Web Marketing Advice

WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT: CONTENT OR PRESENTATION?

Important: This article was written back in 1997, and a lot of the information has changed. You'll get more out of the updated version here.

I don't know, what makes a rectangle bigger: its height or its width? Although content is king, presentation is essential to a successful site.

Why do people say "Content is King"? Because alliteration is fun. And because visitors won't continue to come back to a static website. This summer I took my five year old cousin to Universal Studios. He had no problem seeing "E.T. The Adventure" twice and was upset when I refused to stand in line for a third go round. I'm sure he would have gone on that ride a dozen times if I had been willing. When I was a kid at Canobie Lake Park I rode the Turkish Twist ten times in a row. What does this prove? Kids are easily entertained. (Just look at Barney.) However, adults need more varied stimuli.

"If you build it, they will come." However, if you don't change it, they won't be back. Perhaps a couple of years ago all you needed to do was put up a page with your business's hours and phone number and you could count on some local newspaper coverage to get you traffic. Now most people are savvy enough to search out new information, and they will only become "regulars" if your site presents fills this need.

You can create fresh content on a regular basis. (You can also buy content from companies that specialize in that market, but for the time being we'll just concentrate on your own work.) Content updates can be handled in two ways. If you know the basics of HTML and how to upload files you can do it by yourself. However, if you are unsure on either of these steps, you should work with your webmaster. You might be able to email, (or even snail mail,) the fresh content to your webmaster, and they can upload it for you.

The other side of the equation is presentation. When was the last time you went to a good restaurant and they served you a steak without at least a sprig of parsley on the side? I'm sure you didn't eat the parsley, it was just there for presentation's sake to make the steak look more appetizing. (Vegetarians can substitute a garden burger for steak if they prefer; but I'm afraid they might eat the parsley, thus ruining my analogy.)

An old Jewish tradition has teachers putting honey on their students' writing tablets at the beginning of the school year to symbolize that learning can be sweet. Although I find this practice to be slightly disturbing, or at least unsanitary, the point is that presentation allows your visitor to be enticed into your site and will appreciate your content even more.

However, no one will hang around your site if they have to wait for slow-loading graphics, or if the navigation is confusing or if the colors are garish, (a common problem at all Grateful Dead fan sites.)

When it comes to presentation, there is no one right approach. Certain sites try to be attractive by using large graphics, Java applets, Shockwave by Macromedia, sound effects and so on. However, for most sites this is unnecessary and perhaps detrimental. All of these techniques take a long time to download to your visitors computer, and if they are on a slow connection, they'll go find one of your competitors. If you are advertising a new blockbuster movie, or a new Netscape Plug-In, or if you know most of your prospects are using a cable modem hook-up this might be appropriate. If not, you should try and find another way.

At some point in the future we will all have lightning quick access to the internet, and then file size will no longer matter. Until that time comes, however, there will be a constant battle to reduce the size of your files, (text documents, pictures, sounds and so on.) Since using images is the most common way of spicing up a site on the web, here are some quick tips to shrink downloading time.

Small graphics load up faster than big ones. Well, duh. However, as you surf the web, you will notice that many designers have forgotten this.

Use GIF's and JPEGs appropriately. Both of these platforms are used to compress images over the internet, and both have pluses and minuses. GIF's are best used for simple images, such as buttons, small icons, company logos, etc. They can show up to 256 colors in a single image, but can be made smaller by reducing the number of colors. They also have the ability to be interlaced (browsers will show a low resolution version while the high resolution image is loading,) and they support transparency, allowing part of the background to show through. JPEG's on the other hand display thousands of colors; however, they do not currently support interlacing or transparency, though both of those attributes may soon be implemented. Also, JPEG's use a "lossy" form of compression, meaning that they throw away information to reduce their size. Saving a JPEG of a JPEG is like making a copy of a copy at the office. You lose something each time.

Recycle your images. Most of the wait for an image to appear on a web page is due to the transfer time of the file to a visitor's hard drive. Once it's on the hard drive it displays fairly quickly. You can cut down the wait by reusing images. This also sets up a feeling of repetition, which is important in design. (So I've been told.) One good way of implementing this is by having your company logo appear at the top of every page.

These three tips just scratch the surface and in upcoming articles I'll go into more detail on how to best use graphics throughout your site, and navigation tips to make getting around your website easier.

Remember to balance interesting, changing content with a quality presentation and you will be well on your way to having a well-travelled website.

--Rich Brooks
President, flyte new media