Have you ever seen a website that looked so awful, so repulsive that you had to look away? It’s a hot mess of colors, competing designs, maybe even some flashing screens or (gasp) spinning logos.
Chances are, this website didn’t start this way so don’t blame the site or even the developer. If the website could talk, it’d probably share a really sad story of too many people controlling the design, unclear objectives, changing messaging, etc. We won’t let let this type of design tragedy happen to your next website!
Here are a few solutions to common pitfalls that can occur during the design and development process:
Identify Your Goals: Defining your objective AFTER the site is built is kind of like building a house without looking at the blueprint. Not a good idea! Is your website supposed to function as an online shopping cart or an educational resource center? In a perfect world, what actions would each and every website visitor take? Answering this question will help you develop the navigation plus the various calls-to-action.
Develop Your Message: Great websites are more than just attractive designs and functional navigation. They also contain awesome content that provides visitors with something of value, whether it is special offers, educational resources, insider information, etc.
Pick a Leader: Design-by-committee models don’t work…too many cooks in the kitchen. Instead, delegate a website leadership team and stick with it. Make sure the review process flows through this team at all times and resist the urge to solicit other opinions.
Make It a Priority: Many times a new website design is the company’s hot priority for…say…two weeks. This amount of time is not nearly long enough for all of the pieces to come together so when the site goes back into the review phase, the company is slow to respond. In turn, development can languish. Not only does the overall flow and cohesiveness of the site suffer, but also the company may make impulsive decisions that aren’t aligned with long-term goals.
Avoiding these pitfalls will make your website development process smoother…and your finished product even better! And let’s be honest, just like beauty pageants, couldn’t the web use a few candidates that are both smart and good-looking?
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When Good Design Goes Bad
Have you ever seen a website that looked so awful, so repulsive that you had to look away? It’s a hot mess of colors, competing designs, maybe even some flashing screens or (gasp) spinning logos.
Chances are, this website didn’t start this way so don’t blame the site or even the developer. If the website could talk, it’d probably share a really sad story of too many people controlling the design, unclear objectives, changing messaging, etc. We won’t let let this type of design tragedy happen to your next website!
Here are a few solutions to common pitfalls that can occur during the design and development process:
Identify Your Goals: Defining your objective AFTER the site is built is kind of like building a house without looking at the blueprint. Not a good idea! Is your website supposed to function as an online shopping cart or an educational resource center? In a perfect world, what actions would each and every website visitor take? Answering this question will help you develop the navigation plus the various calls-to-action.
Develop Your Message: Great websites are more than just attractive designs and functional navigation. They also contain awesome content that provides visitors with something of value, whether it is special offers, educational resources, insider information, etc.
Pick a Leader: Design-by-committee models don’t work…too many cooks in the kitchen. Instead, delegate a website leadership team and stick with it. Make sure the review process flows through this team at all times and resist the urge to solicit other opinions.
Make It a Priority: Many times a new website design is the company’s hot priority for…say…two weeks. This amount of time is not nearly long enough for all of the pieces to come together so when the site goes back into the review phase, the company is slow to respond. In turn, development can languish. Not only does the overall flow and cohesiveness of the site suffer, but also the company may make impulsive decisions that aren’t aligned with long-term goals.
Avoiding these pitfalls will make your website development process smoother…and your finished product even better! And let’s be honest, just like beauty pageants, couldn’t the web use a few candidates that are both smart and good-looking?