Visually stunning, eye-catching websites are all over the internet and we’ve all landed on one at some time or other and been amazed and dazzled by the animation, Flash effects and stunning graphics only to find that the site doesn’t really tell you what it’s supposed to.
Balance
The internet is mostly a visual medium so it’s inevitable that web designers will want to show off their creative sides; unfortunately, this sometimes leads to websites being more about what the designer wants as opposed to what the customer needs. There has to be a balance between creativity and functionality and although the site should be visually pleasing, it should also tell visitors what it does without them having to guess or hunt for clues.
Purpose
The primary function of all business websites is to advertise brands, inform visitors and entice them to take further action such as contacting the company or purchasing directly through the website itself, and most do this quite well. However, I have been on some sites where I couldn’t help but admire the creativity of the web designers but if you asked me what those sites were for I honestly wouldn’t remember, so for me at least, they haven’t done their job.
Instant
To be truly effective, a visitor should know exactly what a website is for the moment they arrive on the landing page, and with only valuable seconds to capture their attention, it’s important that those seconds aren’t wasted by features such as Flash intros for example which often take time to load and which many visitors will skip anyway.
Priorities
I’m not saying that highly creative features don’t have their place in web design because they most certainly do, but I believe functionality should be the priority: prominent menus on every page, easy navigation and instant recognition of the site’s purpose to name but a few. As I said, the internet is mostly a visual medium and so by its very nature must evolve with the use of ever better eye-catching design, but this must happen without sacrificing functionality.
Until next time.
