Many business websites look great, but do not provide the information customers actually need. User Vision is a UK customer experience consultancy that will soon open an office in Dubai. Chris Rourke, the firm's founder and managing director, has worked with clients such as Emirates Airline and Jumeirah Group on creating consumer-friendly websites, and talks about how other businesses in the UAE can do the same.
q Why is there a need for this type of consulting?
a I don't think I've ever met anyone who said: "Every time I've gone to a website I've found what I'm looking for." It doesn't happen. You can have the most beautiful brochures, but if people have disappointing experiences on your website that's damaging your brand.
You've demonstrated that "eye-tracking" is one way to pinpoint problems with a site's design. How does this work?
Eye-tracking is a way to actually see where people look while they're using a site. It is a very useful way to distinguish and improve the design.
Does every business in the Emirates really need a website?
Most businesses need a site. Obviously, if you want to be selling remotely you need one. Little local shops or cafes don't. But everyone can benefit from one.
What's the biggest mistake small businesses make when they do create one?
Not to think through the point of view of the customers. Most web design projects [involve] frantic conversation between the web designer and client. They kind of forget about users, who say: "This is the way I naturally shop online." So what we're doing is amplifying that voice of the user. We're being an advocate for them throughout the whole design process - and from an early stage, not just as a bolt-on at the end.
Since you're not a web design firm, how much do companies need to invest to get this insight?
The investment will depend on the size of the company, but the rule of thumb is about 10 per cent of their website development budget or maintenance budget once it's launched. Hold that 10 per cent for things such as researching what your end users want through focus groups.
Sounds like tracking users could get expensive.
It pays dividends because they'll get that higher conversion rate [where consumers will purchase more if they find what they're looking for]. We've got conversion rate calculators. If someone such as Emirates increases their conversion rate by 0.1 per cent, believe me, it more than pays our bills.
But isn't it a web designer's job to build a site properly for consumers?
You can't mark your own homework. If you create a website, you're not really in the best position to just switch hats and critically analyse this thing you've created. That independence is key.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
