Different people, experienced or inexperienced in web development, assess the value of a website differently. Is it pretty? Are the graphics original and cutting edge? Does it have attention grabbing flash banners? Or, others might say, is it usable? Readable?
Accessible? Can I find what I want?
The sweet spot is between these two visions of what makes a successful website. Flashy graphics and banners are always nice to have, I but only if they are serving the larger purpose.
Today I want to focus on simplicity and why it is always best to be too simple rather than too flashy.
THINK CRAIGSLIST, FACEBOOK, and GOOGLE
Three of the largest and most successful websites in the world have very little to their websites. Google has its branding image and a search box, Facebook a simple two-tone design with straight-forward navigation, and Craigslist has about zero-zing factor—its plain, but it works, and that’s why people use it.The key to making your website successful really revolves around two
things: Identifying what you need your site to do, then simplifying it to serve this purpose as directly and straightforwardly as possible.
If you’re in the real estate business your site probably includes a library of current properties with photos, an about page for your company and some sort of contact page. Using this example, based on what the site contains, what does the customer want to accomplish?
Does he want the site to show off his properties? Yes.
Does he want the site to inform potential buyers about his business and his location? Yes.
Are these the real answers? No.
The real issue at the heart of this website is getting potential buyers to contact him, so that he can follow through and make a sale.
That his site shows off properties and informs the customer about his location and business is a side product of this goal, they are the means, not the end.
When you’re investing in launching a website or even retooling one you’ve had for awhile, step back and identify the one major goal. Once you’ve simplified your purpose to one sentence, design your content and site functionality around it. Everything should point towards accomplishing this goal, and somehow serve to motivate web surfers to take action
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