I love the way the this site looks, clean and simple, that said I look at other websites in my market place, the big hitters and see them talking about how they paid a designer to do this, or spending $5,000 on a new custom theme, but is it needed?
- Corporate v Personal
Corporate style websites give the impression of being an authority in their particular market place, big huge internet presence means they conquer all and it’s because of this why you should listen to them. Corporate websites can be impersonal though which leads me nicely onto personal.
Personal sites like this are written in a familiar comforting style referring to readers and interacting. An electronic friend you can always depend on for friendly honest advice without predujice. On the flip side though personal sites usually only have one type of opinion.
- Flash v Modest
Flashy banners, rotating images and rotating ads everywhere. These sites can capture you straight away and sometimes if they have been done correctly will influence you to think that this type of site is better than others despite its content.
I hope this site is modest. I try not to rely on any of those things, I mean if you look at this site I don’t have a banner that changes images every time the page reloads, I don’t have pop ups providing more information or a sound track playing information in the background, Hopefully the content speaks for itself whilst the site provides the information that is needed.
- Clean v Complex
Again, Hopefully this site is clean, not that clean is the better site out of the two, it’s just I prefer clean simple lines, very little mess and everything in its place.
Complex sites have links to everything everywhere, all across the footer are quick links, contact me here there and everywhere, look at this look at that. As you can see I’m not a fan of certain sites that doesn’t mean that I am right or wrong, just my opinion.
This site cost me about $110 when you factor in the domain, hosting etc. Didn’t cost me thousands.
What does everyone think?
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I think it depends a lot on personal taste and also whether one is trying to match an existing brand. If a company has an existing brand/design that’s reflected in other places (business cards, brochures, etc) then it makes sense for the online presence to reflect that same theme. On the other hand if one is a new business or a personal site, there are some very good options for themes that provide great features and can be customized for a low cost (I like Thesis). Even with a free theme, I think one should customize it so that it is unique.
Good point, even a free website can be individual
I agree with Aaron that it depends on personal taste. I don’t think many people like the rotating ads and background music (do they still do that? – it’s so last century), but some people do want to be stimulated and wowed by thoughtful and uniquely designed web sites. If you are in the creative field, I expected to be wowed when I visit your site – having a minimalist design would hinder prospective clients. Your web presence is an opportunity to relay to your viewers what you are all about and designed accordingly.
Also, there’s nothing wrong with morphing your design over time. Tastes change – do you really expect this site to be stagnant and not change in design over the next 5, 10 years?
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..How To Make Better Decisions That Move You Forward In Life =-.
I think that’s a good point Karen, it is important to roll with the changes
As a designer, I would say yes, a great design makes a difference in your credibility and in reducing bounce rates and in extending how long each visitor stays.
Chris Guillebeau ( http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/ ) is an example. He himself says that great design gave him an edge to quickly become profitable in a highly competitive how-to-make-money-online market.
Of course, you don’t need to spend a lot of money. I would prefer getting a more unique theme from WooThemes, Elegant Themes or Themeforest rather than Thesis because it would help me create a brand for myself.
You get what you pay for, but only to a certain extent. Usually we pay designers to re-invent the wheel, and that’s money wasted.
I agree – I like the clean lines of your site. My pet hate is sites that have lots of flashing lights and rotating banners. They distract from the content, and since I go to a site for its content, I will quickly leave a distracting site never to return.
Unfortunately the technically inept amongst us are stuck with trying to find a free WordPress theme which sort of fits what we want to say about our site visually, and hope to be able to configure at least a bit (not even that in my case) to make it more personal.
I agree with Aaron that one should customise, but when you have no idea where to start it is rather difficult. I hope to upgrade my own site to a Thesis site in the coming weeks (finance permitting) but I am not sure how much I will be able to customise even with that.
Having said all of that, at least WordPress does allow content writers like myself the luxury of putting our words up on the net and choosing from a variety of themes to format it. We just have to be happy with out of the box looks and functionality until we can learn to tame the beast and make it work better.
My theme is free, the cutline theme. But I probably will change it for another one.
You have a nice theme, Thesis is great.
very intresting to know about that point that i particularly liked is that the content is always which should speak than the flashy images to make it attractive after its the content which is more important and hey i want the basics from where i can start my own website. where do i get started??
You need this
There’s a lot that goes into what determines what a good site offers. Everyone prefers something a little different. Some people like heavy sites that have a design everywhere and some would rather something simple like this site offers.
What also helps is experimenting and seeing what works for you and what brings people to your site more. After all, even with a brand to follow and a great design (or what you think is great) if you aren’t getting visitors your site isn’t doing its job, right?
Just my thoughts.
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Taking Action Is Something We All Do Yet We All Overlook Every Day =-.
I think you hit the right point there Eric,
If you are not getting returning visitors there is something wrong, especially if your site is aimed at that specific goal.
.-= theinfopreneur´s last blog ..The Shocking Truth =-.
Well said bud, I say that whether it is more of a personal inexpensive site or a expensive site. As long as it gets whatever your message is across, I like my personal blog even though I am still a newborn in the blogger world. I enjoy discussing with reader’s over topics that I write about. Other than having a middle class wallet I would prefer the personal site unless I had to sell a product to the masses. Then being in a professional environment I would like to project myself as a professional in providing whatever it would be.
.-= Ryan Hanzel´s last blog ..What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? =-.
wow, I am really tired I left out some parts as I was writing that last comment. Work..
.-= Ryan Hanzel´s last blog ..What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? =-.
hey man that’s bang on how I feel brother.