Getting Out of the Way
Let’s talk about web sites — or more to the point, web development and the transparent integration of web technologies. Sounds like fun, right? Well, as anyone who’s had a conversation with me will tell you, I’m a fan of analogies. So let’s skip all the tech jargon and internet whoodoo-voodoo, and begin with something we can all relate to.
Not a pretty picture, now is it?
Imagine for a moment that your web site is a work of art. No, literally — a painting, a meticulously crafted and refined masterpiece. Let’s say you have the perfect place on your wall to display it, somewhere your audience can view it in all its glory.
Now, this is where I come in. I’m the guy in charge of hanging paintings.
There are many different ways I can go about mounting your artwork. I can stand in front of it, holding it against the wall. I could crouch under it, resting it on my neck and shoulders. I might be able to stand next to it with my arms around it. All of the above get the job done but they all suffer from the same problem: The audience can’t enjoy the work because I am literally in the way. My presence is a distraction from the experience.
So, how do you show off your amazing work without these distractions? The simplest answer is often the most elegant and easiest to implement. Find a hook, get some wire and mount the painting from the back. Then, get out of the way. Done.
Now, take a moment and think about the web sites you visit throughout the day. What do you like about the sites you visit frequently and what keeps you coming back? I’m guessing your answers are things like “the site has great information,” or “everything I was looking for was right there and it was easily found.”
Alternatively, what don’t you like about those sites that you’ve had bad experiences with? Your answers here are probably more along the lines of “the site loaded really slow,” or “I had to download plug-ins to view the content” or “I kept seeing weird messages or errors in my browser.”
In other words, the sites you use and come back to are the sites that show you what you want with an unobstructed view. In the click-and-run world of the internet, it doesn’t take much to distract from your message, brand or product. If you can’t show people that you have what they need, they’re going to look for it somewhere else.
Building a web site is a lot like that example of hanging a painting. There are a lot of ways it can be done but, no matter how creative your methods, ultimately you need to get out of the way of the user’s interaction with the message. It’s easy to get caught up in the bells and whistles of web applications or content management systems and, either intentionally or accidentally, add unnecessary hoops for visitors to jump through. As web developers, it is our job to build web sites that function efficiently and effectively across all platforms and media — or more simply, to get the technology out of the way of the message.
Re-examine your own web site or other web projects you’re working on. It can be a difficult question but you have to constantly ask yourself, “Just because I can do something, should I?” Or, more to the point, “Am I getting in the way?”
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Posted by: Tim Emanuel in: Internet Marketing, Words of Wisdom at: 11:57 am Keywords: audience, brand message, distraction, Don't Make Me Think!, get out of the way, Internet, technology, timage, web development |
