Period Three Blog » What not to do when building your website

Apr022007

What not to do when building your website

Posted by Gene in Design

Josiah Cole has developed a list of the top things a web designer/developer should never ever do when they produce a website. I agree with him entirely. Here’s a quick list:

Never resize the user’s browser window
Never load your website’s “real” content pages in a pop-up
Never require the user to determine which version of your website they want to view
Never build your website to be 100% Flash based
Never load music automatically on initial page load
Never use a technology just because it’s new or cool

My favorites are:

If you are a “print designer” do not attempt to design the website
Use a copywriter for your copy
Support all the major browsers

He writes it much better than I do, so go read it for yourself, and if you find yourself being offended by any of his points, you should stop building websites…

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Posted at 3:03 pm on 04/03/07

Jay

I’m going to play contrarian here, cause, well, that’s what I do. While these are valid points and I agree in principle to most of them, it’s important to remember not to bite the hand that feeds. I may have a personal dislike or even solid reasons for not doing certain things, but it’s not my website I’m building, 99% of the time at least. If someone wants something, it’s my job to give it to them. That’s not to say I won’t make recommendations or tell them what I think they should do or that I’m just a monkey, it’s that it’s ultimately up to the client. So it’s easy to get snide and say ‘Fire your web designer!’ but who does that help? Making your client happy should be the main goal.
Posted at 10:46 pm on 04/03/07

Gene

Yeah, Yeah, but you’ve really got to fight hard against this kind of stuff, even if your client begs and pleads for it. If they want their website to have any realized business impact (like make money) making these mistakes can hurt the bottom line…
Posted at 3:14 pm on 04/04/07

Jason

@Jay: It goes both ways. Sure, the client signs the check, but you’re the professional. You have a responsibility to protect them from obvious errors deviant to their cause. If its to make money or deliver an effective message, the majority of the items in Josiah’s list are not just helpful, but serious concerns.

Now, if you can’t seem to counter the “I want a fancy flash intro with music and bells and whistles” request from a client with an effective argument — you need to beef up your reasoning. Disagreeing with them cordially in these situations should work out better for them in the end.
Posted at 3:21 pm on 04/04/07

Jay

“That’s not to say I won’t make recommendations or tell them what I think they should do or that I’m just a monkey, it’s that it’s ultimately up to the client.”

That was my main point, I wasn’t saying I just roll over and do ‘whatever’, just that it’s important to do what the client wants. And honestly, it’s often much harder on a design than a technical level to justify why something may be a bad idea.

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What not to do when building your website

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