The explosive growth of the Internet has created a high demand for experienced web page designers. But the web is so new that few have experience. Many of today's so called web designers are trying to adapt the knowledge of their previous professions to web publishing. As they try to convince themselves, while trying to convince their customers, their words remind us of the old fashion snake oil salesmen, "Our web designs will cure all of your business problems!" Unlike their predecessors, they are not trying to mislead their customers. They honestly believe that their expertise is perfectly suited to the Internet. Unfortunately, much of what they are selling can actually harm your business.
Many web designers come from advertising backgrounds. They have been trained to believe that a picture is worth a thousand words. On the web, each square inch of uncompressed full color graphic requires as much time to display as that same thousand words of text. Web surfers tend to make snap decisions about whether a page has anything to offer. You can't afford to force them to wait for fancy graphics or multimedia presentations. It's too easy for them to hit a few buttons and move on to your competitor's web site. If you have no regard for their time, bandwidth, and access charges, they will probably not return to your site for a second look.
Graphics are important, but they should be used to decorate your pages, not dominate them. If there is a large graphic that you think your customers should see, display a thumbnail of the graphic that links to the larger, more detailed graphic. Give your customers an option, forcing them to wait may force them to leave.
Many web designers come from technical backgrounds. They live on the bleeding edge of technology, and they are always ready to try the newest release of everything. They honestly believe that a good web site uses all of the latest features the web has to offer. But most Internet users do not keep up with the latest web technology. They do not have the time, expertise, or disk space to load all of the latest software. Simply put, if an Internet user can't display your site, you have just lost a potential customer.
To illustrate how technology can interfere with your web site, we have redesigned our original iMall page to use frames and Java script. The page is divided into eight frames. The frame boundaries are visible so you can see the design. As you select the options from the top frame, the four blue frames remain constant while a Java script updates the four red frames. Here is a partial list of the problems with this page:
To make this list of problems even worse, the Java page costs more. The Java page has to be broken up into 25 HTML files, which cost more to maintain. In simple term, it looks fancy, costs more, and is less functional.
Most web designers will want to demonstrate their products on their systems. They have the latest software and high speed connections to the Internet. Just remember that a considerable portion of your potential customer base has older software and accesses the net through slower dial up modems. Insist on demonstrations that take these factors into consideration. If possible, find a friend who dials into the Internet with a slower modem using software that is at least one year old. Ask the designers to give you the web address of their demonstration and take your own look at their work under less than perfect conditions. The end result could save you considerable time and money.
Best of luck with your new web site.