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Author: A. Charlotte Riley
For four years I worked in the editorial department of a major Internet directory. My job required me to search for and review thousands upon thousands of Web sites. Oh, the horror!
I could tell you about the company that misspelled its own name. I could rhyme off a list of sites that had
With more and more people searching and using the Internet to find products and services, a strong visual literacy has developed. Little animated GIFs that depict a construction worker with the words "Under Construction" blinking underneath have gone by the wayside. Well, in most cases. These are signifiers of "old school" design, when the Web was young. Today, a certain design standard is expected.
What many companies fail to understand is this: the site visitor is not a passive viewer, but an active user of the site, forming opinions about the site and the company it represents. The company image is not what the company thinks it is, but rather what the public perceives it to be. This encompasses the textual and visual cues the company provides the prospective client. Surveys have shown that Internet users base Web site credibility on two primary factors – design look and information/design structure. If companies really understood this, one would hope that there would be less horrific design on the Web.
Web site aesthetics support the company's marketing strategy. Proper aesthetic design can add value to a page by reinforcing a company's image, strengthening brand identification ( Next Page )
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