First impressions count - be it a car you are about to test drive, the decor of your living room, your appearance on a first date...how about your website? You have 3-5 seconds to grab the attention of your visitor. Whether they extend their visit or fall into the percentage of visitors that go straight back to Google's search pages can make or break the existence of your online presence.
Responsibility lies with the design then to ensure whichever page the user lands on carries impact and keeps the user interested. The page needs to stand out from millions of others, it needs to look beautiful, it needs to inspire, it needs to be creative, it needs to have the 'wow' factor.
What's the point though if no thought has been given to the functionality? What's the point of having the most creative, inspiring, impactful website out there if it doesn't work? Or worse still, if nobody can find it?
Design must work hand in hand with functionality. There must be cohesion for example, between the visual impact of a search area on a site and the ease with which it can be used. At no point must the user be left guessing what a button does or where a link is going to take them.
We need to consider how the user is feeling clicking around the site after their first few seconds on it. Are they comfortable navigating around it? Have they been able to find the information or product that they wanted? Did the site give them the answers they were looking for? Did they click that 'make payment' or 'submit enquiry' button? Will they return? This is where functionality and the usability and accessibility of the site kick in. If the answer to any of these questions is 'no' it is unlikely that the user will grace the site with their presence again.
Functionality needs to be given clear thought right from the word 'go', right from the start. When getting 'creative' with the visuals of any new digital project all thoughts must come back to 'how is this going towork?'
The purpose of a website for any commercial organisation is to make money, not to be a piece of art.
My closing thought, here are the most successful sites I know of: bbc.co.uk, amazon.co.uk, google.co.uk, facebook.com, ebay.co.uk, youtube.com...design or functionality? You decide!
