What do you look for in a website?

**bullshitwebsites** · Oct 26, 2008 15:50

I am more interested in the name of the site/domain name and then what the content in there.

Creativity counts

How about BullShitWebsites .com

**somecallmejosh** · Oct 26, 2008 17:15

Purpose... everything else in my opinion is a support feature.

**Karin Sue** · Oct 26, 2008 17:25

Assumptions: I have reached a site via a search; I did the search with a purpose in mind, a task to accomplish etc; the search yielded multiple results.

1) Load time. If it takes too long to load I will move on to another one of the links from the search without waiting to see if I like anything about the page. If the summary on the search results page looked particularly promising I will be willing to wait a bit longer than usual.

2)Obnoxiousness. Too high a level of pop ups, auto play audio/video, animation, floating ads, garish colors, spelling errors, bad grammar, etc. and I am gone. Lower levels and I will stick around a bit longer to see if the content is worth putting up with the obnoxiousness.

3)Clarity of purpose. Does a simple glance give me a clue as to the purpose of the site? Is it possible the site is selling what I am trying to buy in the quantities I am interested in? Might it contain the information I am looking for? Does it have nothing to do with my current task but looks like a good site to bookmark for later exploring?

4)Relevance to my purpose/search terms. Does it live up to the link description on the search results page? Or is it one of those pages that gives you no clue as to why it showed up in a search since there is no obvious relation between it and the search terms or the link description.

5)Finding the content. If I haven't move on yet there is a possibility that the site may help achieve my purpose. First impression design got me this far. Now the details count: navigation, search, sitemaps, bread crumbing, well written content, optimized and relevant graphics, etc. If the content I want is there I need to be able to find it.

6)If I had a good experience, found what I wanted, good content, eye pleasing etc. I will probably be back. If I ended up confused and lost, found no or poor content, probably not.

For really good content that is important to you, you will put up with ugly slow loading sites and learn your way around the poor and confusing navigation.

There is no reason to ever revisit even a beautiful extremely usable site that has useless content (unless you are looking for good design ideas)

**bullshitwebsites** · Oct 26, 2008 17:28

Easier said than done.

Originally Posted by Karin Sue

Assumptions: I have reached a site via a search; I did the search with a purpose in mind, a task to accomplish etc; the search yielded multiple results.

1) Load time. If it takes too long to load I will move on to another one of the links from the search without waiting to see if I like anything about the page. If the summary on the search results page looked particularly promising I will be willing to wait a bit longer than usual.

2)Obnoxiousness. Too high a level of pop ups, auto play audio/video, animation, floating ads, garish colors, spelling errors, bad grammar, etc. and I am gone. Lower levels and I will stick around a bit longer to see if the content is worth putting up with the obnoxiousness.

3)Clarity of purpose. Does a simple glance give me a clue as to the purpose of the site? Is it possible the site is selling what I am trying to buy in the quantities I am interested in? Might it contain the information I am looking for? Does it have nothing to do with my current task but looks like a good site to bookmark for later exploring?

4)Relevance to my purpose/search terms. Does it live up to the link description on the search results page? Or is it one of those pages that gives you no clue as to why it showed up in a search since there is no obvious relation between it and the search terms or the link description.

5)Finding the content. If I haven't move on yet there is a possibility that the site may help achieve my purpose. First impression design got me this far. Now the details count: navigation, search, sitemaps, bread crumbing, well written content, optimized and relevant graphics, etc. If the content I want is there I need to be able to find it.

6)If I had a good experience, found what I wanted, good content, eye pleasing etc. I will probably be back. If I ended up confused and lost, found no or poor content, probably not.

For really good content that is important to you, you will put up with ugly slow loading sites and learn your way around the poor and confusing navigation.

There is no reason to ever revisit even a beautiful extremely usable site that has useless content (unless you are looking for good design ideas)

**Karin Sue** · Oct 26, 2008 18:13

Originally Posted by bullshitwebsites

Easier said than done.

Not sure I understand your comment. All I did was describe how I approached sites linked from a search page. I didn't say how anything should be done.

It is all personal preference. I suppose you could infer my preferences from my post.

I like fast loading clean and simple (boring and bland?) sites. (I sometimes use dialup, sometimes use outdated browser on old computer.)

What I find obnoxious others may find fun and exciting.

I think everyone likes to easily find the content they want but not everyone agrees on the best way to do that.

Designers need to determine their target audience and design to meet their needs.

**datatrond** · Oct 27, 2008 03:32

99 % of the time I end up on a website this is a result of a search in a search engine like Google. When I get to this site I am looking for a specific thing and this is related to CONTENT, not design. If the website looks nice and offers me a positive feeling I might bookmark it. If the website has a great and updated content within my niche I might even subscribe through RSS.

**Cronfeld** · Oct 27, 2008 05:57

First and foremost I look for nice photos with a professional touch!

**tmoney101** · Oct 28, 2008 02:08

First things first, speed. I don't care how good a website looks, or how great the content is, if you have to wait for 5 mins to see it, what good is it? you will leave.

Second is readable, good content that is easily found via easy to use navigation.

Then I think a good looking design with clean graphics comes in last.

**motherknucker** · Oct 28, 2008 02:48

If site design isn't nice then no matter how good the content is i skip the site

**AMAmanda** · Oct 28, 2008 08:12

I look for big and bold. Simple to navigate through. Shows me exactly what I am looking for.

**x-termin8or** · Oct 28, 2008 14:25

First it has to have a good looking design thats easy to read and navigate... then after that ill stay on the website and see if it has the information of what im looking for.

**tokyobabydoll** · Oct 28, 2008 23:47

Good and organized content, easy navigation. If i cant find my way around in 5 seconds, I'm out. I don't even mind the design, as long as the content is great and easily accessible.

**rypher21** · Oct 29, 2008 02:20

i first look for the content...

then
- usability
- load time
- design

**butterflycraze** · Oct 29, 2008 09:31

My first impression of a web site is its aesthetic appeal...does it motivate me to continue exploring it? Do I remember what it looks like after I log out?

But after looking for the specific information on the site that drew me there, I then see how it is written, because you can learn a lot about the site just by the diction. The, I see if the content is coherent. And while checking for that, I take note about the navigation. Is it easy to move around? Do I know where I am at in relation to other places? Can I backtrack easily. I only like to stay places where I can move around easily.

**bullshitwebsites** · Oct 29, 2008 12:33

Good content and good navigation

**simontufell** · Oct 29, 2008 23:35

Load time is important, but if the content is worth something, then I never care for how much time a page takes to load...

Design.... well I have seen a great many sites, so uniqueness in design always attracts me.. its very rare now by the way.

**simontufell** · Oct 29, 2008 23:39

and 1 more thing.. I like collecting good content.... but I don't like when I can't copy the words like from flash pages... I have to save the whole page then...

Thats why the site I like best is Wikipedia... Excellent layout, so easy navigation, and so much info...
SIMPLY THE BEST

**directmoo** · Oct 30, 2008 07:11

content , how user friendly it is and last but not least the design.

**RyanFormspring** · Oct 30, 2008 07:51

I only care about content. I'll visit ugly, amateurish sites is the content is there. Craigslist is a good example. Ebay was ugly for years until they upgraded their design a bit. Content is king.

That said, a good design can only help your site, especially if you're selling a product. People only trust professional-looking sites with their credit card numbers.

**MaskedMarvel** · Oct 30, 2008 08:11

Good content of course and professionalism.

**albunix** · Oct 30, 2008 12:16

Originally Posted by roosevelt

Hi,
So, when you visit different websites on your specific topic, what do you look for besides the relevant contents?

To start, I usually look for a good navigation system, and slick design.

It all depends really, and designing websites is all about art, and very good coding to back it up. Personal preference is into clean, fast loading sites. Relate this to anything Google touches. There's all types of websites, and there's absolutely no way to cover them all, so you'd have to take a stand and choose those that are most important to the clientele you'd be offering the information to.

Consult heavily with your user base and elicit all potential probable layouts before you really get to anything more than simple mockups. Coding should really be the last thing in your design.

**Crey_Design** · Nov 2, 2008 15:59

The overall look of the site will immediately sway me into how I'm going to view the company. A cheap looking website doesn't obviously do anything for me, even if the content is good.

First I see design, than I see content. If the design is cheap or crappy, I'll probably bounce.

**rageh** · Nov 2, 2008 17:53

Originally Posted by Crey_Design

The overall look of the site will immediately sway me into how I'm going to view the company. A cheap looking website doesn't obviously do anything for me, even if the content is good.

First I see design, than I see content. If the design is cheap or crappy, I'll probably bounce.

Exactly my thoughts. I look for slick design first. Everything else is of secondary importance.