Re: UKNM: Worst website sins

[Steve Bridger]

Jo,


> I'm writing a feature on "The Worst Website Sins" for Internet Money (a new

> title aimed at small businesses).

>

> Opinions and examples wanted, please... :)

> 


You might find the following summary quite amusing. It comes from a

Michael Gilbert workshop on "Why Web Sites Fail and What To Do About It"

given earlier this year in the States. He devotes most of the workshop

to five "syndromes" that many sites suffer from: the Upside Down web

site, the Dead web site, the Disconnected web site, the Cool web site,

and the Stingy web site.


Here are brief summaries of each syndrome: 


The Upside Down Web Site: There is good content on the site but it's

buried under an organizational chart or some other impenetrable

hierarchy. 


The Dead Web Site: It's never updated. Not to be mistaken for the Dead

on the Outside Web Site, which looks like it's never updated, but is

actually an Upside Down site. 


The Disconnected Web Site: Where all the communication is one way and

there is no way for the reader to send email or otherwise contact the

site owners. 


The Cool Web Site: So enamored of the technology that it is almost

impossible to use, at least on a regular basis. 


The Stingy Web Site: Gives away nothing of value.


What each of these syndromes has in common is a single simple problem: 

The tendency to focus on a web site as a product, rather than as a means

of communication. 



Steve Bridger

redefine ltd

e:

steveredefine [dot] co [dot] uk

w: http://www.redefine.co.uk 

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