Month: April 2006

Many people think that if they can put text and photos together and create something which they like, they think they are ready to declare themselves web designers.

It’s just like saying that just because I know what pills to pop, I am ready to become a medical doctor.

So how does one know if one has hired a true web designer and not someone who thinks he or she is?

Small things.

Small things which matter, in this case. Things which only real web designers agonise over.

Take the www for instance. I get upset when I type a URL without the www and it gives me a site not found message. Whether there is or isn’t a www before the domain name is a small matter but it is an important small matter. Many people are so used to typing the domain direct onto the browser address bar without the www. You would think web designers would at least pay attention to issues like this.

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Websites are meant to be communication between your company (including the products and services you sell) and your customers, or what we call the people who buy your products and services.

But looking at many websites today, you would think they were designed for pure entertainment. This happens for a number of reasons: the CEO wants it that way, the marketing people think it’s the only way to attract web visitors and yada yada yada.

Again and again, most companies and their decision-makers don’t get the basic premise of a website – it is a medium of communication. It must communicate. There are no buts, or ifs. If it doesn’t, do something about it.

As Jakob Nielsen says, websites should be designed based on three main priorities:

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