Inc: Which Web sites make good models for small-business owners?
Drenttel: If you're in the scooter business and you look at other scooter companies, that teaches you something. But a lot of the most effective, well-designed Web sites are going to exist in sectors where they care about design, places where design is part of the communication and the brand identity, such as Pottery Barn or the Museum of Modern Art. Ebay and Amazon are about selection, so it's all navigation, it's all search, it's "how fast can I buy?" And those become the criteria for success. I think that's a terrible model for a small ceramics manufacturer or a scooter company to emulate. In either of those cases the way that MOMA shows its product is more relevant.
What Matters Most
Clement Mok is a renowned independent design and business consultant. According to Mok, as the Internet shakeout continues, smart companies are starting to refocus their Web sites by getting back to basics.
Inc: What do you think about the state of Web design these days?
Mok: People want to optimize their existing investment. Certain features and functionality are no longer worth maintaining and so they get eliminated. So sites are actually clearer and more usable than they were a year ago.
Inc: Do you think Web sites are better designed than they were in the past?
Mok: Better is relative. Web sites are more focused and simplified and more integrated into the overall business strategy. However, on the visual design side certain things have just gotten more pedestrian. It's partly because there's a limited amount of money, so the effort is more focused on maintenance. That means you don't have a lot of innovation. Striking that balance between design and functionality is what's going to be so important as we move forward.
Inc: What are the most important elements of a well-designed Web site?
Mok: Usefulness. And usability. Does the interface allow the user full control? And desirability. Does it engage beyond its initial use? What are the hooks that will keep you wanting to reengage? Is it the brand, the editorial voice, or the visual appeal? A great Web site provides a balance among those attributes.
Inc: What are the critical things to do when designing a site?
Mok: Set realistic expectations and watch out for "feature creep." You need to consider the market and the business every time you have a new feature. If what you want to add is so important and you have limited development resources and dollars, what are the implications? What should you give up? It's almost like if you add one new feature, you should probably delete or delay another one.
A New Attitude
Bill Hill is president of MetaDesign, a San Francisco-based design company. He talked with Inc about how his clients' expectations regarding Web-site design are changing.
Inc: What do you think is going on with Web design these days?
Hill: What we're seeing is a renewed emphasis on traditional elements of design rather than this feeling of "just get it out the door." For a while it was just "get it out and make it cool, because we're competing with everybody out there." Now clients are saying, "It's gotta work."
Inc: What do you think people designing Web sites will be focusing on now?
Hill: People will be looking at things like information hierarchy and navigation, and they will be trying to connect with users' needs and trying to understand them rather than just giving them whatever technology can deliver.
Inc: Do you have a pet peeve about the way Web sites are designed?
Hill: Sites that try to do everything for everybody at all times. They end up with a cacophony. Banking sites try to start selling you loans, and you just want to check your balance. We have clients that say, "We want to have every new product in the company advertised on the home page." It's just ludicrous. What would the New York Times be like if you had advertising on the front page? I don't think people would trust it as much. I think we're really going to have to have some realistic way of looking at what the user needs.
Inc: For a small business with a limited budget, what are the most important Web-design elements to focus on?
Hill: Who are the users? Really. Be realistic. Don't say, "Well, everybody." Do some work to categorize the types of users. Think about what you are going to do before you have designers do it. Once you have a business plan in place, it will be a lot more likely that a designer will actually effect change.
The 2001 Inc Web Awards
The Best Small-Business Sites in America
The 2001 Inc Web Awards: Winners
A Web Strategy Runs Through It
Traffic Magnets
Duh-sign of the Times
Home Groan
Many Happy Returns
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