Web Design - Nail The Basics First
October 20, 2003 | 
6 Comments
In his article about personalization Gerry McGovern asks, “Do you want to pay four times more for personalized garbage?”
He also talks a bit about the essentials of a good Web site, saying:
Teach your staff how to write well. Design a layout that allows me to read easily. Spend time creating a navigation that is simple and intuitive. Fix your search engine. Get the basics right. Garbage in, garbage out.
In other words, “keep it simple, stupid.” It’s an old refrain that unfortunately still seems to be falling on deaf ears. This weekend I had to deal with quite a few different so-called “features” on various sites. From complicated forms to the mixed up personalization Gerry talks about.
Many of these features are great in theory, but the truth is for the most part this extra crap never seems to work right. I’m sure someone sees things like personalization as offering competitive advantage. Well I’ve got news for that person, if it doesn’t work, and none of them with the possible exception of Amazon (and from what I hear — Netflix), that I’ve run across, do. No, if done poorly it puts you at a competitive disadvantage. It boggles the mind that one would put time and money into these things without first getting the basics of their site right, but this happens all the time.
Web design and development don’t need to be that hard. Begin with the basics, code your site with standards, learn how to write for the Web, talk to your users, keep your design simple and then, and only then, think about adding those special features that your users probably don’t need or want.
Filed under: Web General
Comments
1. JC said:
Netflix works pretty well, too. For the most part though, spot on.
Posted on October 20, 2003 03:23 PM | #
2. Gene said:
The best line in Gerry’s article is “Why do so many organizations plan the strategy for their websites like they were writing a letter to Santa?” As Homer would say, it’s funny because it’s true.
I’m sure Jupiter could do a similar report on the content management space, though the findings wouldn’t be as dramatic as they are with personalization. Still, many organizations want to buy a piece of technology that solves their problems rather than build basic, in-house web development competencies.
Posted on October 20, 2003 03:36 PM | #
3. Keith said:
JC - I’ve not used Netflix, but I’ve heard good things. To be honest those kinds of sites are the kind that really can make use of personalization. It makes sense there.
Gene - No doubt. Gerry is fully of those witty one liners that carry so much truth. He’s got a knack for it.
Posted on October 20, 2003 03:42 PM | #
4. Scrivs said:
I have always thought there was a problem with everyone shouting that the next big thing about the web is “personalization”. I mean the majority of the time this “personalization” requires the knowledge of personal information that many people are reluctant to give up. The beauty of the Web is that everyday you can learn and come across something new. When a site implements personalization features that are not needed, they may prevent you from viewing something new that might interest you simply because the “knowledge” of you shows that you like sports, so why would you care about art. That kind of sucks.
Posted on October 20, 2003 07:54 PM | #
5. huphtur said:
question: would switching stylesheets be considered “personalization”?
Posted on October 20, 2003 09:28 PM | #
6. Keith said:
Well, I guess it depends, but in this case I’d say no. However, I think the same principles can be applied. I would make sure the default style sheet and layout was done well before adding a second or third, etc.
Posted on October 20, 2003 09:43 PM | #
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