Good Design

Mike over at Mike Industries recently wrote about a site that has poor design. It has sparked a lot of discussion. Most are saying that it is bad and they should have hired a professional. However some are playing devil’s advocate, saying that ‘it’s getting them attention, right?’

As a web developer, I am often faced with stuff like this, and I am here to say that though they are getting the attention that maybe they wanted, it probably is not getting the business they wanted. Whenever I am designing something for a new client, I always, always tell them that the website is a reflection of how they run their business and their business’s image. I gave this example in the comments for that post:

And it is not just design, but content. If a site is too cluttered, they are trying to throw too much in your face at once. People do not want to read a cluttered website. Websites do not need 100 bells and whistles for attention. It should have a nice looking design that makes them stand out (not something that looks the same as everyone else) and a good balance of text and images. The discussion on Mike’s page is bringing up a lot of good points, all of which you can read here. Later!