Do Good Design

Today I’m thinking about web design mistakes and the what makes a site look amateurish.

This came up when my friend Darcy emailed me about a marketing workshop, “Compelling Storytelling: A Fresh Approach to Marketing“, by consultant Barbara Winter.

Her workshop promises to help small businesses spin a tale that grabs customers by teaching them the art of storytelling. Added bonus? Sunshine in February in Las Vegas.

At first I thought, “Fantastic! A great business website must tell a unique story, weave a tale that folks want to read. Sign me up!”

But then a few seconds later, I decided against the seminar. Why? Because I looked at this web page more closely:

And I thought:

“No matter how much I’d kill for some sunshine right about now on my dark, cold and rainy Scottish island, how can someone who doesn’t tell a compelling story on her website help me tell mine?”

Her multiple colours and fonts, zigzag layout, and busy background were all saying “amateur”. They told me a story that I see on a million small business websites, the “I’m a small-time business who can’t afford/doesn’t realize I need a good website” story.

So I dismissed the seminar without another thought until Darcy encouraged me to get in touch with Barbara and explain why an amateurish site is a huge turnoff for a lot of customers.

And that’s what I did. Barbara Winter has some great ideas and tips, and it’d be a shame for her to lose business because her website is letting her down.

It’s a hard thing to hear criticism of your website, however well-intentioned, but I want to see a lot more great websites out there and things can only change if I make the effort.

I also need to write an article about the elements of good design, because there are concrete things, simple things, that you can do to make your design look more polished and professional. But that will have to wait for tomorrow.