IntuitiveDesigns

Here are two different articles with opposing concepts about what sells or not, bad design or good design. Both have some interesting points.

The first is entitled “The Surprising Truth About Ugly Websites” by Mark Daoust. The premise of this first article is that ugly sells because people trust it more. They feel comfortable because it looks like there is one person or family behind the scenes instead of a large company. This is an interesting argument, but we wonder if the sites that it mentions as being ugly would do better or worse with a better design. The article does address the fact that functionality is something that is the most important of all in a web site and that is definitely something we agree with. A beautiful web site that’s hard to use does no good for anyone.

The second article is entitled “Hungy? Want another bullshit sandwich?” by Andy Rutledge. First of all, cheers to Andy for his bravery. We are sure that he really got grilled for this article, but his honesty is refreshing. The main premise of his article is that ugly sites are successful for being themselves, not for a good or bad design. That sites like Google and Amazon would be just as successful with bad design or not. Andy also did a re-design of Google that is worth checking out.

Both articles make good points, but we tend to agree with Andy on this. Badly designed and complicated web sites are hard to use and thus reduce sales when people get lost. It’s common sense. By doing a smart design for the web site by putting focus on important things and helping users navigate easier, you can increase your sales with certainty. In our opinion, it’s these things, not “beautiful” design that makes an effective web site although beauty certainly adds pleasure to the overall experience.