While a typical commercial product relies on a relatively standardized set of parameters, web design carries with its recent inception an air of ambiguity. The internet is defined by its users, and what the user wants will either appear out of necessity or be created by himself. To see beyond the limits of today’s web design standards, we only need look at what the customer demands from their web experience.
Most of us will agree that current web interfaces are far too difficult to use. Open any major news site and you will understand as features and advertisements bombard you. Many sites attempt to over diversify – adding features that do very little to aid the end user experience. Worse, these often cluttering features detract from the user’s intended use – to access the information on the site.
Twitter is an example of beauty driven by simplicity.
The cause of this design blunder roots back to a common flaw in the web industry – the lack of a clear and well-made business model. Many sites still attempt to make money through pushy ads and an excessive collection of e-commerce features, hoping that a more steady income can be earned through diversification. The hitch is: just because it works for a low-risk retirement fund doesn’t mean it will work for your website. When it comes to web philosophy, simplicity and logical organization are the name of the game. There is a reason for the popularity of sites like Google and Flickr – they have a clear focus and ensure that they do one thing really well and let their volume pay for the site.
Web sites are functionally confusing because they aren’t designed around the idea that they must be, above all else, functional. While visual aesthetics are important, the look of a site must be designed around the interface. If this is not achieved, the user will spend more time squinting at the colorful page, confused, and less time absorbing information or purchasing your product.
Sites need to push toward becoming simpler. This does not mean that designers should attempt to dumb down content or remove integral features, but attempt to create a web environment in which the user can easily navigate the site and sees the usefulness in the features and applications offered. Using a logical layout and concise text will not only reduce clutter and improve speed, but it will drastically increase customer satisfaction by decreasing the time they need to spend on a site.
Contrary to what many designers will believe, users don’t enjoy accessing web sites – they enjoy the features they present. Whether it’s accessing videos on Youtube, buying books on Amazon, or getting a quote from Geico, the less time the user has to spend accessing these features, the happier they will be – and therein lies the key to a successful website. No one accesses Facebook because they like the combination of drab blue and gray, they use it to check the updates of their friends, and quick and intuitive access is a paramount part of Facebook’s success.
As technology typically develops, the internet has grown exponentially since the days of its inception, and as a result a huge market for web designers has opened up. With such a new technology comes a lack of standardized practices and the ability of today’s designers to be the ones who create them. But today what is needed is a paradigm shift away from visual design and toward functional design.
