That got me thinking. How fast is the IT Web really moving — and what should it mean to your strategy?

To find out, I decided to take a close look at some sites that have launched major improvements over the past two years – plus another mega site – Oracle.com – which is currently involved in a slow motion roll out. Just for fun I added HP.com to the mix since it competes directly with these sites – and seems to be perpetually running in the same place.

Turns out the prevailing wisdom is right.

One look at the graph below will tell you that a bunch of leading IT Websites have been on the march setting new standards over the past 24 months.

At the top of the stack is SAP.com which has executed a stunning turnaround – both in terms of content and usability. The new EMC.com is also on a similar track.

Meanwhile, Oracle.com’s ongoing roll out is also paying dividends, although it continues to rank second behind the IBM.com properties (the main IBM.com site and its kissing cousin, the IBM Software Group zone). Since Oracle.com’s revamp isn’t finished, it will be interesting to see how it scores in another 6 months.

IBM.com and Cisco.com continue to reign as the biggest and the best – but that hasn’t stopped their momentum. IBM.com’s massive content footprint and Centennial design has delivered nice scoring bumps – and Cisco.com isn’t far behind. From a usability perspective, these sites are essentially kissing cousins.

Which leaves us with the other mega site to consider. HP.com. Despite a flurry of activity over the past two years, HP.com’s lack of a central design theme and hit & miss updates has sent its scores in the wrong direction. My POV? HP.com is the pluperfect example of why a site must have strong central governance and a strategy that gets buy in from stakeholders.

And what about you? What should this little exercise tell you about your Website? Quite frankly, if you are resting on your laurels, you’re going backwards. It’s not enough to launch a big “ta da” every 24 months. We’re in the middle of a design revolution and continuous improvement is the name of the game.

– Publicly accessible support content, which includes vendor-created technical documents and access to customer communities & forums; and/or,

– Fee-based support programs (per incident; contract-based).

To assess how effectively a Website delivers publicly accessible support content and support program(s) information, the siteIQ evaluation team identifies and measures 109 types of support content, features and capabilities.

Usability reviews focus on how easy it is to find and navigate through support content; support program content quality and clarity; and how effectively the site encourages customers to explore or purchase fee– and contract-based support offerings.

This case study announces 2013′s leaders, laggers — and fast movers in the Online Support category.

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–Clarify buying options and processes;
–Encourages the visitor to take the next step; and
–Leads the visitor to an ecommerce zone that is easy to navigate, understand, and use.

To assess a Website’s ecommerce effectiveness, the siteIQ evaluation team identifies and measures 104 types of ecommerce content, features and capabilities.

Usability reviews focus on the site’s site-wide calls to action; ecommerce navigation and click stream logic; and how effectively the site defines the purchase process.

This case study announces 2013′s leaders, laggers — and fast movers in the eCommerce category.

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To assess how effectively a Website encourages prospects to engage with the company’s salespeople and/or find a reseller, the siteIQ evaluation team identifies and measures 14 types of call to action features.

Usability reviews focus on whether the purchase process is logical and how easy it is to find purchasing information and sales links.

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Best-in-class partner zones are notable for clear and concise program information; short click streams; and multiple ways to engage with company contacts.

To assess how effectively a Website presents and markets channel, partner and alliance programs, the siteIQ evaluation team identifies and measures 34 types of content, features & capabilities.

Usability reviews focus on how well the company presents various channel, partner and alliance programs, content quality & clarity; how easy it is to find the channel marketing zone; and how effectively the site encourages potential partners to take next steps.

This case study announces 2013′s leaders, laggers — and fast movers in the Channel/Partner Marketing category.

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To find out, we evaluated the 23 sites on the siteIQ eBusiness Index using our Website Best Practices Benchmark.

Once we finished, we tallied up the scores, ranked and rated each Website — and identified new trends, and requirements.

Here are the leaders, laggers — and fast movers in the Product Marketing category.

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Apple.com’s buyer communities are a great example.

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To find out, we evaluated the 23 sites on the siteIQ eBusiness Index using our Website Best Practices Benchmark.

Once we finished, we tallied up the scores, ranked and rated each Website — and identified new trends, and requirements.

Here are the leaders, laggers — and fast movers in the Navigation & Architecture category.

Read more >

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Lessons Learned:

1. Sometimes art imitates life. Dell’s and HP’s business woes are mirrored at their Websites – which are bleeding competitive ground where it counts.
2. Of the two, Dell.com brings in more good and best practice ratings – but saw the largest ranking losses. (And here’s a real moment of irony for a company going private: Dell.com’s investor relations zone is a good practice site).
3. Dell.com and HP.com are still the “go to” sites to see world-class ecommerce in action and should be on everyone’s “best-in-class” product marketing list. Beyond that, pick your poison carefully.
4. And here’s the bummer. Your Website isn’t just a venue for you to market and sell your wares. Put under the right lens, it’s actually telling tales you probably don’t want the world to know.

One of the things I like best about our annual rankings is that they give me a nifty road map to follow when I want to see the best of the best in action.

Turns out, they can also tell you a lot about which sites are starting to lose their competitive edge.

This year, I have to put HP.com and Dell.com at the top of this list. Although both still rank solidly in the Top 10, they are bleeding competitive ground where it counts.

Dell.com

It’s no secret that Dell’s business has been struggling as tablets and mobile phones gobble up computing center stage. Turns out that Dell.com is struggling as well.

This year, Dell.com’s competitive rankings dropped in 10 (out of 18) categories – with whopping losses in Design & Innovation (dropped from #5 to #12), Navigation (slid from 6th to 15th), and Services Marketing (5th to 14th). Corporate Marketing (an important area for Dell these days) lost even more ground (dropped to 17th) – and ranks well below the competitive sites that count.

And where does Dell.com still have an advantage? eCommerce, where Dell.com still ranks #1 — and is the Best Practice performer across the board (Content & Features, Usability, and Overall Performance). And after years down the roster, its powerful search capabilities now also rank number one.

Product marketing is another place that Dell.com excels (ranks #2 and brings in a Good Practice) – and its persistent call to action behaviors continue to set best practice standards. Industry Marketing might be perceived as another bright spot (ranks 5th ) – but Dell.com is actually toward the top of a very bad lot.

HP.com

HP is another company that’s going through its own identity crisis – and the HP.com site has mirrored the company’s descent into chaos over the past few years. In 2012, I thought the tide might be turning when some valiant enterprise stakeholders broke ranks and launched a handful of nicely designed sites. Alas, it wasn’t enough.

Our 2013 rankings show that HP.com is engaged in a slow motion competitive meltdown that is accelerating over time. Competitive rankings dropped in 12 of 18 categories this year (yikes!) –and HP.com held its ground in only 3 areas: eCommerce (#2), Events (#14) and Search (#10). Only Partner and Services Marketing gained ground.

And where does HP.com excel? Like Dell.com, HP.com’s main claim to fame lies in its ecommerce capabilities, where it ranks #2 and brings in a well deserved Best Practice rating.

Product Marketing (#3) and Training & Education (#2) are also Good Practice bright spots that deserve a close look. It’s also worth mentioning that nice usability gains allowed HP.com’s new services marketing zone to jump two places and tie with CA.com for first place this year.

The Bottom Line

So what else can you glean from what we see at Dell.com and HP.com? A truth that should make you shudder.

Your Website isn’t just a venue for you to market and sell your wares. Put under the right lens, it’s actually telling tales you probably don’t want the world to see.

• How rogue designs and off-the-reservation behaviors pinpoint organizational squabbles and power grabs going on behind the scenes.
• Which marketing groups really understand their products, customers, and value propositions – and which ones are clueless about market needs.
• The difference between bold promises and your company’s real commitment to jointly sell with partners and channels.
• Your company’s real product pecking order — including the strategic stars, orphans, and cash cows.

Yep, you can tell a lot by spending some quality time on a Website. Which brings me to the question.

What’s your Website saying these days?