Even to early users of the internet, the website didn’t have much use until about 1996. Then the browser wars between Microsoft and Netscape exemplified the potential of websites, and website design took off as people tried to take advantage of the new medium for advertising and sales. These early websites were just alternatives to the old media of magazines, radio and television. As such they all shared the same content.
Today people view websites differently. Websites are seen as boring or stale if they consist solely of static content. Today’s websites must contain dynamic content and interactivity, so that site visitors feel they can participate in the website. Content available through the internet often is not available through any other communications medium. The internet has become a primary method of communication. So what are some easy techniques website designers can employ as they develop a new site?
The most important thing to remember when creating a website is that CONTENT IS KING! If your website does not have interesting content like updated information and interested products or services, it will not attract a lot of visitors. The design of your website should focus on attracting visitors and making them want to come back to the site. No matter how sophisticated your website is, visitors will not remain on the site without interesting content. One easy way that designers can use to keep visitors is to establish a blog on the site. The blog can either showcase the items for sale or provide commentary and opinions on the content of the site.
Another step developers can consider in website design is to allow site visitors to interact with the site. Clearly, website surfers enjoy providing comments on the sites they visit. Blogs often have hundreds of comments on articles, newspapers often allow site visitors to comment on articles, and most online stores allow customers to review products purchased on the site. Encouraging this type of interaction serves several purposes, from adding useful content to your site (product reviews, for example) to giving site visitors a sense of ownership in your site. This interactivity can enhance a website.
Developers might wish to think about adding some improvements to a site from a core interactivity standpoint. Modern websites use a number of advanced methods which have shattered the conventional link-click, wait, read page, link-click, repeat, use of the Internet. Now, most useful sites will use methods which make web pages appear to come alive. Such methods are far past the scope of this article, but they include using Ajax techniques; integrating external sites via mashups and rss feeds; and integrating the advanced CSS design methods to make the web page seem as if it’s more like a desktop application.
In the old days of website design, all a person had to do was pick out colors, fonts, core images, and a general page layout. Those days are ending. Such static, in-the-box thinking is no longer sufficient. They are core elements of good design and should certainly be incorporated in any site that wants to be successful, but more is needed to make a modern website stand out.
Websites sure have grown from the 1990’s, when people barely knew of them. From stale and stagnant web 1.0 sites, they grew into mainstream attractions by the early 2000’s. They’ve evolved and transformed greatly since their early days. Today, websites are expected to be dynamic, interactive, and cutting edge. If not, they are seen as boring, stale, and unprofessional. To achieve these results, website design is clearly very important. Today’s sites consist of many different advanced scripts and methods to make them attractive and functional. It’s a long way from the days of limited colors and templates. The web game is changing – make sure you keep up!
- Tem Balanco
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