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Web Errors — Proceed at your own risk

Building a website used to be the dominion of a select few. “Webmasters” would sift through reams of arduous HTML, CGI, and PERL code in their quest to create the perfect site. Now, with the seemingly limitless number of applications and resources available, it seems that anyone with a computer can “create” a website. But are all sites created equal? The short answer is no. The web is littered with the remains of ill-conceived sites that provide no real value to the companies they intended to promote or the users that were supposed to see them. Rather, site after site and “designer after designer” have fallen prey to some basic pitfalls of web development that as marketers we should all be diligent to avoid.

1. The Fallacy of Portals (Throwing in the kitchen sink)

Marketers still believe that it is their duty to provide a home page that is the place through which all web surfers access all of their information on the web. “Not only are we the best widget manufacturer in town, you can get also get all your stock information, weather, news, etc. right here on our front page” No reason to go anywhere else, we are your department store in cyberspace. Jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Too many choices confuse and frustrate your audience. If you look closely at the current marketplace, you will see that specialty (focus) always trumps variety (simplicity). It does not matter if your site is about retail sales, publishing, cable programming or individual products, creating and servicing your niche is where its at. Do one thing and do it better than anyone else. It will cut your development time (costs) and be an easier web presence (notice I did not say site) to maintain. 

2. Trying to Re-invent the Wheel

The Internet is awash with sites trying too hard to be the next big thing in design — funky navigation, huge imagery, and “things” flying around everywhere. The only thing you accomplish is wasting your customer’s time (remember focus). People lead very busy lives and don't need to "experiment" with new contraptions when using your site. They need to get in and get it done.  When we look to a company's web page for information, we all want to find it quickly. Realize that the prospect used a search engine and up popped pages of results. If you were a first page hit, then you are one of ten. When they click on your site make sure they see what they are looking for immediately. If not, the traffic you generate won't matter a jot because within seconds they will hit the back button and move on.

3. The Animated Intro

It's sad that this even needs mentioning. Many organizations believe that putting a cool animated flash “thing” on the front of the site will make it look cool or add an element that will make it memorable (Refer again to Re-inventing the wheel). But what does it do to enhance the brand or the user experience?  For business-oriented sites, research suggests that very few users watch an entire web intro. Most users frantically search for the "skip" button to get past the intro and onto the content – the reason they are at the site in the first place. Any benefits that an intro may give to the site last only one or two visits. After that, it becomes an annoyance. Take for example, United Airline’s latest addition to their site. United recently announced a major upgrade to their business class (http://suitedreams.united.com/). While the announcement and subsequent upgrade to United’s almost dismal international business class is a monumental step forward for both United and international air service in general, the value for United’s brand is completely lost in the way this site is served up for its users. Users are “forced” to sit through flash movie after flash movie to get even the most basic information about the new service. The flash-based site is a waste of the users time and of United’s money. United should have given users what they want – a straightforward presentation of the new business-class – something that they could review and move on. Invest the money you would waste on this fluff and foolishness into making sure your site provides the content and brand perspective the user wants.

4. Believing Anyone Can Build A Site

It seems everyone knows someone somewhere who “does web sites.” This is much like the man who is always mad about everything because he has a cousin who is a lawyer. This thinking may have been fine ten years ago when the web was young and any presence online was better than nothing. But today the stakes are higher and the competition for people's time is fierce. You get what you pay for and those who go cheap the first time through will end up spending a lot more the second time around to repair the damage caused by a shoddy first attempt. Today, design and strategy online are extremely important and it will take skill and experience to do them right. Your website is an investment in your overall business strategy and should never be an afterthought. It is the single greatest communication tool you can have between you and your customers. As the population ages and traditional media changes, the web will increasingly become the very first communication with your target. Treat your site with the same attention to detail you treat your actual store or headquarters. There are many customers who will never see anything else — they will only know you from your presence online.

5. Build it and They Will Come Mentality

There are over a billion sites on the web and it is growing exponentially even as you read this. Imagine building your storefront in the middle of the desert and hoping someone will eventually stumble on it. Your site is but one grain of sand on a vast beach. Therefore, if you don't address the problem of driving traffic to your site, it will fail. In addition, your web address should be printed on everything - Business cards, stationary, shopping bags, pens, name tags, and all print and television ads. Anywhere there's print that relates to your business, stick a www.(yourcompanyname).com on it. Almost as important, address SEO (search engine optimization) in the original web plan. Sites see dramatic results with just a few tweaks here and there. But, if you really want to be in the top results of the major players, you must have a long-term approach. It takes constant adjustments to get and then maintain good search engine ranks — it cannot be a “set it and leave it “approach.

6. Sacrificing Content to Get the Site Up

About twenty percent of the sites on the net have great ideas and products and absolutely no content. They design it, code it and wait. Just like anything else in life, content is key. The web is not where your customers go last; it's where they start. Five pages of plain well-conceived text are far more informative and interesting than ten pages of flashy graphics.  Nothing says unprofessional more than "Under construction". If you have content that is not finished, then address that in navigation system that can be updated regularly when new areas of content become available. 

7. Going Live Without a Plan To Benefit Business Objectives

In the 90's, venture capital flowed like the Mississippi and dot coms were all the rage. In the end, the only people who made money were the developers. Almost all of the mega sites (remember pets.com?) are now gone or went through major restructuring. The zeal of seeing your company on the web overshadowed the purpose of getting your company on the web in the first place – increase revenue and sales. If there is no plan to capture revenue or increase sales, then what's the point? We all know that a business has to have cash flow to survive. Yet for some reason, Wall Street forgot that even in a new medium like the Internet, standard rules of economics apply. And so the dot com bubble burst. So why are people still making this mistake? If you are seeking incremental dollars from an online presence, make sure it will have a positive effect on your bottom line. It must increase profits and increase brand awareness and meaning. The day of the simple brochure ware site has passed. Don't create a website because everyone else has one. Redesign yours because you know it will work hard for you to increase your market presence and steal share from your competition.

Moving Forward

The web has become far too important in an organization’s overall business strategy to be relegated to anything less than a top priority. Moreover, we must also remember for who our website is for. It is NOT a canvas for an overzealous designer to showcase their latest web “tricks.” Nor is it for the over-creative marketing team who believes it is their job to showcase the organization as being on the “cutting edge.” Any organization’s website, exists to serve a single purpose – provide an experience with the organization and its brand in a way that meets the needs and expectations of the user – easy to use, informative, quick, and responsive. Sites that do anything else are a waste of time for the users and a waste of resources for the organization.