KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Don't take it personally! I'm thinking about writing that on my glasses. "Keep It Simple, Stupid:" one of the cardinal rules of... well, everything, but one of the most overlooked.

This week we'll take a quick look at a great, incredibly popular website and a formerly great, formerly popular site.

Case Study #1

Imagine a site, started by two college friends, who felt the world needed what they had to offer, that drew more than 150 MILLION page views, every day of the week. Imagine a site so successful, its name became a verb. That's Google. Why has Google thrived while other search engine sites have faded? Well, aside from the obvious (their product is just better at meeting users' needs), look at their home page. Or the News section. Or any section. It's pure and simple. Google users are visiting the Google site to find information, or occassionally products, but the point is: that's what they find! No flashy ads, no subscriber-only areas; just pure results, and the few ads you find are clean and clearly labeled.

You may notice I talk about Google a lot. Any reason? Aside from the fact that it's useful for people doing business online, it's also critical to us! And its popularity only grows...

Case Study #2

Imagine a company known for pushing the limits, a company whose free products are used by 96% of Internet users and whose paid products are used by a majority of Internet professionals. Imagine a site that served all those people - visitors, customers, and partners, seamlessly. Now imagine a redesign that absolutely destroys that site. That's Macromedia.com. The makers of Flash, Dreamweaver, ColdFusion, and dozens of other nifty products failed to heed their own advice recently, and built a site almost entirely in Flash, reducing the number of features, alienating visitors, and simply put, losing business. Don't believe me? Take a look at the comments users have had on Macromedia's own discussion board. What happened? They got fancy - pure and simple. A once easy-to-use resource has become a great frustration to many of its biggest fans!

The Lesson

My summary will follow my own advice: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Free Content and A New Look!

Our own site has gotten an overhaul, which we hope will make it more useful and more attractive. See our new site design.

Also, we're pleased to offer you a FREE resource to add to your site. It's called the "Quote of the Picosecond" - a random famous quote every time someone views your page, displayed right on your site, and it takes only seconds to set up. Get your free content here. (What's a "picosecond?" One one-trillionth of a second, that's what!)

We hope you enjoy your free content! Remember, Keep It Simple, and let us know how we can help you "clean up" online! See you next time.

Sincerely,

Ed Cottrell, Editor and President