Web Design
It is hard for me to understate just how much I hate poorly designed websites. The attention span of individuals on the web is extremely short (I've heard you have between 7 and 11 seconds to show the user what they want to see), but for me, I think it’s even shorter than the average. Put simply, I go to websites looking to do something, and if I can’t accomplish what I’ve set out to do, I’m out of there in a flash.
I personally feel one of the biggest mistakes web-designers make is an over-emphasis on persuasion rather than functionality. The classic example of this are websites that are heavy on flash, but don’t give much indication on what they do, how much their services cost, or who you should talk to. Websites that focus on persuasion, rather than service, are doomed.
Never hire an ad agency to build your site
Ironically, advertising agencies are often the worst culprits for creating difficult to use (and therefore bad) websites. Not surprisingly, most are focussed on persuasion (telling you how good, flashy and creative they are) as opposed to making it easy for you to access their services. It begs the question – do people need to be persuaded if they have already taken the time to visit your website?
For examples of this check out the sites of these three major ad agencies. I dare you to try and find how much it costs to hire any of the below agencies for your next campaign (or even how to talk to someone from their offices):
David Ogilvy: http://www.ogilvy.com
Cossette Communications: http://www.cossette.com
Sattchi and Saatchi: http://www.saatchi.com/
Foundry Creative: http://www.foundrycreative.ca/
Venture Communications: http://www.openminds.ca
I would argue that with all of the above websites, there is too much creativity, and not enough functionality. Diametrically opposed to this are three of the most popular sites on the web – all of which are astoundingly simple and useful:
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com
Craigslist: http://www.craigslist.com
Google: http://www.google.com
Each of the above are really good at facilitating what users want to do. Can’t remember the name of that obscure actor in Tombstone? Need to sell your armoir? Doing research? IMDB, Craigslist and Google all make it easy.
Some of my own examples
I’m not going to say that I am the world’s best webdesigner, but, I am proud of my work and how my websites function. Check out these sites I’ve worked on:
Lifeclinic Canada: http://www.lifeclinic.ca
MediQuest Technologies: http://www.mediquest.ca
Archdiocese of Vancouver: http://www.rcav.org
RitchieWiki: http://www.ritchiewiki.com
As you can see, I value functionality over style. While Aesthetics are important, they do no good if they are deployed on a website that doesn’t allow users to get what they need.
