Top Ten Reasons Your Web Site Needs Help

[seolee]

One of my biggest frustrations is working with sites that are crammed full of unnecessary coding which should be placed in external files.

[Markll]

#11 Comprimising your presentation to accomodate the masses.

If your site is and subject matter is "High Energy' by all means use Flash.

If you site is image driven like photography, go for the larger image file and show your best.

Keep in mind that not every site is a "Walmart" and has to appeal to everyone.

In many instances the finer presentation and higher bandwidth will grab(qualify) the clients you want and keep the others away.

Example: I have many photographers as design clients. I say image comes first. They charge in the neighborhood of $10,000 per wedding. Bottom line, "wow" the heck out of the broadband users at the expense of "Joe dial-up" who wasn't going to be able to afford you anyway. You don't see Wolfgang Puck openning restaurants in "Smallville". That be Olive Garden's market.

Web design and marketing needs to catch up with and embrace the Madison Avenue philosophy. Target, Target, Target your customer.

[weslinda]

Flash isn't a negative, using flash poorly is a negative. I have seen very few organizations that have used flash appropriately, and effectively. Accessibility and Usability must be a part of any design and typically "flash" designers simply don't understand those topics to any large degree.

Beautiful images don't have to be 300k to get a photographers message across, that's what JPG is for, quality, compressed.

Quality design does not have to be visually unappealing and appealing sites don't need to neglect the potential issues certain users might have based on access speed, physical limitation or location.

[Nomax5]

I like the Add to favories / bookmark this page it can act as a reminder and there will be some people who don't regularly bookmark.

so I keeping mine

[Kali]

Wow, I'm quite honored with a sticky. I really thought it was a decent piece, but worthy of a sticky, I'm quite happy!

I'd love to get others feedback on this, if people feel there is something I missed, also, other articles are availble for read on my blog, link is in the signature.

I'm hoping this helps designers here know what to do with the web sites they are working on.

Where can I go to get a bookmark code for my site?

[weslinda]

Bookmark my site buttons are truly a way to say that your site is really a poor site. It insults 99.5% of your site visitors that know how to bookmark a site for the .5% who you believe doesn't know what a bookmark is.

At this point, no web site should have a bookmark your site button. Page real estate is way too valuable for such a button. Focus on current technologies such as RSS versus wasting space for an outdated function that basically all visitors to your site are capable of on their own.

IE for example doesn't even use the phrase Bookmarks any longer, focus on the high value visitor, not those visitors that you need to educate on such things as bookmarks.

[wsmeyer]

Gret post!

2. Bookmark My Site Buttons:

No such buttons on my site, I have been toying with the idea of implementing the buttons for social bookmarking sites. Is your opinion of those the same?

William.

[weslinda]

Someone bookmarking your site in their own computer offers you no value to others. Social networking offers others to expand the exposure of your site, so definately you'll want to encourage those types of links, obviously without going crazy. Make it fit within the experience of your site.

[maddogranger]

This is great, I had never put to much thought into disabled people, and my web sites. I will look into that.

[kohc0004]

Hi, you have made a great post. I do have my own personal comment and review.

First a great design website with flash introd may looks pretty cool but does it provide enough content for others to stay on your page. Personally, I would rather stay on a site with great contents even it has no great picture or fancy design. People went to a website becas it offers what they are looking for. That is the first point.

Secondly, a fanciful design web page is normally a large file. Slow loading will again make visitor turn away from the site. So the question is, the site is made for the visitor or is it made to become an art?


Regards,
Jerry