Got Clutter? How Not to Attract the Attention of Your Web Visitor
If you're like me (and I know that none of you want to admit to that),
you're a web surfer. You happily click on every hyperlink you see.
You can't resist the temptation to check out the web sites of people
on various forums, links in ezines and newsletters, and even those
you see on television infomercials. (e.g., www.ronco.com)
There are a lot of web sites out there.
And there are a lot a really bad web sites out there too.
Some of them give me the heebie-jeebies.
Look at this site: http://www.kgoam810.com/home.asp
It's the home page of San Francisco's most popular talk-radio station.
Go ahead and look, then come back. Trust me, you'll run back.
Does anyone else feel that we should make that kind of web site illegal?
What is the webmaster thinking?
Sadly, I know what he's thinking.
He's thinking.."If I don't honor all of our advertising contracts,
I'll be fired!"
The West Coast's premiere talk radio station has a web site that drives
people away. Not exactly the strategy a web business owner would
want to emulate.
===================
Clutter: The Root of All Evil
===================
I hate clutter. It makes me crazy.
Looking around my office has this effect at times.
I always know when it's time to tidy up.
But when I see a web site like that one above, and I can't do anything
about it, I click away in 0.947 nanoseconds.
I don't care how much I like the person or the product behind the site,
I won't go back. What is it about clutter that repulses me and every web
visitor on the planet?
===========================
It's My Poor Overburdened Thalamus
============================
Your What-a-mus?
My thalamus. It's the portion of your brain that acts as a receiving
warehouse for every bit of input your senses take in every second
that you live.
A big job!
================
I am Janet's Thalamus
================
No, not me personally, but, er..you know what I mean.
Let's think about Janet; Let's think about Janet's thalamus as she's looking at
your web site on her computer while at work.
It any given moment, her thalamus is interpreting her internal body
temperature, the smoothness of the mouse button that sits under her right hand,
the bitterness of that last cup of Starbucks coffee, the song playing on the radio at her
desk, the fishy odor wafting from the lunch container belonging to her cube-mate,
the desire to leave her dead-end job (as well as her boyfriend), and the harsh brightness
of the fluorescent light that floods her cube-life.
Why this lesson in neuroanatomy?
Simply to illustrate that on top of all the sensations Janet is dealing with,
the last thing she needs is more clutter for her poor, overburdened thalamus
to sort through.
The more clutter on your site, the less likely Janet will stick
around long enough to read your messages...or buy your product.
How do you make sure your site
isn't over taxing Janet's thalamus?
===================
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
===================
Thoreau nailed it.
Simplification is the key to a clutter-free existence.
Though I doubt he grasped the significance of this mantra,
his words hold great wisdom for the web site owners of our day.
Here are four mini-audits to perform on each page of your web site
that will indicate whether or not you're guilty of overtaxing Janet's
(or your customer's) poor, pathetic little thalamus thereby reducing
the chance that she (or they) will ever return.
---------------------------
Audit 1: Flash or Animation
---------------------------
Without a doubt, Flash-enabled web sites irritate more than stimulate.
If your visitor wants animation, they'd be watching SpongeBob.
(If you haven't see an episode of SpongeBob, you're in for a treat.)
----------------------------------
Audit 2: Problem Oriented Headline
----------------------------------
If your headline is solution-based, you're missing out of so many customers.
Why?
Because people walk around all day long thinking about their problems.
Sean D'Souza says it this way: When you're driving down the freeway at 65 mph
and someone passes you at 70, it's no big deal. But when a red and blue flashing
light appears in your rear-view mirror, it's a very big deal! It's a problem.
Your brain wakes up and you forget all about The Stones raging against the
establishment on the radio.
Problems wake people up; solutions put them to sleep.
----------------
Audit 3: Clutter
----------------
Look at your web site. Is it cluttered?
Are you using more than two or three fonts?
More than three colors? The right colors?
Are the graphics labeled?
Is there a significant amount of white-space to balance out the text blocks?
Remember, you don't want to be another KGO!
-------------------
Audit 4: Navigation
-------------------
Does Janet know where you want her to go next?
Is there a friendly tour-guide type navigation system on your site
or just a stuffy butler with a tray of links offering no advice whatsoever?
Are you leading Janet to your most-desired-destination
or simply turning her loose to find her way (hopefully) to a product?
==========
Final Thoughts
===========
Clutter on a web site, on a business card, or a piece of marketing collateral
is a source of confusion for readers. Simplify your site, your materials,
your message, and watch your business find it's way into The Spotlight!
Thanks for reading,
Barry
you're a web surfer. You happily click on every hyperlink you see.
You can't resist the temptation to check out the web sites of people
on various forums, links in ezines and newsletters, and even those
you see on television infomercials. (e.g., www.ronco.com)
There are a lot of web sites out there.
And there are a lot a really bad web sites out there too.
Some of them give me the heebie-jeebies.
Look at this site: http://www.kgoam810.com/home.asp
It's the home page of San Francisco's most popular talk-radio station.
Go ahead and look, then come back. Trust me, you'll run back.
Does anyone else feel that we should make that kind of web site illegal?
What is the webmaster thinking?
Sadly, I know what he's thinking.
He's thinking.."If I don't honor all of our advertising contracts,
I'll be fired!"
The West Coast's premiere talk radio station has a web site that drives
people away. Not exactly the strategy a web business owner would
want to emulate.
===================
Clutter: The Root of All Evil
===================
I hate clutter. It makes me crazy.
Looking around my office has this effect at times.
I always know when it's time to tidy up.
But when I see a web site like that one above, and I can't do anything
about it, I click away in 0.947 nanoseconds.
I don't care how much I like the person or the product behind the site,
I won't go back. What is it about clutter that repulses me and every web
visitor on the planet?
===========================
It's My Poor Overburdened Thalamus
============================
Your What-a-mus?
My thalamus. It's the portion of your brain that acts as a receiving
warehouse for every bit of input your senses take in every second
that you live.
A big job!
================
I am Janet's Thalamus
================
No, not me personally, but, er..you know what I mean.
Let's think about Janet; Let's think about Janet's thalamus as she's looking at
your web site on her computer while at work.
It any given moment, her thalamus is interpreting her internal body
temperature, the smoothness of the mouse button that sits under her right hand,
the bitterness of that last cup of Starbucks coffee, the song playing on the radio at her
desk, the fishy odor wafting from the lunch container belonging to her cube-mate,
the desire to leave her dead-end job (as well as her boyfriend), and the harsh brightness
of the fluorescent light that floods her cube-life.
Why this lesson in neuroanatomy?
Simply to illustrate that on top of all the sensations Janet is dealing with,
the last thing she needs is more clutter for her poor, overburdened thalamus
to sort through.
The more clutter on your site, the less likely Janet will stick
around long enough to read your messages...or buy your product.
How do you make sure your site
isn't over taxing Janet's thalamus?
===================
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
===================
Thoreau nailed it.
Simplification is the key to a clutter-free existence.
Though I doubt he grasped the significance of this mantra,
his words hold great wisdom for the web site owners of our day.
Here are four mini-audits to perform on each page of your web site
that will indicate whether or not you're guilty of overtaxing Janet's
(or your customer's) poor, pathetic little thalamus thereby reducing
the chance that she (or they) will ever return.
---------------------------
Audit 1: Flash or Animation
---------------------------
Without a doubt, Flash-enabled web sites irritate more than stimulate.
If your visitor wants animation, they'd be watching SpongeBob.
(If you haven't see an episode of SpongeBob, you're in for a treat.)
----------------------------------
Audit 2: Problem Oriented Headline
----------------------------------
If your headline is solution-based, you're missing out of so many customers.
Why?
Because people walk around all day long thinking about their problems.
Sean D'Souza says it this way: When you're driving down the freeway at 65 mph
and someone passes you at 70, it's no big deal. But when a red and blue flashing
light appears in your rear-view mirror, it's a very big deal! It's a problem.
Your brain wakes up and you forget all about The Stones raging against the
establishment on the radio.
Problems wake people up; solutions put them to sleep.
----------------
Audit 3: Clutter
----------------
Look at your web site. Is it cluttered?
Are you using more than two or three fonts?
More than three colors? The right colors?
Are the graphics labeled?
Is there a significant amount of white-space to balance out the text blocks?
Remember, you don't want to be another KGO!
-------------------
Audit 4: Navigation
-------------------
Does Janet know where you want her to go next?
Is there a friendly tour-guide type navigation system on your site
or just a stuffy butler with a tray of links offering no advice whatsoever?
Are you leading Janet to your most-desired-destination
or simply turning her loose to find her way (hopefully) to a product?
==========
Final Thoughts
===========
Clutter on a web site, on a business card, or a piece of marketing collateral
is a source of confusion for readers. Simplify your site, your materials,
your message, and watch your business find it's way into The Spotlight!
Thanks for reading,
Barry
posted by Barry W. Morris at
7:59 AM
