7
WAYS TO KILL A WEBSITE
By Andrea Wagner, Principal and CEO, WagnerWebDesigns,Inc.
Browsing various websites and
navigating the web can often be a daunting and
sometimes frustrating task as you sift though
the mounds of garbage to find what you’re
looking for. There are some excellent websites
out there to be sure, but there are also a lot
of dreadful ones too.
Creating and maintaining high-quality websites
is more important today than ever. Higher quality
equals more revenue.
A bad website neglects to consider the site visitor's
experience in some fundamental ways. The following
are my pet peeves when a website misses the boat.
Too Much Scrolling
Once I scroll down a full screen's worth, my eyes
start to blur, my head spins and my interest wanes.
Computer monitors really aren't the best medium
for reading. If a page requires two full screens
of scrolling or more, simply split it up into
multiple pages.
Long, Text-Heavy and Blocky Paragraphs
of Unbroken Text
I really have to be into a topic or desperately
need to learn the information to trudge through
big chunks of unbroken text. It is hard to read
text on the web than in other mediums such as
books. Additionally, web users are notoriously
impatient, so make your content easy to read and
non-intimidating. Use titles, sub-titles, small
paragraphs, bullets and numbering.
Unchanging or Out-Dated
Content
If I start reading content on a site and soon
discover that the content refers to out-dated
information, I’m gone. My reasoning is that
there's got to be comparable information online
that's more current. If you keep your content
fresh your site will attract repeat visitors.
And repeat visitors are more likely to turn into
customers.
Long Page Downloads
It's amazing that this is still a problem with
cable and DSL. I'm a little impatient, but again,
I know there are other sites out there with the
same information that will download more quickly,
so why wait? I'm gone.
"Me, me, me!" instead of "You,
you, you"
Sorry to tell you, but, no one cares about you,
your company or your thoughts. What they do care
about is what you can do for them.
Sites that show pictures of the company building
or tout their deep philosophy on the way business
should be conducted really don't bode well for
keeping the interest of site visitors.
On the other hand, sites that speak directly to
potential customers about how they can solve their
problems, make their lives easier, safer, richer
or more comfortable, have a much better chance
of keeping their audience.
Inconsistent Navigation
Imagine sitting down at a restaurant and the waiter
comes over to you and hands you five different
menus, one for the appetizers, one for the soups
and salads, one for the entrees, one for the desserts,
and one for the drinks. Then imagine if each menu
had a different format, layout and method for
listing the items. I really don't want to work
that hard at picking out my dinner, I'm hungry
and I just want a meal. Don't make your visitors
work hard by expecting them to re-learn your navigation
system each time they enter another section of
your site. They too are hungry; for useful information
and they're even more impatient.
Inconsistent Look &
Feel
When the look & feel completely changes from
one page to another in a website, I think I am
visiting another site, another company, a partner
or subsidiary. This screams poor planning and
often results from tacking on new sections later
after the original site was built. It may be tempting
to stray from the original design if adding pages;
you may currently have a better design. But wait
till you do a complete next-generation re-design
of the entire site before introducing a new look
& feel. If not, lots of visitors will be scratching
their heads with one hand and possibly clicking
away with the other.
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