Since the moment I got trapped in the World Wide Web, I have loved, hated, used, abused, fed and got fed up of plenty of websites. Honestly, I do not know much about how a site should be designed. But, I believe that those who know nothing are, actually, the people who know it all. Hey! I confused you there. Successfully! All I wish to convey is that 99% of users (or probably more than that) of the most used websites neither know nor want to know about any technicality regarding website design. But, they have all the rights to judge them.

So, as just another user, the only elements that I expect from a site are that it should look good, sound better and offer the best. Let us start with the auspicious example of the Almighty Google. Man, what do I say about it? Its looks can beat even the traditional-kurti wearing girls whom the city guys of my class desire. And, the toppings of current affairs over the subtle beauty are just what you wanted. Remember the two ‘Os’ of gOOgle competing for an Olympic medal at Beijing? But, nobody would have cared to notice these not-so-outstanding ideas, if Google would not have been what it is. So, you have to offer the best for the company to look nice. And, by the way, who will mind a sister-in-law like Gmail or Orkut.

I will move to my other dream site – leoburnett.com. I do not know much of ‘the best websites ever’ (Ah! Maybe I should try that on Google) and I have not been to many of them. But, this one definitely amazes me. The 360 degree view itself tells you that how much the site wants to tell you. The pencil is just too good. The way it starts working when you log on to the website gives you a sense of possession towards it. If you are in a playful mood, you can just scribble whatever you like and pass time like you had nothing to do in this world except doing just that. This is till you realize that there is so much to explore. It is then that you move from the wonders of animation to the magic of the functionality of the website.

Am I supposed to provide criticism of some awful sites too? I think that is what ‘experts’ are asked to do. But, I hate that designation anyway. Still, this can be a good idea for my next post on the blog. And you too will get a tickler.

Another thing that can improve the quality of a site, according to me, is a scope of communication. If one is able to establish this link, people will become habitual of visiting the link to your website. I guess that is what makes the social networking sites so popular. Yes, their case is a bit different. But, even regular sites can do that. Imagine a feedback from every person who brushed his teeth from the toothpaste you sold to him or her.

Does that make any sense? I hope it does. For the time being, you can comment on what I wrote (I practice what I preach). The link was ready before you read it. More will be coming on even more things from my side. Till then, keep communicating!

‘There is suffering in this world. Suffering has a cause. The cause is desire. One can overcome suffering by killing desires.’ It is high time that the web property owners followed this Buddhist teaching. Some of them want to eat more than they can swallow.

Well, it is in their interest to cut on making demands that make no sense. Either they should desire more features or wish for more profits. And, even Lord Buddha would not mind going for the second desire.

Overloading your site with features that it can do without is an unintelligent thing to do. For one, it burdens your expenditure on website maintenance. Resources, most importantly time, that can be utilized for enhancing the efficiency of the necessary features, get wasted in building useless enhancements. It is important to understand that the website should, first of all, cater to the needs of the users. Features should facilitate the users to do what they want from the website. But, if an entrepreneur puts his vision ahead of those who consume his services, he is suffering from ‘vision overload’. And, he has to pay for that.

The Point, a startup based in Chicago, faced similar problems till they shifted to the KISS model – “Keep It Simple, Stupid!” which lays down that simplicity is the key to success. They drew a line between ambition and practicality which made it easy to point out the features that were essential to the site and others that could be dropped.

Sticking to basics has been fruitful, always. If it is just a forum for discussion that the users need to carry out their regular activity, imposing fancy tools such as a Super Wall (inspired from Facebook), chat rooms, communities, Q&A etc. is insulting their demands.

Cost overheads and delayed launch are a few of the many demerits that an organization can embrace if it tries to be smarter.

I will conclude by quoting Andrew Mason (the founder of The Point), “Users care about whether you are meeting their needs, not the vision of your company. Save your vision for your investors”.