The Common Traits of Successful Websites
A website is a new way to communicate without direct personal interaction. It is a place on the internet where one can post anything from personal information to commercial advertising. The major advantage of websites is the fact that they are accessible to anyone in the world. The only restriction is that the person must have a computer and a modem. From that point on, the options are immeasurable. One can read different personal homepages, visit commercial sites and do valuable research. All of these sites can be created by anyone who wishes to take the time to learn the necessary computer language. The creator of any type of website must take into account certain important guidelines in order to create an effective and successful page.
The most common type of website is a personal homepage. Homepages make it possible for an internet surfer to learn about someone s/he does not even know. It is almost an invitation to one's personal home without any direct personal contact. All homepages differ greatly in their content. However, they all must have specific, necessary facets in order to be successful websites.
Firstly, and most importantly, a homepage must serve a purpose. Whether this purpose is to have fun, to display artwork, or to produce an on-line resume, is irrelevant, as long as the page serves a purpose. I have visited numerous websites, and they all serve some sort of function. Three specific pages to which I will refer are Jeff Seiden's personal homepage, Emily Reith's personal page and Sarah Borcher's homepage. These three pages are all examples which represent different college students. They are of different ages: Jeff, a freshman; Emily, a sophomore; and Sarah, a senior.
The pages, although all created by college students, have different features and in turn, each has a different purpose. Regardless of the content, the purpose of each page is quite evident. Jeff seems to be a "typical" freshman. He is not overly preoccupied with world issues, but rather with current movies such as Pulp Fiction, "classic" Simpson's episodes, and different bands which he finds enjoyable. His page seems to be focused on his points of interest. He tries to have fun with his website and tries to allow his visitors to have fun while they visit his page. His main focus and objective is obvious--humor and interest.
Emily Reith's website is somewhat different from Jeff's. She portrays the image of a somewhat "crunchy" college student, meaning that she is more nature-oriented. She still maintains a light-hearted tone to her page as she describes her life as a college student in Maine. Her page is more focused on showing the reader what she feels is important to her--her personal artwork, her interests in nature, and her fondness of "other nerdy web people". Her purpose is to show people who she is, whereas Jeff's page is geared more toward those who enjoy similar interests that he does. Although both approaches to the homepages are distinctly different, they both work to make effective websites.
Jeff's and Emily's pages, although quite different, both completely contrast the homepage of Sarah Borchers. The purpose of Sarah's page jumps out at the visitor at first glance. Her page serves as a resume. She is a college senior, preoccupied with finding a job, and found a different way to display her accomplishments. Her page is not worse than the pages of Jeff and Emily. They all succeed in the way that they all have a distinguished and easily understood focus to their respective pages.
The second aspect of a homepage which contributes to a quality website is a matter of coherence. A page must be understandable to the reader. Coherence includes both grammar and content. A visitor must understand, first what is written and second, how the writing pertains to the focus of the homepage. Each of the three discussed pages are coherent and, therefore, easily allow the visitor to learn what the general purpose of their page is. The way that they all established coherence is through the structure of their pages.
Jeff's page is not formally structured. It begins with an introductory paragraph, in which he describes himself. The visitor, before exploring his page in-depth, instantly learns that he is a freshman at Princeton University who is originally from New Jersey. From that point, the reader finds a listing of items on his page. These range from his favorite television programs and films to a section of "Deep Thoughts." These thoughts are based on a skit from Saturday Night Live. "Deep Thoughts", originally written by Jack Handey, are simply random ideas which are usually quite funny. An example of a "Deep Thought" is, "I hope if dogs ever take over the world, and they choose a king, they don't just go by size, because I bet there are some Chihuahuas with some good ideas". Although the section on "Deep Thoughts" is offered to the visitor as a link, s/he can easily move from point to point on Jeff's homepage of the structure. The page leads the reader through his/her points of interest.
Similar to Jeff's page, Emily's page is coherent. With respect to coherence, the reader is never lost. Her structure is quite similar to Jeff's. She begins with paragraphs describing herself, her college, and her life as a student in Maine. Her structure easily shows the reader the focus of her page; it is a website created for her pleasure, as well as to show her visitors what she feels is important about herself and her viewpoints. It is quite clear, throughout her page, that she is nature-oriented. The title of the page, "Emily's Home of Nuts, Berries, Solstice Celebrations and Candles" also hints the reader to believe this. Her page, however, seems to be a bit more personalized than Jeff's, mainly because she displays some of her own artwork. Each page can be considered successful despite the fact that both creators have different purposes for creating their pages.
Sarah's homepage, with respect to Jeff's and Emily's, is equally coherent. With respect to her structure, her page is also clear. However, her page is much more formal. It separates itself from Jeff's and Emily's pages because of its structure. Sarah's page is set up in a more formal and sophisticated way than the other two. Her website consists of paragraphs, rather than paragraphs interrupted by lists. She describes herself throughout her page, beginning with her pride of being from Minnesota, leading next to her academic and leadership achievements and awards, to her interests, and finally to her request for a job. In doing this type of homepage, she creates an on-line resume. By doing this, Sarah accomplishes two significant things. She reaches a broad audience which may lead to her finding a job, but more importantly, she shows employers that she is computer literate, by being able to create her own personal website. Her purpose, to use this site as an "electronic resume", is quite evident to any visitor through the structure of her page.
Although focus and coherence are necessities to a successful website, so is the existence of links. Links are a quick and easy way to move from different sites. They serve a crucial function to all websites, personal or commercial. A visitor needs to have options. Through the use of links, the reader is not trapped into staying on one page but instead can have a choice to move to and from different places, by following his/her particular interests. The visitor should be able to use all of the links on the page without any problems. However, these links should not only be current and connected, but also accessible to the visitors.
Jeff's page provides an number of links, all of which are current. He has "links to some really cool pages", which are mostly pages which his friends have created. Some of his favorite bands are also listed as connections to other pages. One particularly interesting aspect of Jeff's page is "great sound bytes from the Simpsons." The only problem is that not all visitors can access these sound bytes. The sound is activated by a special program which all visitors may not possess. The creator can still use these sound bytes and create a successful website as long as s/he warns the reader ahead of time that a special program is necessary.
Sound bytes are not the only way that links can be interesting. Emily Reith's page provides the reader with an extensive number of links. Hers are significant because they show the visitor different parts of her personality. Through her links, she shows that she is interested in art, nature , NASA, and "other nerdy web people". An interesting link that Emily provides is a link to her personal artwork. This personal touch allows the reader to learn more about her.
Sarah, like Emily, allows the reader to learn about her personality through the links on her page. As a college senior who is trying to find a job, she needs to show her visitors that she has other interests besides school and computers. Her links allow her to do this. She has links to Minnesota Public Radio, "The Shakespeare Web", and "Good ol' geeky Star Trek stuff". These provide the visitor not only with options, but also with a broader sense of Sarah's personality.
While links are an extremely important aspect to a website, images also play a role in the success of a page. Images do not have to be too flashy for a personal homepage. This is one of the major differences between commercial and personal websites. For personal pages, images should be used for fun. They are something that the creator of the page liked and decided to incorporate into his/her page. For commercial websites, images serve a different purpose. They are there for the purpose of advertisement. The images are what attracts consumers to an advertisement of a product because "we live in a world of spectacular and exciting images" (Dyer 82).
Commercial websites on the internet are becoming more popular as the popularity of computers is growing in American homes. The advertising is occurring in what is known as interactive media--a way to reach markets of all kinds and all sizes. Many advertising agencies create interactive marketing communications because they must do so, in order to keep up with current technology as well as with the competition. The new age of computers is similar to the time in the 1950's and 1960's when television took off as a new medium. The advertising agencies are forced to become "interactive media expertsÓ in order to keep their clients competitive in the American market (Donlin 27). The only way for agencies to do this today is to create a commercial site for a specific company.
Advertising simply used to be manufacturers letting the public know that a new product is available. It then became so competitive that companies would begin price cutting, in order to make a sale. However, "modern advertising is effectively no more than a hundred years old, dating from a period when the capitalist system of production underwent major changes . . . Today advertising is an enormous and highly organized institution controlling vast sums of money, highly profitable in its own terms as well as being a vital component of capitalist economies" (Dyer 15). The advertising that the American public is used to seeing is a vicious competition. Companies will slander each other in an instance just to make a sale. They will also pay any price in order to receive any sort of publicity for their products. Advertisements are ubiquitous. An American consumer cannot escape the influence of Madison Avenue. However, Larry Chase, president of The On-line Ad Agency in New York, claims that advertising on the net will be "content driven", "where people go to it". The on-line advertising cannot be an aggressive, "in your face thing", much as it is today in print, television, and radio ads ("Internet Ads" 23). The reason is that a consumer actually has to visit specific sites. The advertisers must now be able to sway consumers into first visiting their site, in order to tell about their product, and then make the consumer want to buy what they are trying to sell.
What strikes me as interesting is that companies that choose to advertise on the through commercial websites must adhere to the same guidelines that ordinary people must adhere to when creating personal homepages in order to create a successful site. Their pages must, like personal homepages, have a purpose, focus, coherence, and links. In addition to these general requirements, they must also be more sophisticated and must have some sort of images. According to George Burton Hotchkiss, people read advertisements because of their size, position and way that they are able to catch the reader's eye. (Hotchkiss 182). The catch is the most important because if the advertisement does not look interesting, the product may not be either: "The eye attention must first be changed to mind attention" (Hotchkiss 182). This change can take place using color, type, and words (Hotchkiss 182). The reader of the website will first look at what the page has to offer. If the visitor is not interested by what first catches his/her eyes--usually whatever is posted underneath an image or whatever is in bold-face print, then the likelihood is that s/he will not continue reading the advertisement. The main reason that images are more important to a commercial website than to a personal one is because images help to catch the consumer's attention and then draw him/her to what the company is trying to sell.
Three specific corporations, to which I will refer, all advertise on the internet. They are: the Chrysler Corporation, Holiday Inns, Inc. , and the Pentax Corporation. In my opinion, these three commercial sites contain the necessary components to a successful website. They all have purpose, focus, coherence, and links. However, an interesting note is that the websites are completely different than the print ads.
The Chrysler Corporation is a huge and profitable company which sets an enormous amount of money aside for the sole purpose of advertising. This budget includes not only print ads or television commercials anymore. Now, the corporation is forced to reach a greater audience and advertise on the internet through a commercial website. Their print ads usually consist of one specific car that the company is trying to sell. However, Chrysler has developed its own commercial website. In doing so, the corporation utilizes its page to advertise many different models of cars as well as lesser known features of the corporation.
The Chrysler homepage is set up somewhat similarly to a personal homepage. It has a specific purpose--to sell cars, to make the consumer loyal to the Chrysler Corporation, and to provide the consumer with additional information about the company. For example, the site features a section called, "The Chrysler Lineup." This is a list of the names of specific new car models with images beside the names. The images are pictures of the outline of the cars. They serve the purpose of showing the consumer what the different shapes of the new cars look like.
Although "The Chrysler Lineup" is a major part of the website, it is not the sole focus. The page is more focused on drawing in a consumer and making him/her loyal to the Chrysler "family." The page accomplishes this by displaying and explaining the reintroduction of the Chrysler seal. The seal is supposed to stand for the "renewal of the design leadership and innovative engineering that the badge symbolized for more than seven decades." The description of the seal of quality is printed underneath an image. The image is one of few on the page and is basically the center focus of the site.
Although the seal is a large focus of the site, there is a small amount of text. The descriptions of different cars are brief. The main textual part of the site is the introduction which welcomes the consumer. The text is completely understandable and sets up the structure of the page. The page first draws the visitor in to the company's family and then leads him/her to the new cars it is trying to sell, and finally to other aspects that Chrysler has to offer. An interesting part of the page is that the text provides more information about the Chrysler Corporation than it does about the products that the company is trying to sell. This is the complete opposite of television and print ads.
Another difference between the traditional commercial advertising of the Chrysler Corporation and its website is that the website does not use many images. Television and print ads solely rely on the pictures of the cars that they are trying to sell. Instead, the website must focus on grabbing the consumer's attention. The audience is of a different mindset. Usually, the websites appeal to a more intellectual audience because people with access to the internet must be able to use a computer.
While appealing to an audience through images and text, the website must also appeal to the consumer through links. To any successful website, personal or commercial, links are crucial. The Chrysler homepage includes links on its website. The consumer is able to click on any name of the mentioned cars for more information. Chrysler offers a section on special offers, "customer one", and "1-800 4-A-CHRYSLER". These links must be current and connected, as should links to any type of homepage. Interestingly, these links only guide the visitor through the Chrysler Corporation. The company does not provide an exit from the advertising. The visitor is essentially trapped in the company's ad until either s/he finishes reading the advertisement or until s/he is willing to look for another website which is of interest to him/her.
Similar to the Chrysler Corporation, the Pentax Corporation also focuses tremendously on informing the consumer about its company rather than simply trying to sell its products. The focus is clear throughout the page, however, Pentax is not as concerned with drawing the consumer into the company. Instead, the corporation provides information about consumer support, new products, classes that the company sponsors, and dealer information. These previously listed items are all available to the consumer through links. The links are all current and lead the consumer through the company by the consumer's interest. The Pentax Corporation, like the Chrysler Corporation, traps its visitors in the website. The reader is free to wander about the page through the links. However, s/he is not able to leave with ease. Visitors are forced to search antoher topic of their choice after they leave the company's website.
Another interesting part of the Pentax homepage is the lack of flashy images. In the Pentax print ad, there is a large photo of a lizard and a small photo of a camera. On the corporation's website, however, there are only small pictures of current models of cameras. Through these images, the consumer can learn more about a specific camera by clicking on the image. Once the visitor clicks on a specific camera, s/he is thrown into a typical commercial advertisement, like television and print ads. On the whole, the website is successful. The visitor learns about the company, the products, and the positive aspects of buying one of the company's products.
Perhaps the most interesting commercial website of the three is that of Holiday Inns, Inc.. This one is by far, the most successful website. It captures the visitor from the moment that s/he clicks onto the page. The page immediately shows its purpose. It educates the visitor to the components of the company while it also shows that the company is trying to improve its image, especially as a family-oriented hotel chain. The page lists a number of links to different aspects of the hotel--general information, special rates and programs. This page is flashier than those pages of Chrysler and Pentax because it contains many more images. These images are interesting looking and attractive to the eye of the visitor. There is a picture of a group of hotel items, each representing different links. There are links to a section of news on the expansion of the hotel, a directory, a guide to leisure time information, and a place to make reservations. It is not surprising to note that the links on the Holiday Inn website do not allow the visitor access to any other homepages. The reader is essentially trapped on the Holiday Inn website, just as s/he is on the Chrysler and the Pentax homepages.
Although all of the facets of the Holiday Inn page are interesting, the most remarkable part is that the company introduces the idea of a "kidsuite" through the internet. A kidsuite is a separate room that contains many different toys and entertaining things to occupy peoples' children while staying in a hotel. This strategy seems logical because usually families own computers. By introducing something this appealing to families, Holiday Inn makes itself a logical place to stay when traveling.
The page appeals to families by introducing new facets of the hotel chain. This is done solely through the use of text. The text is interesting, understandable, and thought provoking. This is not true of the Holiday Inn print ad that I found. The print advertisement just gives a quick introduction to the company's approach to a bed and breakfast, as well as the quality of the hotels. The website focuses more on the actual facets of the corporation; it provides the consumer with insight into a family oriented company in an interesting, and sophisticated manner.
Chrysler, Pentax, and Holiday Inn have all taken a large technological step by advertising on the internet. However, it seems ironic that advertising on the internet has become so popular when considering the fact that the majority of Americans do not have the technology to go on-line. While only 31% of US homes are equipped with PC's, 9% are multimedia ready, yet only 7% subscribe to an on-line service (Donlin 27). It seems that it would be a waste of time for advertisers to use the internet as a means of communication with their consumers considering that 94% of American homes have telephones, 80% own VCR's and 63% have cable television. It seems that through television and telephones, advertisers would reach a broader audience. However, according to an article written in 1995, by the end of the year, the PC penetration will reach 40% while the multimedia and on-line customer bases are expected to double (Donlin 27). Whatever seems logical, "the network is expected to become a major marketing vehicle someday, but right now [1995] its biggest advertisers are the web sites themselves, according to a study by New York based Webtrack" ("Web Sites Top List of Internet Advertisers"). This will most definitely change in the near future because companies are realizing, as did Chrysler and Holiday Inn, if a consumer learns more about the company from which s/he buys, s/he is more likely to become a loyal consumer to that specific company.
It seems as though advertisers have found a new avenue through which it is possible to promote specific companies. New products can be introduced, while simultaneously promoting loyalty to buying exclusively from a specific corporation. The way that advertisers have approached the creation of websites bears a distinct resemblance to the approach that everyday people have for their personal homepages. The common traits that all websites, personal or commercial, must have are purpose, focus, coherence and links. Without these four necessary factors, it is nearly impossible to have a successful homepage.
Works Cited
Burgess, John. "Glitch Reveals the Power of the Internet." _The Washington Post_ 31 Jan. 1994, WB17.
Donlin, Dennis. "Scaling New Media Mountains". _Advertising Age_ 27 March 1995: 22.
Dyer, Gillian. "Advertising As Communication". New York: Routledge, 1982.
Holiday Inns, Inc. Homepage
Hotchkiss, George Burton, M.A. _An Outline of Advertising_. New York: The Macmilan Company, 1933.
"Internet Ads: The Debate Goes On." Advertising Age 2 May 1994: 23.
Rotzoll, Kim B., James E. Haefner, and Charles H. Sandage. _Advertising in Contemporary Society_. Cincinnati: South-western Publishing Co., 1990.
"Web Sites Top List of Internet Advertisers." _Los Angeles Times_ 11 Dec. 1995, D3.