Ask a Writer
By Brian O'Grady
Why most web sites 'suck' - cont'd
Q: Our new site looks great and we all agree it's awesome. Now through our e-newsletter, we drive customers to the site…but customers say they can't find anything on it. How did this happen?
A: Ninety per cent of web sites don't work. Usually, the cause is a combination of three issues: it looks awesome but doesn't work, everyone can surf and therefore everyone can design, and the web is still a new medium. The last point is the most important.
Looks awesome...doesn't work
As the web evolved from understandable but boring black text on a grey background with blue links, everyone got excited: graphics, frames, mouseovers etc. These elements put graphic designers in the driver's seat. Graphic designers can really improve a web site. But to make a huge generalization, they love funky, new, cool and different. New and different tends to hinder comprehension.
Everyone can surf…everyone can design
Ever heard the story of the web team showing the CEO a design she doesn't like, so they start over? Does an engineer who builds bridges ask a Toyota driver if he likes a particular bridge design? The real test is if the CEO can find the information she needs, or if the Toyota driver gets from point A to point B quickly and safely. Get some real users - who aren't part of your firm - to try out the site design. Just 5 users can find 85% of the usability flaws on your site.
The medium is the message...
This famous McLuhan statement is now a truism but its impact has yet to register on web development. Look at how other mediums or technologies deliver a message that avoids user confusion.
When was the last time you had trouble dialing a telephone? Never? Even if the telephone was a duck, or a corvette, you were still able to dial it? Amazing. No it's not. Every telephone uses the same key pad with the same buttons in the same order. Ever been confused by the stop sign at the end of your street? Could it mean yield or merge? Why not? They work because every stop sign is the same.
Unless you want to challenge your audience, a web site is a tool that should communicate information as efficiently as possible. Creativity is good, but unless you have a really good reason not to, follow the emerging conventions for web sites: don't label your "About Us" link "Stuff'n such", and don't make your primary navigation cool but invisible. You might even try using your home page to tell people who you are and what you do.
Next month: what does this have to do with writing?
Have a question for Brian? Send him an email.
Brian O'Grady is a senior writer with Pens 4 Hire, a professional writing firm with a unique appreciation for audience. Between writing tasks in high-tech, real estate, health and non-profit, Brian tries to take his mountain bike where no bike has gone before.
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