Net Surfing Wipeout

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by Emily R. Coleman

If you've spent any time at all surfing the Net, then you've probably come to the same conclusion I have. Most Web sites are not designed for the people who are meant to use them.

A well designed Web site is an artful combination of word and image. In fact, it is just this combination that tells the world who you are. An easily maneuverable, clear, concise, informative, and graphically inviting site becomes a message in-and-of-itself: It suggests thoughtfully designed products and services. It suggests both a quality control and customer satisfaction orientation. And, for high tech firms, it suggests the ability to convey complex technology simply and clearly and the ability to deliver elegant, user-friendly applications.

How many of these all-too-common, classic mistakes do you see on a regular basis?

1. The "look what I can do" site. Some site designers are so pleased with Java and all their latest toys that you can take the dog for a walk and still be back before the page is loaded. True, the sites may be impressive; but most people will simply not wait to be impressed.

Lesson: The Net is supposed to be a timesaving, efficiency enhancing tool. Clean sites that load quickly are more effective than sites that may win design awards but try the patience of the viewer.

2. The "breathless" site or "I'm going to tell you everything on the first page." We've all seen them, sites that are so packed with information snippets and hyperlinks that the mind reels. These sites have taken the concept of information overload and put it in hypertext.

Lesson: Think. Prioritize. Organize. Simple courtesy would suggest that a guest at your site find it welcoming rather than overwhelming.

3. The "you can't get there from here" site. You know the information you want has to be on the site somewhere. But where? Click after click after click, through hidden byways and page upon page of information you don't want, before you and your mouse arrive exhausted at your destination.

Lesson: Make your information easily accessible. When a prospect comes to your office, do you tell him to find the sales material he wants by rummaging through your files?

4. The "I are a professional" site. It is astonishing how many companies allow their sites to contain typos, misspellings, and awkward wording. It's enough to make a third grade teacher reach frantically for a red crayon.

Lesson: Not everyone can write. Most people don't write as well as they think they do. And everyone needs a proof reader.

The Internet has, to a large extent, leveled the playing field between larger and smaller companies by making their offerings and strengths equally accessible. But it has also made a competitive economy more fiercely competitive.

As the use of the Net grows, and as customer reliance on Web sites for information increases, the imperative for well designed sites becomes commanding. A few years ago, it was enough just to have a site. No longer.

The effective Web site of today and tomorrow demands clear thinking, sophisticated conceptual ability, and elegant simplicity of design. This medium requires the skills of all that have preceded it to deliver the power of your message. You are better off having no Web site than having a site that sends the wrong image or turns off your prospects.