Just a hunch, but I am guessing that you have already been on a lot of websites today. News? Website. Weather? Website. Shopping. Porn. Sport. Gossip. Websites. You haven’t even considered it. You just type and go. The world at your fingertips from your sofa or office in your undergarments or suit.
Just a hunch, but I am guessing that some of those websites worked better than others. I’m guessing some barely worked at all. For the modern life that is lived online, some businesses are still happy to function as if it is 2009, with websites that fold under pressure like a prime minister at a COVID enquiry. Bad navigation. Out of date text and images. Irrelevant content. Slow loading times. You can’t just build a website and be done with it forever. This is your business, not the pyramids.
My personal peeves on websites are endless. Yes, Chat GPT is cool but it is also the easiest indicator that you don’t care enough about how you are perceived. And when it is your own words, it’s the bullshit mission statements, SEO word salads, backstories we don’t need, and general sense that you have to fill every screen with as much as possible. That white space isn’t going to kill you. The stock images are almost as bad as the ones taken on your iPhone, and don’t get me started on buttons which don’t lead anywhere. Error 404 indeed.
Your website is your business card and like the most memorable examples it needs subtle colour, tasteful thickness, maybe even a watermark. Moreover it has to be functional, optimised for mobile use, and easy to use. The design has to be clean and the content fresh. If it sounds like a lot to take in, it is because it is. Good websites don’t come easy and, I hate to break it to you, they don’t come cheap. They are as important a tool as any in your business.
I am Simon Carlo, a food blogger, journalist, copywriter and bonafide mild child. The above words are mine. Mostly. The gooder ones anyway.
