Web 2.0 ‘neglecting good design’ an article about Jakob Nielsen on Web 2.0 and web design standards.
It brought up quite a few interesting tidbits
“The idea of community, user generated content and more dynamic web pages are not inherently bad in the same way, they should be secondary to the primary things sites should get right.”
“The main criticism or problem is that I do not think these things are as useful as the primary things,” he said.
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Research suggests that users of a site split into three groups. One that regularly contributes (about 1%); a second that occasionally contributes (about 9%); and a majority who almost never contribute (90%).
By definition, said Mr Nielsen, only a small number of users are likely to make significant use of all the tools a site provides.
Hence we should always design with basic structure in mind, aka the lowest common denominator, i.e. what is the purpose of your site, most of the time it is to provide information… Sometimes in the pursuit of the wow factor we sometimes forget miss out the fundamentals
“Most people just want to get in, get it and get out,” said Mr Nielsen. “For them the web is not a goal in itself. It is a tool.”
Web firms rushing to serve the small, committed minority might find they make a site far less useful to the vast majority who come to a site for a specific purpose
Has the newer Web 2.0 websites lost the plot?
I doubt it, maybe a few smaller startups were a wee bit too eager pursuing that wow factor. Personally I have not come across any websites which was a bit too much on the flashy side that I could not find what i wanted too. But it is a timely reminder that maybe as a whole industry, web development not get carried away with the flashier side of things at the expense of the basic reason why visitors to your site come to it in the first place.
on a side note, I will be attending the Melbourne Flash Usergroup this coming Thursday (17 May 07) and I will also be attending ReMix 07 at the Crown Promenade Hotel, Melbourne 25 and 26 of June
