Have you ever been to a designer showcase? If you haven’t, here’s what happens.
An organization takes an empty house and recruits interior decorators to fix up each room. The organization raises money by charging admission, the designers get publicity, and the public gets design ideas and entertainment. All great.
The trouble is that those rooms are often unusable. The sinks are at one end of the kitchen and the stove is at the other. The forks won’t pick up food. You can’t sit in the chairs, and the bathrooms are all-white (ha)!
The same thing can happen with web sites. You know, the kind that gets featured in a Smashing Magazine web texture showcase. They’ve got clever widgets, jaw-dropping graphics, beautiful colors, even designs that change every day!
They’re amazing. Some of them are unusable.
Beautiful is great. So is award-winning. Neither one makes money.
What a web site design should do
- Reflect your company’s personality
- Help visitors find what they want, whether it’s marketing tips, contact information, or how-tos.
- Sell products or services
- Establish your credibility
- Build trust
Amazon’s site isn’t beautiful. It’s very functional though. Apple’s site is beautiful, but the design gets out of the way.
Yes, have design that serves the function of the web site – but don’t let the design overwhelm everything else. Design doesn’t sell by itself.
Tomorrow, what does sell.
Photo thanks to: sheilaellen
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