Has Your Design Firm Run Amuck With Your Web Site?

What's happening to good web site design? Somehow we creative types at interactive and traditional ad agencies have run amuck - we're building web sites that may dazzle the senses, but don't really communicate much about our client's business or products and services!

1. Somehow I don't think anyone has a burning desire to spend 30-60 seconds on the Index page of a web site while another fancy Flash animation loads, complete with snazzy graphics, audio, and way cool cutting edge graphics - not!! People want to get real information, not razzle-dazzle graphics showing how great a developer is using the latest whiz bang technology!

2. I thought Frames went out of style like adding a .com to your company's name. Apparently not, as there are still lots of web sites using Frames - forcing users to see a web site with mix and match (bad) graphics, odd menus and just a plain ugly interface.

3. I some times wonder if some of my fellow design geeks all own Adobe stock, or they are just trying to make sure HTML disappears as a content standard. The last thing many people want is to sit and watch as their 56 kbps dial up struggles with opening a doc in Adobe's proprietary PDF format - many click off and are gone to the next web site. Content should be offered in HTML or Word format, both of which open instantly - no, I don't own any Microsoft shares!

4. Another popular time waster appears to be designing web sites that require people to list all of their contact points, including first born children, their dog's pedigree - etc. Registration forms should be short and no more than 4-5 entries that just require fundamental contact information.

5. What's the value in running contests, games and other technology-enabled multimedia content on a web site? Recent studies have indicated most of the online user community isn't interested in a web site that drives branding - they simply want information about a company's goods and services.

6. The web is a wonderful medium for customer acquisition but it also works as a valuable tool for building dialogue with customers - approx 75% of the online community does not mind filling out short forms that ask them questions about goods and services, or providing feedback. More sites should ask people for their opinions and reviews - they don't mind sharing them and these comments provide valuable insight.

7. Content is still one of, if not the most important variables in good web site design. Today's savvy surfer doesn't want content presented in book form; they want short paragraphs with lots of white space, not long textual columns in a type font that forces anyone over 30 (perish the thought there are people on the web over 30) to put on their glasses and squint at the screen.

8. We marketing types jumped on the community bandwagon 12-18 months back - you couldn't read an article about web site marketing unless "community" wasn't included as a buzzword du jour! Well, times have changed, or maybe we all came to our senses - today's web user wants baseline information they don't want to chat with other users via web site or read about shared interests - give them information in "content bytes' and let AOL worry about building a community!

About The Author

Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com, a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies. Lee@intelective.com

Lee@intelective.com

---

A Beginners Guide to Web Page Design

Designing your own successful web page can seem difficult and... Read More

20 Tips to Creating a Profitable Website

As an online Entrepreneur you require a successful website.One that... Read More

How Does Your Website Measure Up?

Does your website make a good first impression? Is the... Read More

10 Profitable Ways To Recycle Your Content

1. Repackage your web site content in to different products... Read More

Online Advertising: 10 Tricky Secrets To Keep Visitors Glued To Your Website And Increase Sales

It is common sense.The more time people spend at your... Read More

Banner Enchancement - Designing Your Banner

A well designed web site is great to have, but... Read More

How Important is Content to a Successful Website

Content is the most important part of any website.The Internet... Read More

10 Ways to Sabotage Your Website Traffic and Send Visitors Packing

If you're running a website or online business, your number... Read More

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Webmasters

A highly effective website will always reflect its highly effective... Read More

Choosing A Color Scheme

When you begin the design of your Web site, one... Read More

Successful Websites Don?t Set Out To Sell

What are websites? Are they sales tools for vendors and... Read More

10 Reasons Why You Need A Multilingual Website

The internet continues to grow and has become the default... Read More

Website Design Firm

Website design firms come in all shapes and sizes.When choosing... Read More

Immutable Laws Of Effective Navigation - Part 1

The first immutable law of effective navigation: It's gotta be... Read More

Your Website Visitors - Will They Stay?

I'm sure you've all heard the saying 'Build it and... Read More

Long Copy Sales Letters on the Web: Hype or Not?

I have written before about long sales copy on the... Read More

The Psychology of Color in Web Design

Persons engaged in website design, here's a scoop for you!... Read More

Your Site Map: Spider Food or Just A Light Snack?

Mechanical spiders have to eat. In fact, they usually have... Read More

The Top 8 Website Sins Part Two

Sin #5Poor Spelling And GrammarWe all make mistakes when we... Read More

E-covers for Your Niche Market

When creating an e-cover the what's the first thought that... Read More

Top Ten Absolutely Free Websites for Downloading Cool Fonts

The following list of websites is the best compilation of... Read More

Optimized Web Page Template

I want to give you a free web page template... Read More

How To Attract People To Your Web Site and Leave Their Contact

If you have a website, you want your visitors to... Read More

Bad Design Characteristics For A Website

Making a poorly designed website is one of the easiest... Read More

Do You Make These Common (But Deadly) Website Design Mistakes?

Building a website can be overwhelming, here are some design... Read More

Drupal Modules

There are plenty of Drupal Modules that you can install... Read More

How to Find Inexpensive Web Design

Web design is a very competitive area and there is... Read More

TEN Answers That Turn Your Visitors Into Your Customers

You know... Before purchasing your product a person comes to... Read More

Tips for Getting More Sales From Your Website

(1) Create a Direct Response Website, with the minimum number... Read More

Website Re-Design?

My site is working fine. The links work. Content is... Read More

Your Website Hurts My Eyes: 7 Reasons to Tone Down Your Advertising

So you're on the computer, as usual. Your eyes are... Read More

Explode Your Homepage And Replace It With Something Dynamite!

You know that I'm always extolling the virtues of an... Read More

When Your Graphic Designer Costs You Money

So how do you know when your graphic designer costs... Read More