Recipe for a Successful Website

Great, fun to read article, but seems a little outdated.

(Combine)Content:
Must have only the BEST content, if it is good you do not need to have that much as long as it entices viewers emotions and makes them want to come back for more.

"Most people will not finish a meal if it is not tasty in the beginning!"

Freshness Counts...
It is important to have up-to-date information, no one wants to read something that is old. Nathan Shedroff (author) makes the point that you would not use week old lettuce or month old tomatoes in a salad so why would viewers want to consume old content. Of course something things can last and still be appealing, but for the most part change and updating is regularly needed,

So Does Quality...
Many sites feel that they need tons of content, so they create or add things that have no connection with that actual purpose of the site.

"If you aren't a content king, don't try to be."

What is interesting though is even if you do have to correct context interactivity is still needed to be successful. Ex, Newspapers have got it down on printed information but do not have good results with websites because they do not understand what interactive media entails.

You Can't Please all of the People all of the Time...
Some sites try being objective and end up creating sites NO ONE is interested in, your voice is why people will or will not come to your site!

(Mix)Information Design
The next step is to take this context and add organization and clarity. This begins with mapping everything you want included in the site then arranging and rearranging until the correct layout is found.

Navigation...
The setting of context which allows people to know what to expect, what to do, what they can do, and even, to some extent, how to do it. This is referred to as a cognitive model. If too much thinking is involved before entering or while visiting viewers will not visit or stay.

"Don't require them to return to the homepage every time they want to backtrack or access a different portion of your site."

One good element in good navigation is allowing your audience to navigate in many different ways. Along with knowing what the next pages purpose is before clicking. It is important to not confuse information design with visual design. Even if a cake looks nice on the outside if there was not enough time spent actually making it then it will taste bad. Remember do not organize too much. DO not have a separate folder for everything, it is suppose to be a linear experience.

Example of over organized website: The SIGCHA Baseline

(Whip)Performance
If your site takes a long time to load people will not want to wait for it and will probably not return even if it is a great designed site. This is where compromising has to take place, even though it looks great if it takes to long... This is when it is important to know who your audience is, what is the average software used?

"if you are trying to sell to "consumers," don;t even think about the building a site that requires anything more than a 14.4 modem connection!"

Assume the total size of the page = how many seconds it will take to load, 30K= at least 30 seconds.

Tricks to make Graphics files:
– GIF for graphics, JPEG for photographs
- Graphic styles of illustration and design (large expanses of colors)
– Vertical gradients vs. horizontal gradients
– Adaptive color palettes and small color depths
– Reuse of graphic elements
– Height and Width tags
– Interlacing JPEGs

(Bake)Compatibility
What ever is on the page should look good across all the different computers and operating systems, not just the latest versions. Determine your audience, and again figure out what they mostly use in the form of computers. Not as much of a problem currently

(Decorate)Visual Design
Many may look good but not taste so good. As in food the same goes in websites, they have to look aesthetically pleasing but not at the expense of the accessibility/organization/content. There are many wonderfully informed and organized sites that look extremely amateur, which detours people because they send a message that quality is not important.

"Whatever you do don't try to dictate your favorite color to them!"

(Serve)Interactive Design
Interaction is very important, most people who go out to eat go to a certain place because of more than just the food, service/location/convenience/price/ect. this is the same for a website, it is visited most often for more than just the information.

Feedback...
Allowing the customer the option of doing something on your site. If there was something to do on your site other than read more people might visit.

Communications...
Allow your viewer to talk, everyone likes to share his/her thoughts. Anything that will allow this will make the success of your website greater.

Adaptivity...
One of the most important experiences are those that are adaptive, or change with each member to meet their specific needs/interests/skills/believes/ect.

Location,Location,Location
Where your customers come from is very important to your design, you would tell different things to different locations.