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Stop Designing Websites like it’s 1994
By Shalom Issenberg | April 21, 2008
I manage many website development and website redevelopment projects. The one task that proves to be a difficult and unique challenge each time is getting the design right!
A Website design works to accomplish a set of goals I have termed “FAR” (Functionality, Appeal, Representation).
Functionality
Design needs to be developed considering all the content and functionality that your website intends to deliver. This means planing menu effects, placement of content, “calls to action”, and content delivery. Sophisticated web applications and scripts also require integration with design.
Appeal
No matter how great your website content and tools may be, a poor design can destroy its potential for success. Example: If you have great professional content on your B2B site but you have an amateurish design, visitors might dismiss your content before reading it. The opposite also applies; A website’s content may receive more attention based on a friendly and attractive design. This is a very basic concept, similar to the food industry where presentation is just as important as taste.
Representation
Whether your site represents a commercial entity or an individual, choosing the right design is an important part in determining how you want to be represented. The images and the colors you use create an impression the same way as the set-up of your retail location or your personal appearance might in the real world.
Websites exist in an rapidly evolving environment where the term “Timeless” does not apply. Unlike the majority of internet users, designers seem to be stuck in the mid 90′s around the time they first entered graphic design school and stopped surfing the net recreationally. Web design is not architecture, we shouldn’t be trying to revive the classics here.
Here are some tips to producing an effective more modern website design
- Do not use fonts that look like they were printed on your typewriter
- Use “Web 2.0” font styles and colors
- Try to use a lot of white space
- Rounding edges instead of sharp edges
- Design for higher resolution and wide screens
- Replace animated .gif files with video and flash
- Incorporate AJAX into your design
- Many times less is more
Also, once you feel like you have created a successful design, show it to as many people as possible. Consider them your focus group, take their feedback seriously! Redesign if necessary.
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