oh dear! I’m often asked to ‘have a quick look‘ at websites for people – which I’m happy to do, but more and more I’m finding that I have to then give bad news… yes it looks great, but in terms of marketing (SEO – Search Engine Optimisation) and standards… oh dear!
What’s even more difficult is when I’m asked to make amendments to a site (which I’m also happy to do) but then when I look at the code behind the site it’s very tricky to change it as it hasn’t been designed properly in the first place.
I think there are three skills required when making the most of websites - and because any one of these skills can be applied reasonably easily, many people underestimate the complexity of combining them into a successful website.
- A good website incorporates good design in terms of the look and feel, graphics, visual impact etc. No-one will stay on a boring website that doesn’t give the information needed.
- A good website also incorporates good programming practice and will meet standards, both coding standards and meeting requirements for visitors using different devices to browse the web eg. laptop screen, desktop screen of a different size, mobile phone, screen readers (used by many people with impaired vision – not everyone can actually SEE the design).
- A good website fulfils its purpose – and that’s usually for marketing. So if a website looks pretty but doesn’t appear in Google and the other search engines then it’s probably not a marketing success.
It’s not often that I’m asked to look at a website which meets all three of these criteria well – so more often than not I see woeful websites!
What is interesting, is that when I explain my thoughts on a website, very often the website owner’s not that happy with the site either and didn’t realise what is really involved when a website is built.
It’s easy to make mistakes with websites.
So, to avoid a woeful website, consider all three elements above and ask your website professional how they will meet the requirements of each of them.
If you’d like more information on avoiding woeful websites then contact me and I’ll get back to you.
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Dawn- good points , but also and perhaps more importantly a website is also woeful if it is not legally compliant, as not only will it not deliver the sales you want, it will also cost you money in terms of fines for breaking the law!. see this link
http://blog.whitneyassocs.co.uk/2009/10/14/is-your-website-legally-compliant/. for more information.
Thanks for sharing, please keep an update about this info. love to read it more. i like this site too much. Good theme
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Thank you for the post, very valuable information.
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