That’s the title of Ray Edwards’ February 17th post on his blog Copywriting Tips And Tricks.
What he writes is that ugly sites that are easy to read and navigate do better than visually stunning sites that don’t get the message across.
You don’t want the reader to get distracted – or worse annoyed – by pretty flash introductions, fancy graphics and cool animations. You want them to read your information and take action – whether it’s to buy a product, sign up for your e-zine, or call for a quote.
It’s so true. I was recently writing some copy for a client’s website. I wanted to see what his competitors were doing and I was appalled. I saw dozens of sites with animations, slide shows and funky graphics. But none of these sites had the information a customer would need to make a decision to buy. I just about went cross-eyed trying to read them.
When it comes to website design, the KISS (keep it simple stupid) principal rules. Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you should. Think about what your customer needs to know – and wants to know – and make sure it’s easy to find.
Andrea J. Stenberg
