Time to rethink web design

The massive succes of search is putting the traditional web page under loads of pressure. Because with every piece of information ideally just being one search, why are we spending so much time and ressource trying to make content online looking like content offline.

First and foremost it’s of course the media websites I’m thinking off. Because to a large extend they resemble their offline offspring. And a set of ‘best practice’ around media web design has developed, which to my mind is blocking for a much needed rethink of what would really be optimal in the day and age of search.

Scott Karp of Publishing 2.0 had a very interesting post the other day where he touched on some of these subjects. Basically his claim was that if users fails to find, what they’re looking for at your website because of poor or non-intuitive design, it doesn’t matter what the intentions of the designers or the media company itself were. It still sucks. And he’s right.

I think that in looking for new ways of designing, we should look for use scenarios. We should not try to present the world to the user in a librarian way with more or less stereotype categories. Google is far better at this anyway.

We should be looking towards making more decisions for people in bundling content depending on state of mind/moods, time of day and just being of service. We should package things in a way where we take the human factor into consideration. We should show that we understand our users, their state of mind and their needs. And we shouldn’t be affraid to keep it simple. Because Google shows that simplicity combined with easy access to the information you are looking for just works.

Vad NU! is a consultancy company owned by Mads Kristensen and specialized in helping clients take advantage of the business opportunities created by new media. Click to learn how I can help you and your company.