How to Look Different in a Generic World

You need to look different. This might seem obvious; after all, you can’t get attention when you look like everyone else. But it’s astonishing how many sites look the same. It looks like they’ve all used the same template.

And many have. That’s one of the problems for a small business – a website designer sells them a ‘website’ using a (free) template that they can download from the internet. The one that’s already been downloaded 345,674 times before.

Don’t Over-design

Most of the largest corporations have very simple designs – almost minimalist. They could afford a brilliant, flashy design, but they don’t.

Why?

  • It takes too long to load – image-heavy sites can be frustrating. How many times have you abandoned a page because it took more than a few seconds?
  • It should be logical – don’t play tricks with the visitor, or try to re-invent common practise. This just makes the visitor concentrate harder to find the obvious. It’s annoying.
  • The message should be clear – your message, your ‘unique selling point’. Find the ‘thing’ that separates you from the competition, and focus on that. Haven’t got one? Then invent one.
  • Don’t over-use animations – unless they are selling a carefully crafted message, they can be a distraction. At worst, annoying.

What design should you use.

Unless you’re in an industry that relies on visual imagery – like an architect or fashion – then the images should be linked to the words. They should say things that are complex and yet basic.

Using generic library images – you’ve seen them – is next to useless – they are meaningless, and just fill a page. We call them ‘McImages’.

Treat your Page like a Brochure

The structure and design of brochures has been developed over a 100 years of advertising. It’s to do with the logical way that an eye absorbs information.

The page should radiate the central message, without forcing undue concentration. For example;

  • Small text is annoying, especially if you’re selling to the older generation.
  • Grey text on a white background is hard to read.
  • Reversed white text on a black background is annoying, unless you don’t want them to read the words.
  • Several competing ideas will cancel each other.
  • Make it so it can be absorbed in a glance. Most people hate being forced to over-extend their concentration, just to absorb a few flashy design tricks.
  • And change it, often. The ‘same old, same old’ gets utterly boring, after a while.

These are the rules we were taught, back in design school. If you’d like us to review the design of your site, call Sue Cooper on 1300 853 155.