Top 10 Deadly Website Sins

[minstrel]

This could have been posted in Site Design, but I thought it had enough relevance for questions asked about search engines and site promotion that I'd post it here.

Top 10 Deadly Website Sins

1. Not updating the content on the website. Where would you rather be for a long period of time, a library full of books or a room with several mediocre paintings? If you had to return, where would you rather go? Content can be photos, articles, news clips or narrative.
2. Thinking that just because you have a website, business will come flowing. Bringing visitors to your website takes a consistent effort and time.
3. Not marketing your site. Make sure that you put your www address on every bit of paper you ever send to clients. Include it in your email signature, have it visible in your premises, and tell people about it. Add your site to search engines and web directories. Now you've got it – flaunt it!
4. Not having website statistics. You need to be able to see which is your most popular page, how many people are looking, if what you thought is your best product is your most popular, etc. It is this intelligence that will allow you to make your site tightly targeted to your specific potential customers needs and wants.
5. Hiding your content behind fancy graphics. Pictures and graphics are a great way to make a site look interesting, but if you do have textual content, make sure it is easy to read, spell checked, understandable and current.
6. Having a slow site. Pages should take no more than 10 seconds to appear fully. Any more than that and the boredom factor starts to set in. If you do have something that you know will take a while to appear, tell the viewer, and give them something to read while it is happening, it will make the wait less obvious.
7. Not having a picture of yourself on your website. In the day of virtual communication, it is often nice to see whom you are dealing with. It does not have to be a grand scale portrait, just a tasteful shot so people can actually see you, and start to build some trust.
8. Rely too heavily on techno wizardry. Some people are still looking at websites on basic computers and some people don't like to spend time waiting for things to appear. This means that if your site needs the best equipment to run and a long time to wait, you may be missing out on potential customers.
9. Having crowded pages. It takes approximately 20% longer to read something on a computer screen than it does on paper. Make sure your pages are not cluttered so people can read things comfortably, and do not jam pack the page so viewers have to search around to know what to look at first.
10. Having broken links! This means that you have a link to another page, but it is not there and comes up with an error message. This can defeat all the work you have put into having a great site, as it can look unprofessional. Keep an eye on this if you have a page of external links.

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Credits: Originally submitted by Guy Levine, The Technology Coach, at thetechnologycoachingco.com. Copyright 2000, 2001, 2002 by Thomas J. Leonard. May be distributed if full attribution is given and copyright notice is included.

http://topten.org/public/AM/AM62.html

[sudhani]

Thanx minstrel!!!

But i would like to add another sin here .... May be it should be the 0th sin.

0. Not knowing the purpose of having a website. Many people just create a website just for the sake of it. They really don't have a clue on how the website is going to help them. The web presence / web marketing(sales) should be an integral part of the company's "marketing strategy". Not a part if "IT Strategy".

[le_gber]

I would add one between the 0 and the 1 let's call it 0.5

0.5 Setting goals for your website: wether it is getting listed in google after 3 months or receiving 20 enquiries per month you need to set goals to see if your website is improving or declining.

Leo

[johnm]

OK, 0.75
Don't forget about navigation. I've seen some sites that would need psychic help to get around. Easily traveled pages and ways to get back are a must.

[sudhani]

Think we should invite 'wen' to add the next 90 points to make the list "100 Deadly sins"

[rlrouse]

Spending more time on getting new customers than we do in keeping the ones we have.

[greeneagle]

Approximately 50% of viewers are Left Brained and the half are Right Brain Inclined!

A Clashing Color Scheme is no venial sin.

Ken

[sudhani]

Approximately 50% of viewers are Left Brained and the half are Right Brain Inclined!

A Clashing Color Scheme is no venial sin.

Ken
Ken >> you are just true about colors >>> colors are the ones that keep the user on our site

If half the people are Right Brain Inclined >>> the world would be more and more beautiful. I doubt if that figure exceeds 1%.

btw, what colors do you think will impress the left brained and what colors attract the right brained

[timgesner]

Here's a sin nobody has mentioned yet:

Have a boss that knows nothing about webdesign and refuses to learn (or listen), but insists upon telling you how to make the page.

Get a boss like that and you may just end up with some pretty crappy pages. I learned this one the hard way!

I'd encourage you to look at the results, but, frankly, my Dark Lord overseer would like the hits and we can't have that now, can we? :-) Besides, I think the moderators here might think I was attacking the person and not the practice of assuming that everything that pops out of someone's mouth is garbage, unless they are an executive, of course.

[salubritas]

The article can be found here http://topten.org/public/AM/AM62.html

It looks like you have given sufficient credit to me.

- edit -

Oops! Just re-read what I wrote! I am not the source of this article - what I meant was "it looks to me like you have given sufficient credit". I'm not trying to claim it as my own...

[minstrel]

The article can be found here
http://topten.org/public/AM/AM62.html

It looks like you have given sufficient credit to me.
Well, I'll be! There you were all the time... :-)

I've added the credit in my original post and now I'll add it to the copy I had saved on my hard drive - I believe I originally found this more than a year ago - it really is a small world.

[Pahp]

Excellent insight, but I'd like to add to 2 points.


7. Not having a picture of yourself on your website. In the day of virtual communication, it is often nice to see whom you are dealing with. It does not have to be a grand scale portrait, just a tasteful shot so people can actually see you, and start to build some trust.

Providing that it's a service oriented or merchandised site, show me someone. Chances are, I won't know who's behind the site, but I'd like the notion that their are humans behind the service/product. Contrarily, if it's a web service or informational site not relating to you personally/professionally, I don't really care about what you look like. As a matter of fact, some professional credibility is lost in my eyes because it kind of detracts from intent.


8. Rely too heavily on techno wizardry. Some people are still looking at websites on basic computers and some people don't like to spend time waiting for things to appear. This means that if your site needs the best equipment to run and a long time to wait, you may be missing out on potential customers.

While nice to keep in mind, this isn't something that should hold you back. A "basic" computer defined how? 4 years behind the curve? 8? Have they ever updated their browser? As much as I loved Netscape 3 Gold when it came out, I really don't keep it in mind when designing a site nor do I think about those running a 133MHz system with 16MB of RAM. Broadband/dial-up? About 40% of the US population has moved to broadband and even more are using a higher speed dial-up service, but even so download speeds are a grave consideration. Limiting excessive graphic sizes is a great start, but code bloat is even worse. It's the inexplicable slow down that really deters from viewing a site for more than one page. Changed a page around? Check it to be sure that superfluous code is reduced.

Great topic. Thanks.

[salubritas]

I think my previous post may have been misunderstood... I have edited it

Maybe a freudian slip?

[wenwilder]

Great thread Minstrel! Can I throw out a couple of things? I promise to leave my soapbox in the closet. :)

I would have to say that there are more than 10 website sins.

The whole "if you build it, they will come" concept, unfortunately, is still alive and well in the minds of offline and online business owners. It's a headache, but it keeps some of us in business. ;)

There are at least 15 (and that list is growing) common errors that discourage customers/viewers. Updating a site doesn't make much difference if you keep repeating the same mistakes. A lot of site owners and designers don't think these simple errors are important, but they are. It is one of the first thing customers will complain about, second only to graphics and color.

Adding a picture of yourself on your site does lend credibility to your company. If you are like some of us though, and hate having your picture taken, let alone displaying it to the world, a picture of your office or office building lends credibility also. it lets people know you are real, you do exist, and you are a business. There are ten ways to provide credibility to your site to increase customers trust in you and help them feel 'at home' within your site. Stanford University did the research and created the list. They can be so helpful sometimes. ;)

Color and color schemes my favorite subject! Thank you for mentioning it Ken (greeneagle) Online color takes on a whole new meaning. Many websites are created with the designers favorite colors. Certain colors can have an adverse meaning when combined with certain objects.

"Green and white work well together, but in Japan a white carnation signifies death, and a green hat in China means a man’s wife is cheating on him. A green hat with a white carnation in the brim wouldn’t be a good choice for a company logo. However, green is the easiest color on the eye; it has a calming effect, which is why it is most used in hospitals. It relaxes the patients. Different shades of green have different meanings: yellow-greens are the least preferred colors by consumers." - and the list goes on.

Working from the concept, through design, graphics, keywords...etc. all the way through content. There are hundreds of things to consider and think about. Ten only puts a dent in "If we did this....." :)

As for a boss that doesn't listen, ask him if he wants the site to succeed or fail? If he wants it to succeed then he might want to listen, then decide.

[mikmik]

wen fall far short of 90, but as always, gems!
However, green is the easiest color on the eye; it has a calming effect, which is why it is most used in hospitals.

I distinctly thought it was pink, but now that you mention it, yes - the psyc hospitals DO use light green. Pretty sure Iv'e seen pink in jails, though.

[greeneagle]

Sudhani asked:
btw, what colors do you think will impress the left brained and what colors attract the right brained

Even the laws of physics decree that everyone has some degree of right and left brain. My personal belief is that the major contributing factor is genetics. My mother is a renowned artist (almost 100%Right) and my dad is a Technical Type (Maybe 80%L and 20%R).
Have you been here?:
http://www.viewzone.com/bicam.html

I further believe that a balanced individual strives to do just that ; 50%R+50%L.
There are even good philosophical arguments for “Gnostics” achieving a true 50-50 balance, ie Leonardo DeVinci and Nicola Tesla.

My personal practice is to offer visitors all degrees of L and R a choice. My webmasters Resources Site (soon to expand to 90 topic specific pages) offers viewer selectable color schemes (CSS).
http://mountaineagleweb.com/Resources/Resources.htm
To catch the extremes 2 new schemes will be added in the update; “Sun” and “Moon”
It has been a lifetime pursuit to balance the “Technical” and “Artistic” sides of my own nature, given the gene pool I was blessed/cursed with.

Have fun
Carry on and Prosper
Ken

[Ardeona]

There are ten ways to provide credibility to your site to increase customers trust in you and help them feel 'at home' within your site. Stanford University did the research and created the list.

Here's a link to the website: Credibility Web Project (http://credibility.stanford.edu/) and to the actual list: Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility (http://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html).

Useful knowledge for designers new to the field.

[minstrel]

My mother is a renowned artist (almost 100%Right) and my dad is a Technical Type (Maybe 80%L and 20%R).
Based on input from numerous females over the years, family members, friends, colleagues, and even here, I think most women would phrase that differently:

To whit, "My mother is a renowned artist (100% Right) and my dad is a Technical Type (100% Wrong)".

The professions are actually irrelevant - it's the gender that matters.

Now, objective science tells us that this isn't correct, but then by now it's pretty clear that objective science has nothing to do with women...

Help me! - Vincent Price, in the original version of The Fly

[minstrel]

Wen Wilder being the obvious exception to the generalization posted above.

[mikmik]

minstrel, realizing the error of his ways, but not concerned enough to actually edit his 'problematic' assertion in the first of his two consecutive posts had this to say:
Wen Wilder being the obvious exception to the generalization posted above.That now being the one 'above' and 'below' re:
Based on input from numerous females over the years, family members, friends, colleagues, and even here, I think most women would phrase that differently:

To whit, "My mother is a renowned artist (100% Right) and my dad is a Technical Type (100% Wrong)".

The professions are actually irrelevant - it's the gender that matters.

Now, objective science tells us that this isn't correct, but then by now it's pretty clear that objective science has nothing to do with women...

Which generalization? Women are 100% right/men=wrong,
or "By now it's pretty patently disgracefully PAINFULLY clear that objective science has nothing to do with women?"

What, pray tell, could ever give you that idea?
Women elevated 'objecting' to 'THE ONLY'
'science' that counts!

[mikmik]

mikmik noted that minstrel noted
Wen Wilder being the obvious exception to the generalization posted above.

Of course, I forgot to add "Present company excepted as well, of course"

[minstrel]

It's that age old story...

I replied to a post, not seeing Wen in the corner listening. Immediately after posting, I read her post and THEN spotted her glaring at me from the corner.

I did the only honourable thing that a man CAN do under such circumstances... I groveled.

If I've learned nothing else (and I haven't), it's that once you've offended a member of the gentler sex, you have approximately 30 seconds to start groveling if you have any hope whatsoever of escaping with all your anatomical sections intact.

[mikmik]

minstrel wisely recognizes:
If I've learned nothing else (and I haven't), it's that once you've offended a member of the gentler sex, you have approximately 30 seconds to start groveling if you have any hope whatsoever of escaping with all your anatomical sections intact.

Once you've got that one down, everything else is secondary.

[greeneagle]

Did Someone mention Degradation? - Must be Friday!

I haven't seen the subjects of Accesibility or cross platform compatibility come up on this thread yet!

Go Ahead, slap me down, I know it's Friday, but....

Ken

[wenwilder]

Here's a link to the website: Credibility Web Project (http://credibility.stanford.edu/) and to the actual list: Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility (http://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html).

Useful knowledge for designers new to the field.

Thank you very very much for posting that link!