When I look back at the websites I built when I started out 10+ years ago, they look awfully “old-fashioned”. Just like when I look at photos of myself in the 1980s – the hairstyle, clothes etc look dated.
Website design has followed very definite fashions during the past decade. There’s no “right” or “wrong” about this. It’s just fashion.
So, who actually decides what the fashion is going to be in web design? Well, just like the Beatles started the fashion for long hair in the ’60s – it’s because someone dares to step out of line and be different. Others take notice and decide to follow. Soon, you have a new fashion.
Right now, the cutting edge website design fashion is to have all your content on one page, and when you click on the main menu it takes you down to the relevant content. There’s also a fashion for big, chunky fonts. Very cool!
Here’s an example of what I mean – www.uglymugmarketing.com. I expect this style of design to become the mainstream look for websites during the next 12 months.
So, is this new web design fashion “better” than the previous look? No, not necessarily. It depends what you mean by better. If you’re in business, the main objective of your website should be to generate more enquiries, leads and sales. If it does that, it’s successful. If it doesn’t, it’s a failure, no matter how avante garde it looks.
I recall a few years ago, a client came to me who was generating thousands of dollars a month from a website that looked like it had been designed by a teenager. The reason was, he had a very compelling offer and a was targeting a hungry market.
So, by all means follow the latest website design fashion. Your website is your face to the world online, so it needs to look up to date. But don’t expect a cutting edge website to suddenly transform your business. It needs a lot more than that.
Just like wearing a trendy suit won’t suddenly turn you into a super salesman. You need to have the fundamentals right first – i.e. your marketing message. Then, by all means dress it up in the current fashion so you really look the part!