Comments on: The Single Biggest Website Mistake Ever!

By: YouHeardItFirst

YouHeardItFirst — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:43:52 +0000

I've been in the field for about 10 years and this is always the problem, large clients or small. Everyone thinks their personal 'dream' for a web site is a perfect idea. What I try to do is talk about the site like it's a business by itself. Just like a brick and mortar business, a business plan needs to exist, and that includes the definition of the NEED you are filling. I just go through that aspect over and over, focusing on the strategy instead of launching into the design. My clients are always less fussy when they've tackled this issue in their head first. The design implementation is always easier because they're no longer looking for their dream-site, they're looking for what works.

By: Azad Shaikh

Azad Shaikh — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:29:04 +0000

100% true. I am now thinking about it.

By: Charles Cuninghame

Charles Cuninghame — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:48:13 +0000

Adam, you couldn't be more spot on. But how do you convince clients of this?

By: What Is The Best Website Ever?

What Is The Best Website Ever? — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:57:20 +0000

[...] ask this question following on from a previous post – The Single Biggest Website Mistake Ever – Now the main thing I want to get across here is that what’s good for one person is [...]

By: Noel Wiggins

Noel Wiggins — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:53:54 +0000

I think this way when I work on a client site, I always get frustrated with them when they make approval decisions based on what they like when I would bet that a different version would work better for the target audience.

But I had a wake up call, when designing my portfolio site. And lately I am curious to find the problem that a graphic design studio can solve. It seems like we all fall into a predictable format, and wished there was an idea to really jump out to a visitor and say wow that really addresses my need.

–

Thanks and Regards

Noel for Nopun.com
a graphic design studio

By: Carol

Carol — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:06:33 +0000

From my personal experience of surfing in search of answers, the biggest mistake is difficult navigation. I don't care much what the site looks like as long as I can find my way around it. It is amazing to me that so many sites are difficult to navigate – that makes me move on to the next one!

By: Orange County Photography

Orange County Photography — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:35:12 +0000

I have to agree with the original intent of the post, grammar aside, frames aside. Hands down, the argument wins. The best design, the greatest amount of SEO, Page One, Position One on Google still results in a big bounce in 3 seconds if your site doesn’t solve a problem.

Well Said!

By: Paul Olyslager

Paul Olyslager — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:29:45 +0000

It sure is a reality wake-up call and remember us to keep testing and improving our website.

By: The Pro Designer

The Pro Designer — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:13:14 +0000

#Evan – fixed, thanks for pointing that out… You are right, I really should have taken that bit of extra time to make sure it was right.

Thanks for all your comments so far, #Chrissy – building a website with frames is not a great option (excellent point), #Evan – poor grammar (I am guilty) can really let you down.

By: Evan

Evan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:03:38 +0000

I promise I’m not trying to be a jerk here, but a BIG mistake by web designers: poor grammar/spelling. People lose credibility if they claim expertise but don’t take time to proof their work thoroughly. In your post, you said, “Don’t get me wrong their are plenty of very good websites”. There should be a semi-colon or hyphen between wrong and “their”, and “their” should be “there”. Again, I love your posts, so please take this in the constructively critical spirit in which it was given, and keep up the great work!