10 things your web designer does not want you

to knowPaul Boag (boagworld.com)

Xboagworld.com/websiteownersmanual/

The customer is always right

take back control

10 ways

1. Request Speculative Design

no excusenever pay

never too busyunconstrained

2. Don’t worry about users

obsessedtell users

the big squeeze

3. Use instinct, not testing

testing - why?to make money

you know alreadyhours vs. years

expensivehome based

4. form a committee

other opinions not the designers

form a committeedesign on flycompromise

a tolerable design

5. be obsessed with detail

devil in the detaildesigner too ‘arty’

micro managepixel pushers

6. enforce style guides

designers ignoreprint vs web (BS)ego is the reality

a firm handcolour - pantonesfonts - use flash

logos

7. use all of the homepage

most importantusers stop here

users do not clickmaximise contentlost in the crowd?

8. remember the fold

limited spaceusers do not scroll

a myth?the boss test

9. only test in IE6

hours of testinga scam!

IE dominatesbusiness uses IE6

compatibleupgrade notice

10. seo is more important

design is pointlesssearch matters

tricks/techniquesgoogle guidelines

a sacrificerepeat traffic?

the moral of the story...Avoid speculative workObsess over usersAlways testAvoid design by committeeUse all your designers skills

Be flexible over style guidesRelax about the homepageThere is no foldProvide browser supportIts not just about SEO

thanks