Lazy agencies make dull websites
The internet is a wonderful place where you can learn, buy, play games, explore, laugh and watch films. So why are so many websites flat, unmemorable and uninspiring, why don’t they too encourage visitors to explore, engage and be inspired?
Many years ago, the first websites were simple recreations of printed pages. The fact that you could view these and find out more about a company from the comfort of your own home or office (without having to wait for a brochure to turn up in the post) was sufficient. And, if the website design was OK too, well then you’d thought they had really cracked it.
Nowadays that’s just not good enough. As second nature, we happily interact with apps, social networks and games, we swipe and pinch and poke, we immerse ourselves in their technological wonderlands. So encouraging some sort of interactivity on your website project should be a no-brainer. Proactive design agencies have a whole toy box of technology to grab an audience, tickle and tease, entertain and engage to win them over to any cause.
Video is a powerful marketing tool, long pages of endless copy are not. Adding video (preferably professionally produced) that quickly summarises that long page of text and gets across a company’s actual personality will be far more memorable for visitors.
Create some animation that shows how a service works or demonstrates how products have been carefully created with love and passion – draw people in, involve them and add value to what’s on offer.
Perhaps a 360-degree view of a showroom or manufacturing plant will show breadth and scale. Interactive controls encourage visitors to play, explore and discover. Animation, video and 3D illustrations use movement and space in ways that make words and pictures look dull and static in comparison.
So many companies seem to have forgotten their personality and uniqueness when it comes to the look, feel and tone of voice of their websites. It’s difficult to tell at a quick glance if the website you’re looking at is for an insurance company or office furniture supplier – they all look the same – with stock photography copied from image libraries and the same old links to ‘About’ and ‘Contact’ pages.
Conforming to conventions might suffice for some, but remember that each company is unique and its design needs to reflect what is special about its products, service and personality. A good agency shouldn’t choose a website from a catalogue of ready-made templates or mechanically copy some other site they have found on the web. Clients should expect – and insist – that their agency will design something original that breaks the mold and makes them memorable. There is an obligation to not play it safe but to create something that really Wows. These days no one can afford to blend with the masses and get lost in the crowd.
Website project schedules are tightening, everyone wants everything quicker and budgets are stretched. But as a website design and development agency, we never allow such constraints to be used as an excuse for an average piece of work. Bland is banned at Logo because we strive to make every project a great project.
If, however, you’re content with dull, there are plenty of dull people out there to help, you’ll just need to wake them up first!
