Got Web Ideas? Fishing for the Answers?
Think Outside The Code First!
|
|
Facts, Thoughts, and Opinions About Web Development and Business Strategy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have a number of different client Websites that I would love to Frankenstein with
the latest Microsoft development technologies on the market. I am not talking
about going overboard but there are plenty of places where improvements can
be made. Yet, most of my clients have no desire in updating their old applications.
Certainly this goes against the grain of "cutting edge" technology but for good
reason.
Recently, I updated a Website that I own named
Empire Hunting. God knows it
needed it. It was so overloaded with information that the mess needed to be
cleaned up. To build a following, I simply plastered it with as much
information as I could about New York hunting. It was not represented in
a State of the Art fashion nor was it as data-driven as it should have been.
However, I focussed first on what was the most important for my Website or
any other Website for that matter - CONTENT!
Now that I have a few hundred
people per day at the Website, I can start to make design and functionality
changes that will enahnce their experience. I also have a better sense of
what works and what people really want. It also gave me the opportunity to
maximize the effectiveness of my Google Adsense Campaign. I know what
areas get clicks and what ones do not. Trust me, I have tried everything.
The target areas of my Website for Google Ads played heavily in to it's
design - then and now.
Content is the central point of any Website. How you display that content
is nowhere near as important as the actual content itself and navigation.
It does not have to be complex. If you have information that people want or
need then displaying it in a pleasing, yet basic, manner will be as effective
as ever.
Many are stumbling on this as it seems the paradigm of Web 2.0 is making people
believe that they can just take any old content, no matter how many times
it has been done before, and build popularity by introducing new ways to
display it. This has always failed in the past and it always will. What
a person needs is a good idea that has not been done before or to take a
larger idea and down-size it to a niche market.
A few weeks ago, I was showing my friend Chris the Website for the
Lazy River Music
Festival, which took place in South Elgin, IL earlier this summer.
In my opinion, the Website was kind of a mess and took a while to load
on high-speed because of the music files that played for each page. Yet,
Chris stated to me,
"These people seem to know what they are doing.
This Website is awesome. Everything you need to know about this festival
is on here."
And there you have it. A professionals opinion about the layout of the Website
would be poor in terms of it's overall look and feel. Yet, Chris was pleased
that he was able to find everything he needed and get the information in high detail.
I'm sure that if I had built their Website then Chris would have found that it
looked better. But me
building it to look better does not alter or change the relevancy of the content.
Chris still would have been elated with joy at the information on the Website and
maybe paid a compliment to me for my layout.
If ya got the goods then ya got 95% of the ball of wax.
Now back to my clients. Some of these Websites are nearing a decade in age.
Yet, very little has changed on them. Why? The same reason as mentioned
above. The content is strong and they are making a living off of them despite
not incorporating the latest and greatest technologies. The expense of
upgrading cannot be justified.
Those looking to build a killer Website should start out with low grade design
and then build up as more content is added. Skip the fancy graphics, FLASH
intros, and other jazz. Build a simple, pleasing skin with simple navigation and then
concentrate on pumping your Website as full of content as you can.
As your Website grows and you start to build a following then concentrate on
visual improvements.
This brings me to another very good point. Content will dictate the design
and layout of your Website. Until you have a lot of content it is difficult to
tell what your Website will look like in the future. Content will also vary in
popularity. What you thought might be the most important section of your Website
may not be. Thus, the more popular things will win the concentration war and
will be emphasized more. Let your content take you there.
It is good advice in an age where many people are taking Web 2.0 and running with it.
People get the impression that the ways you display content are more important than the
content itself. Many of those people will end up with dead Websites because end users
care little about how content is displayed. They want good content in any
generally pleasing format they can find it in.
| More |
|
• AJAX and the Back Button
Friday, July 25, 2008
|
|
• Heavily Data-Driven Classic ASP Websites - Should You Still Upgrade?
Thursday, July 17, 2008
|
|
• The Best FREE Textbox Editor on the Market
Sunday, July 13, 2008
|
|
• Mixed Bag Development
Friday, June 20, 2008
|
|
• Does the Cutting Edge Cut-Out End Users?
Thursday, April 03, 2008
|
|
• Why Most Web Development is Done Backwards
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
|
|
• Web 2.0 = Internet Users 2.0
Monday, March 17, 2008
|
|
• Design Width: Fixed Width or Play the Percentages?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
|
|
• Don't Plan On Going Overboard With Design
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
|
|
|