420 Design Blog
It’s not about you, it’s about your users
03 May 2006 | Angie H
We recently put together a bid for a prospect's startup. The company's budget was very, very low given their expectation(s) (i.e. Flash), but after talking with them, we proceeded with the bid. To make what could be a long story short, we didn't get the job. (But then, neither did any other respectable design studio in Portland... the prospect 'hired' a relative.)
This prospect made it clear that he wanted some Flash-based navigation, similar to a website he had seen (which, by the way, was for a major brand). In fact, that's all he could really talk about. He had little to say about the 'meat' of his site (i.e. content), and much less to say about why a potential client would choose his new company over someone else's,
He was so excited about and focused on having a "cool" navigation system that he completely forgot about his users and the potential a site has to reach a very broad audience. His mistake was to have his site created based on something he liked just because of it's "coolness" rather than focusing on his customers and potential customers. His second mistake was assuming he'd attract consumer attention just by having a flashy site with inferior content to back it up.
Focusing 100% on oneself or the company you work for - in any medium - is no good. You begin to break trust and consumer confidence. Not to mention it's your customers who will be using the site 90%+ of the time, not you. And by making your site easier to use for them, the more likely they are to not only buy from you, but to remain loyal to you and your business.
While I hate to say it since it's been said so many times, it's true: content is king. Having a great looking website (which, by the way, is not what this company ended up with) is all for naught if your content is dull and doesn't get your audience excited about what you are trying to sell them, be it a service or a product.
So when building your new site, or revamping your old one, if there's one thing you should remember it's this: it's not about you. It's about your customers.