Tech Column

Design 1.0

words by > Nick Burry

If you’re careful, you’ll never make it onto Vincent Flanders’ top-10 list. He’s the founder of WebPagesTh atSuck.com, a forum that highlights the design pitfalls prevalent in an ever-expanding base of websites. Vincent shares some cautionary tales, tips his hat to a couple of examples of well-executed techniques, and sheds light on the meaning of “mystery meat navigation.”

You’ve been evaluating websites for 10 years. Would you say the principles of good web design are pretty much set, or is there room for innovation?
“Most of the innovation we see now is on the back end. Otherwise, the basic concepts haven’t changed. More importantly, what we’re working with now is a certain set of user expectations. For example, people expect to see a logo in the top left corner and a search bar in the top right corner.”

How do you differentiate between a good design and a bad design? Is it a gut feeling or a scientific process?
“It’s hard to classify ‘good.’ That’s why my site is called ‘Web Pages That Suck’ and not ‘Web Pages That Are Good.’ When you try to talk about what’s good, you can get stuck in a Monet vs. Manet debate. How do you determine who’s better? For me, it’s important to think about what a site is trying to accomplish. Websites do three things: provide information, provide entertainment and sell things. A lot of designers forget that.”

Can you give an example of where poor design ends up detracting from a good product?
“There is a wireless communications giant whose website is full of what I call ‘mystery meat navigation.’ In other words, there are a bunch of icons that you have to roll your mouse over just to figure out what they are and where they link to.”

In your opinion, is there a Holy Grail for websites, or a perfect site against which you judge all others?
“I would say the Holy Grail would be a site where, as soon as you click on a link, it sucks money from your pocket. I also like PBS and National Geographic. They use Flash to present amazing content. There’s a reason for it, as opposed to those websites that use Flash just for the sake of using it.”

What design advice would you give to someone who’s thinking of launching a website?
“Figure out what your visitors want. More importantly, why would they want to come back? Content will beat design. So if you have good content, all you have to do is create a site that doesn’t annoy people. Eliminate unnecessary design items. Don’t use four diff erent text colors. Remember, you have to meet your visitors’ expectations. The other day someone wrote me ‘Why don’t you just post a list of the ten suckiest sites?’ So, I will.”