Website Creativity: Why It Matters Now More than Ever

If one more business owner tells me their website sucks because they're just "too darn busy to deal with it", I'm going to hurl. That's like saying, "I'm doing business in my dirty underwear because I'm too busy to get dressed." Realize it or not, your website (or lack thereof) is very often the first impression your prospect or peer will have of you. Now, it's no longer a matter of having a website -- it's a matter of having a great one.

Most websites are informative, but dull. Not surprising. The Internet today is not unlike TV in the early 50's when TV was the new media. Back then it was totally exciting to have a radio announcer in front of a camera. It was revolutionary to actually see the announcer holding the package of soap or toothpaste. What soon followed was "The Golden Age" of TV when things took a major creative leap forward.

There's a definite parallel today with the Internet.

Bill Bernbach, a great leader of that last creative evolution, stated;

"You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You've got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because if they don't feel it, nothing will happen. That's where the creativity comes in."

Applied to the Internet Bernbach's words resonate more than ever.

So, what makes a website effective and creatively exciting? That depends on who you talk to. A techie may say you need lots of flash animation. A designer may say it's about the right layout and color scheme. Someone else may argue it's all about blogs. When applied intelligently the latest design trend or technology is exciting. But have you ever clicked on a site you're eager to see only to have to sit through a self-indulgent 30-second flash intro? If the thinking behind the technology doesn't respectfully address the mindset of the person viewing it, it doesn't matter how cool it is.

An exciting, creative, effective website begins with a clear understanding of the target audience and the marketing objectives you're trying to reach. Only then does it take a fresh, simple, memorable creative approach that touches and moves that audience on an emotional level. Accomplishing that takes strategically smart, creative talent. So, if you don't have it, find it. The bottom line is that The Evolution has begun. Don't be left behind.

© 2005 John Follis. All rights reserved.

John Follis is one of the 12 "Best Advertising Minds of New York" as voted by The New York Ad Club. His campaigns are in 3 college textbooks, he has written for ADWEEK, and he has taught at 3 New York universities. Currently, John works on select projects, conults, and speaks. He may be reached at [email protected]

For John's booklet: How to Attract and Excite Your Prospects: A Guide for Getting the Best Marketing Results, visit: http://www.follisinc.com/booklet.htm For conulting info, visit: Marketing Therapy: http://www.follisinc.com/therapy.htm For speaking info, visit: Follis Speaking: http://www.follisinc.com/speaking.htm

MORE RESOURCES

People Locator find anyone in the USA

RELATED WEB SITE DESIGN ARTICLES: Get Rid of Your Frames A few years ago a lot of websites utilized frame technology.A website that uses this frame technology is apparent when the left hand or top of the screen stays the same and the inner part changes when links are clicked on. Why Web Pages Appear in the Wrong Location after Uploading to my Website? If your are a new web designer, you may face a common problem after uploading your web page to your web server. The problem is that the web page appear in the wrong location on your website, and will not be accessible when you type its address in the browser address box. The Proper Way to Use Images Most people will agree there is nothing more annoying than going to a site and it taking forever and a day to download all the images just so you can see the site. Then after waiting, realizing that the site is completely ugly, irrelevant,or not what you thought is was, and wasting your time. Ten Basic Steps For Building A Web Site That Works 1. Assemble a web site development plan that is integrated with your overall marketing processes; the content should be consistent with offline materials, the graphics/images don't have to be identical with traditional media, but should be consistent with your overall branding, style guide, usage of colors etc. 10 Important Web Design Tips: SEO Friendly Website A website should firstly be searched out by visitors before talking about attracting or retaining those visitors. Nowadays, a "well designed website" does not only relate to a web site's visual attractiveness but more importantly, how friendly it is with search engines. Meta Tags - An Introduction A long, long time ago? In a galaxy far, far away?meta tags were the key component to search engine rankings. Okay, it was about 2 years ago, but that's a long time in the Internet galaxy. Website Design Info - Part 1 What Will My Site Do?This is the first of eight articles about website design. Our discussion will deal with some of the issues which need to be conidered when developing a new online presence. Create A Web Site That Builds Trust If someone doesn't know you personally, will they trust you enough to do business with you just by visiting your web site?Most people view organization - and web sites - they don't know with great skepticism. Given all the identity theft and viruses running around, people are understandably cautious and somewhat skeptical when they go to a new web site. Selling Multiple Products? Avoid These Top Blunders When your web site sells more than a dozen items, you may face a fierce challenge of helping shoppers find what they are looking for. You'll need to classify products into categories, but these will serve as obstacles and even deal killers if those categories do not match those in the heads of shoppers. Website Design: 10 Smart Tips To Improve Your Ad Copy Your website design may be affecting your sales in ways that you may not believe.Here are a few website design tips to help you improve your website and ad copy for greater profitability:1. The Most Important Question To Ask About Your Web Site! When you design a website how do you start ?Do you start with the banner graphics at the top, or the order page or maybe the sales letter ?All of those are areas that have to be created but they're really not the place to start.The place to start is by answering one simple question about your site. Design With Purpose If your website is falling through the cracks, the chances are that the site has no message, no central core to build traffic or a core readership. Websites that try to do everything usually fail. Website Design: Secrets Of Professional Website Designers Revealed What colors do you have at your website? Can they make a difference in the number of sales that you generate? Can the use of the right colors in your website design actually increase your sales? The answer is yes! So pay attention to these website design secrets. When people see certain colors they can change their emotion or they can symbolize things related to the colors. Save Time and Boost Profits with Free Content Public domain gives you a head start creating ebooks, ecourses, newsletters, teleconferences, website content and email registration incentives you need to keep in contant touch with clients and prospects.Public domain refers to information free from copyright protection. Keep Them Coming Back - Update Your Site If you are anything like me, your website is a reflection of yourself. It contains your thoughts and communication, exposed to the entire world at all times. Simple Lines and Shapes for Your Logo Design Geometric designs come in all shapes and sizes? and lines. You can create your logo design or customize your illustration by using simple lines and shapes to create your very own unique image. Converting Print Advertising For Use On The Web - A How-To Contrary to the beliefs of some, advertising for web and print are very different. Converting print ads for use on the web is very tricky. Web Page Building for Beginners 2 A search engine robot actually reads the wording on your web pages and places a certain amount of importance on what the content says, but not quite like a human does. A human will place the words together in their head and try to decipher the relevancy to them personally and decide within a few seconds whether they will continue reading or click to another site, whereas a robot counts words and places all relevancy in the numbers it finds. What's Wrong With My Website? I ask myself that question about once a month. My website looks fine to me, but what are other people seeing? And what are the Search Engines seeing? Here's a checklist of 10 ways to optimize your website for peak performance:1. Build Web Pages from the Top Left Corner Down There are two important reason to build your website from the top left hand corner down.The first one is that this is the way people (at least in the western world) read pages.