looking forward to changes rolling out soon.  And again, I think soliciting a forum such as this for field-based feedback is priceless for any department at Quixtar!

O, and my customer did get the products.  Looking forward to an expanded address block area ;-)

Thanks again!

# Ron Martinez said on July 6, 2007 at 3:42 PM:

Yes it does take long for the www.yourchoiceinternational.mychoices.biz site and all subsequent webpages.  Thankyou for passing this along.

# Steve Lindvall said on July 7, 2007 at 2:17 PM:

Steve

Thanks for the opportunity for comments.  Having worked in software and hardware for more than 20 years it is amazing what you guys have done.  The final comment is always from the customer whether knowledgeable or not.  Then when the unbelievable is done it may be appear to be so simple with not many seeing or understanding how many hoops had to be jumped through to accomplish it.

Thanks so much

Steve  

# Bridgett said on July 7, 2007 at 9:24 PM:

"How would you rank our web site performance, especially as compared to other popular retail sites you visit?"

Quixtar.com is NOT designed for a customer. It is NOT designed as a retail site. Plain and simple.

I do not send clients/customers to www.quixar.com They get lost and it's too overwhelming. The look of it is very businessy, not visual appealing, and geared toward IBOs and the "business opportunity".

Check out shop.com or amazon.com. Notice that there are pictures in the middle of the page, and they have words along the edges.

Quixtar.com is words, words, words. Go to Find Products, and what you see is huge blocks of text in the middle, and a few of the logos on the right side. Click on Products by Category, and again, words, words, words. Yes, there is ONE picture, which today is the Krakoosh/XS Cherry Special. Which, is TOTALLY inapproriate for a customer to see (why would a customer buy a ten-pack of Krakoosh Magazines?)--yet that's what apprears when you AREN'T logged in.

Another example of how quixtar.com is not designed for customers is the fact that when you hit REGISTER WITH QUIXTAR, the first choice is the IBO choice and not the Customer choice.

And finally, the first tab is not FIND PRODUCTS. It's QUIXTAR & THE OPPORTUNITY and then QUIXTAR THE COMPANY.

When someone goes to Shop.com and  Amazon.com, notice that they talk about their affiliate program and who they are (About Amazon, About Shop.com) all the way at the bottom of the home page. Why? Because they present the PRODUCTS first. The products are the focus, not the business opportunity.

So, y'all smartly designed the personal websites. HOWEVER, those websites lack the ability to set up a DITTO profile!!! The DITTO module is completely void on the qzone websites. Is that a crazy oversite or what?

# Steve Cole said on July 8, 2007 at 8:27 PM:

Bridgett,

Your observations are right on target.  There has been a lack of consideration toward retailing to customers in the websites we have provided over the years.  We have made our share of mistakes.  The diminished emphasis on retailing over the past could decades is one of the important areas we will address as part of the Business Transformation.

The design of Quixtar.com and other sites will be revamped with new emphasis on the Business Transformation goals.  An important part of that transformation is a renewed focus on retailing.  If we are to grow retailing, Quixtar needs to build new and better websites and tools focused on retailing from the IBO to their customer.

I think all of us here at Quixtar would agree that these changes can't come too soon.  In fact, several major web projects have kicked off in the past couple weeks and are beginning construction.  Not only are significant resources being committed to these projects, but also an investment in a lot of outside talent to help get the job done sooner...and better.

I am very excited about the changes that will be coming to the web!  I think we will be on target this time...at least in the right direction.  :)  Regardless of whether everything we do is a bulls-eye, I know that with continued dialog like this we will be able to provide an excellent retailing experience!

# Karen said on July 9, 2007 at 2:50 AM:

We never have any problems with speed or accessibility, but ditto the comment about ecelerate.  It is incredibly frustrating how hit or miss the log-in is.  The last time I wanted to check our account, it took 16 attempts to log-in.  Also, the customer service for ecelerate could be improved.  When I lost my pin and had to call, the service line rang and I got a cell phone-like answering machine.

Thanks so much for your diligent efforts in servicing IBOs nationwide!

# Lori Levi said on July 9, 2007 at 3:27 AM:

Our site is just plainly awesome. My only challenge is on the business site the LOS really needs a dropdown for active/vs/inactive IBO's.  We really need to be focused on retaining the inactive IBO's and moving them to customers instead of having the illusion that they are really IBO's. I know you are working on lots of things, and you guys are terrific. Thanks for all you do.

# Bridgett said on July 11, 2007 at 1:25 AM:

Steve,

Can I be a beta-tester for the new retail site(s)?

Would LOVE to play are around with it/them!

Please. please, please incorporate DITTO on the retail site(s).

Thanks!

# Jeffrey said on July 11, 2007 at 5:41 AM:

I thought you guys were going to get rid of the strike throughs in the new LOS. They are very distracting.

# Brett Folkert said on July 11, 2007 at 1:25 PM:

Jeffrey, due to some issues we had in QA testing we were unable to push the new LOS changes to production yet.  Last I heard we were shooting to have them in by July end of month.  There will also be some behind the scenes performance improvements as well.

# Tracy said on July 13, 2007 at 1:46 PM:

Hey Steve,

Glad to see the newest we performance index.  You have moved from about to drop off to #4!

Great going!

Want to second the opinion on eCelerate and popup blockers.  Give those folks a hint how to solve the challenge.  I can get on with one computer -- the other is impossible.

# Steve Cole said on July 14, 2007 at 10:12 PM:

Thanks Tracy!  Nice to see the work pay off.  : )  Special thanks goes to Jonathan in WebOps...he made the changes in May that boosted our June rating...way to go!! http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=23053

# Tracy said on July 18, 2007 at 6:13 PM:

Hurrah!!!

Number #1 on IR Web Site Performance Index.  Send our kudoos to Jonathan in WebOps.

# Jonathan Jespersen said on July 19, 2007 at 4:22 PM:

Tracy,

Thanks for the kudos!  But I can't take all the credit.  Our entire team looks for ways to improve performance.  The changes I made are one piece of the pie.

The Performance Index for Consistency can be found at http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=23129

# Steve Cole said on July 19, 2007 at 4:31 PM:

Tracy,

Jonathan is way too modest!!  : )  But that is just Jonathan.  :D

Again, that new consistency rating is GREAT news!!!  It is slightly different that the web site performance although still very important and just as EXCITING!

# Kelly Murra said on July 30, 2007 at 5:17 PM:

Op Systems XP, DSL for desktop & Wireless for laptop, speed on our site is good to great.

I also have E-Celerate issues with IE7(ATT's version and regular)

Customer support's only solution a few months ago was to add Firefox. Can get in now, but, why should we have to add another browser?

You all do a fantastic job!! Some of us software novices just need a little extra TLC.

# Tracy Baker said on August 8, 2007 at 7:13 PM:

Looks like performance thread is running out and "we" did not make the top ten list after a stunning #1 last week!

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