Forum Moderators: phranque
What used to be decent, useful, and informative sites have now become piles of useless fluff. And they all look identical.
It seems that half of our vendors have followed this path. Now in many cases instead of just pulling up their site for info on a product, I have to call them and fight the "press 34 for assistance ....is not at their desk, would you like to leave a message?"
It seems like all of these sites have a few common characteristics.
1. 10px sized fonts, usually grey on white.
2. Lot of fluff about how they started the business in 34 BC
3. Some kind of flash thingy, often with no relation to the products.
4. some picture of 3-4 people standing around a desk or computer, all smiling happily. (too bad they sell pipe fittings)
5. Almost always a bad DOCTYPE
6. Broken links to their catalog
7. (43 other rants saved for a later time)
Some of these unfortunate sites have a little logo at the bottom - designed by Acme Widgets. Go to that site and you see inspiring prose like "..developing and designing usable, dynamic web 2.0 sites..." or "Add social interaction to your Web site.."
Uhm.. excuse me, but what the hell does a sheet metal fabrication company need with links to their facebook page? Am I missing something?
Who is selling small companies on this kind of junk? (I hope nobody here..).
i think it's the old story that good salesmen sell product, even when the product is inferior - hence the proliferation of totally useless 'functionality'
add clueless customers who are entranced by new fluffy, sparkly, flashing stuff
put the two together and that is a lot of web 2.0 ... there is so much good about web 2.0 of course but not where it isn't needed.
Its all about touchy-feely EXPERIENCES. As you well know, wisdom is the sum total of experiece, so why would you forgo wisdom by simply BUYING something. Not only must you be able to FEEDBACK to the company, you must FEEL that THEY FEEL your heartfelt EXPERIENCE- and the only way to do that is to SHARE with all those people who come after you, able to learn from the pearls of wisdom (crytalised experience) emminating forth from each tap of your keyboard.
The web is dead; LONG LIVE THE WEB
4. some picture of 3-4 people standing around a desk or computer, all smiling happily. (too bad they sell pipe fittings)
What's wrong with selling pipe fittings? I know plenty of happy people who sell pipe fittings...Are they selling press or sweat fittings?
Also, do you know anyone who wants to buy fittings? :o)
The first thing I discuss with a potential client is the difference between presentation - which equates to what they think they want their site to look like (foregoing the "do") - and what it really should do. Many/most designers/developers ignore this and go for the presentation. That is what they sell. They don't tell them it will be bloated, ineffective in growing their business, and generally of little benefit. The sale is in the glitz. Once the check has cleared, who cares . . .
I do. :-)
Some web 2.0 is good as it can make the journey through the site easier. overload it and the site falls apart.
I have spent the last eleven years of my web designing life following just two rules and they've never let me down.
1. K.I.S.S - Keep It Simple Stupid.
2. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Neither have ever failed me.
...What's wrong with selling pipe fittings? I know plenty of happy people who sell pipe fittings...
Real pipe fitting salesman don't sit around desks in an immaculate suit smiling like they are on something illegal. Not unless they are selling 2.0 fittings...
I got on this rant because the last straw was one of our vendors fell into this trap. used to be a really simple site that we could log onto and get quotes and availability. Now it looks all nice and pretty with a nice beach sunset header. Unfortunately it seems that in the process of making it purty they corrupted the database.
Real pipe fitting salesman don't sit around desks in an immaculate suit smiling like they are on something illegal. Not unless they are selling 2.0 fittings...
Real pipe fitting salesmen shouldn't have time to sit around and smile...not unless they want our owner to to rip the smile off their face. Plumbing salesmen and suits are like oil and water, you can put them together but don't expect them to mix.
A lot of our vendors are falling into this same trap; maybe they'll make me upgrade soon...
Maybe it's just a transitional period ? or perhaps the ideas of what is required over what is great design has taken precedence..
Web trends change and I suspect this initial trend will change also.. but got agree, it's boring me to death also..
[edited by: Lobo at 6:55 pm (utc) on Jan. 30, 2009]
Got to agree that I've never seen so many generic looking sites that are not templates ever...
It has reached epidemic proportions - but in some cases that might be good - makes it easier to stand out.
Over the past few weeks at least 4 of our major competitors have done some site "upgrades". While a couple are probably an improvement, what struck me is that today I was spying on them, and it hit me that I did not know what site I was on.
They all looked the same or very similar. There is no more "branding" by looks & feel. Blue, green, orange, and yellow tabs. Grey text on white. A few rounded corner pictures with some kind of blurry shadow.
While I can see the benefits of some standard layout, especially in ecommerce, the lack of originallity is striking.
[edited by: Wlauzon at 10:32 pm (utc) on Jan. 30, 2009]
Websites for high-tech start-ups are particularly notorious for presenting generic, buzzword-filled mission statements that could apply equally well to both their worst competitors and companies producing completely different products...
Uhm.. excuse me, but what the hell does a sheet metal fabrication company need with links to their facebook page? Am I missing something?
That doesn't go to the absolute question you asked, but ..
OTOH, I agree with most of what you say about Web 2.0 websites.:)
[edited by: old_expat at 4:56 am (utc) on Feb. 4, 2009]
Static, cookie-cutter "online brochure" sites by companies who are told they need a web site but aren't really sure how or why.
The funny thing is, exact facial expressions aside, when I met them the team actually did look very similar to the photo.
A successful asian company expanding into the US who did not have time to deal with web sales. Old school just sees websites as a kind of electronic business card.
With the cookie cutter ecommerce sites I think it is different. With any success usually comes rigidity. Sticking to what has worked in the past, fear of adopting the new and changing things or experimenting results in a safe site with no bite. Neutral colors, stock photos, standard display, no risk. Perhaps sitting around the boardroom table one day in a suit and acting rather stodgy.
[edited by: MrHard at 7:14 pm (utc) on Mar. 14, 2009]
