"It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
It's not a very happy thought, when you consider the subject of the thought is life itself!While I certainly do not subscribe to the fatalistic view of the character in the play, I do think that there is very real world applicability to the idea of "sound and fury, signifying nothing" particularly when it comes to designing your company website.
There are all kinds of ways to create a new website with lots of eye catching, attention grabbing design features. Flash animation, videos, interactivity, animated buttons and banners, the list goes on and on. I am absolutely one that subscribes to the philosphy that your website NEEDS to look amazing, and have visual appeal. I think using animations and interactivity MUST however support the BRAND and the CONTENT of your company, and not be there merely for the sake of looking "flashy". If the flash serves a purpose, if it plays into the story or the message of your company, if it reinforces your value added proposition, then I think it carries weight and can be VERY effective.
Sometimes, however, business owners can be so focused on the flashy elements that they forget that this website's purpose is supposed to be to further build the company brand and to be used as a conduit that makes potential customers interact with them. When a website focuses so much on the design that they forget the message it can become the epitome of "sound and fury, signifying nothing". If it's pretty to look at but is not compelling, if it's fun to play with but ultimately an empty experience, if it's visually engaging but content poor you run the risk of high numbers of hits BUT few conversions to clients.
The name of the game is BALANCE, and careful attention must be paid to make sure the site not only looks great, but that your sustainable competitive advantages, your special offers, your compelling services and products are prominently reinforced BY the looks and functionality. Don't settle for anything less!
Don't allow your brand to become "a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" on the web.
From where you are to where you want to be,
Doug
