COMMENTS
Perfect post at 7am. Nice work.
I agree. #4 should be #1. When this happens to me I leave the site and never return. #3 may be the most challenging to get right without cluttering up your site.
Great back-to-basic reminders for websites. Thanks for sharing !
You're right, automatically playing any audio should be #1.
I'd put full screen splash (ads or self promos) as a close second. Especially annoying are ads that you can't skip.
Does anyone have statistics to show how unsuccessful those splash screens are?
Some sites still do pop-up ads. Do those even work anymore? I've had my browser set to block those for so many years I can't remember when I last saw a pop-up. Although I keep seeing notices about pop-ups being blocked by Firefox. This is 2010 not 1999 - stop the pop-ups.
Thanks for the great blog. I spend countless hours trying to convince entrepreneurs NOT to focus so heavily on the design and (can you believe it) fonts on their website. It's like spending all your time having plastic surgery and never getting out from under the bandages -- in other words - if no one sees you how will they know how beautiful you are -- any way, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and only skin deep -- you better have something on the inside to offer -- and that means your business better be able to deliver on its promises.
Here here Kipp! The music surely makes me close the tab PRONTO.
This post kind of reminds me of Mark Steven's book, "Your Marketing Sucks". It's about common sense, not glitz and fancy animation. I HATE flash on a website. 70% of Consumers will research a product online before they contact you and your website can play a big part of that. Like reason 2 says, I care about how you are going to solve my problems, maybe have navigation that shows summaries of solutions or features that people can jump right to the answer that they are looking for. If it's too complicated or cluttered, I'm outta there.
AMEN. #4 should be #1! Great advice.
Thanks for this quick read. Loved it! We've been working hard on our home page (and the rest) and hope it makes the cut!
Good concise points to remember as a refresher, no matter if you are updating your site or planning a new one. Now, go see the free webinar and get the best practices in website redesign!
I can not agree with your more about the sound. If I ever click on a website that plays sound, there is a 75% chance I'm just going to close it out without giving it a chance. I hope many sites with sound read this and realize that my ears are assaulted all day long and they should give them a break!
This article SUCKED Kipp!!
Nahh, just kiddin man... ;-)
I especially appreciate #2. One of the first things I tell clients is:
I hate to tell you, but nobody cares about you and your company.....yet Once marketing departments and small biz owners get this, then great things will always follow as they'll in turn be more interested and focus on giving great content.
These are the basics and still ring very true. We talk our clients out of a lot of the same things and these 4 are often on that list. Great post!
Great Post! Number 3 is right on the money.
For anyone in marketing, the first 3 are a no-brainer. Now #4 is interesting because while I totally agree that sites should not just play audio for no reason, I work for a video production company, and we are considering putting a quick :40 montage that loads when the page does and begins playing. I'm not totally sold, but if the design is right, I may go with it. So, can the industry you are in affect that decision?
Great points, especially #2. This is the Most Made Mistake on business websites in my experience..We are, We are, We can.... in stead of of 'Do you like to....?'
Regards,
Jaap
Great points. #4 always gets me fired up. The should have an optional play sound if desired button instead of forcing an audio blast upon you out of the blue
1) I am so stealing the word "unsuckify".
2) Years ago before I understood SEO or anything technical I bought a website because the graphics were beautiful - what a mistake.
3) My old company literally had the music from the Exorcist on our website and no one besides me found it embarrassing - we were selling carpet!
4) Most of my clients'number one concern is price... and they have no idea how to compare proposals.
#4 can be very embarrassing in an office environment!
Every web page should have a "What's-In-It-For-Me?" approach built in to the design and the copy. (Where "me" is reader, not you or your employees!)
I so agree with number 4. It really grates me to the nth power.
I am amazed how much money is spent on beautifully designed nonfunctional websites. Most designers are clueless about the most important part of a website seo! Second only to great content! The businesses I consult with are usually lacking both. Having a site that is not optimized is like trying to drive a car without an engine
I read this and can't decide if this makes things clearer or more complicated. I am starting to think the place to put all energy is with the reader--nothing else counts.
Great article. We actually have a contest to find the suckiest websites. Check it out
www.mywebsitebites.com - you can submit bad sites -
Bill Hunter
Wilmington Design Co.
I hate the sound bit , it turns me off. Specially when you really need searching on turning it off.
There is a site that I have been going on for years.... well guess what they updated it. What does updated really mean.... you messed up your site??? Anyway this site was one of my favorites.... now !! I cannot even find the login tab.
what an update, right? There is something about keeping it simple and clean.
Great post! We should all take this into consideration especially with the sound or music when the page loads, not everyone appreciates that especially when you are in a quiet environment and you forget to turn off the speaker.
You cannot EVER be that Definitive in critiquing websites. If its a movie site sound is the first thing I would expect. Web is NEVER cut and dry.
Google can index flash if you script the site properly. Use none animated text fields etc.
Google has crawled flash sites since 2008!
here.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/google-learns-to-crawl-flash.html
Who-ever is writing this Junk is talking crap. Maybe they should ask the developers making the "big websites" and dont rely on random people writing from their own experiences.
UTTER TWADDLE.
Did you have a really bad weekend Tom? Seriously man, you can make your points, which do have merit in certain applications, without coming across like a troll.
Take 'er easy bro.
@Tom, thanks for your comment & the link. 3 quick things:
1. I love the phrase "udder twaddle"!
2. The key phrase in your comment is "if you script the site properly." We see tons and tons of sites that haven't been scripted/optimized properly.
3. Given the preponderance of iDevices, Flash probably isn't the best idea for your site, anyhow. (
Apple has relented, but it's not there yet.)
Sorry, Just dont think these are four valid reasons why a website would suck...
I think the reason why a website would suck is if it was made by someone that didnt put that much thought into it.
I had Great weekend too!
Sorry if I sound grumpy. Just passionate.
I agree with #3. Some websites are so pretty and fancy I never can figure out where I'm going and by the time I do I forget why I was there.
Ha, based on this list I'd say about 98% of all the OTHER websites are a lot worse :)
I'm astonished by the popularity of Flash sites for small business. Even the top SEO expert at Adobe says that building a Flash website eliminates up to 50% of the SEO effect.
I personally think that number is high but its hard to imagine why anyone would use it for anything at all under the circumstances.
Listen, All this "flash is bad for SEO" non-sense. Type Manchester Photographer into google (uk).
Ther FIRST site that comes up is a flash site. Its not about what you have. Its about how you use it.
The people that
STOP learning
are the people that
START being
CRITICAL because they fear what they dont understand...
It's not that flash is bad for SEO - it's that it's HORRIBLE for customer retention if it takes ages to load... like most of it does. I want to get on a website, know immediately how it will benefit me, and purchase, learn, or click - I'm gone.
Here is how Google suggests you optimize your site. They aren't giving away the farm so as to shroud the whole thing in a bit of mystery.
http://tinyurl.com/26x2v4h
I'll do a site any way a client wants to. If they like Flash then so be it. I don't have an emotional attachment to any design tools.
However, if a client comes to me and says they want a highly SEO optimized site I will tell them not to use Flash.
I realize there are many designers that love using Flash. Personally I think launching a Flash site is fairly easy compared to other design tools.
The point is that SEO is achieved by the search engine reading the text on your site. If the text is embedded in Flash it isn't read and therefor the result is zero On Page SEO. As far as I know this is undisputed.
I've noticed that flash intros take a long time to load but I've never noticed a flash site that takes a long time. In particular I think Flash is useful for media sites and the arts.
At any rate I certainly respect a variety of different approaches to web design and have used many of them in my business. It's a complicated issue and the best look for a site depends on a number of factors including the expectations of your clients and personal preference.
However, if SEO is important I'll do my best to avoid using Flash, particularly for page navigation links and content.
I think a little Flash is Ok in moderation (forgive the double entendre) and it doesn't HAVE to be an SEO black hole.
Problem is that it can be quite expensive and from a design point of view, it's a hassle to change. Using simple text and graphics allows us to tweak the site more incrementally. If you are using Flash - you have to get it bang on 100% first time.
All good stuff and the list goes on. The inward looking nature of so many websites realy shows how little the company understand about their client's needs. One other point about Flash....lots of corporate servers do not have flash installed so be careful if you are involved in B2B online publishing. And of course they are not disability accessible and many other things.
There is nothing worse than a client telling you that your design looks plain. They usually follow up with "there's all this empty space". That's why I always include A/B testing with my designs. I whip out the slick,dense design and they love it. The plain design always wins in testing and the client is baffled. Pretty sites are nice but plain sites have higher conversion. Give your customers the info they need and get out of the way. You can always include the company's mission statement buried deep in the site.
#5 Floating CHAT boxes. Quit with the aggressive chat crap will ya? Just give me a button on the side and I'll use it if needed. These "follow you everywhere" boxes suck!
Truu! I concur completely. Music is horrible and just sends people running. SEO is a big one, and becoming even bigger. Anyone know of some good tutorials on SEO?