Or how you can’t please them all
A lot of discussions have been raised about the key elements of a good website. When I was creating a new website for our sister-company Whizpr the other day, I realised once more that there is no such thing as ‘standard rules for a good website’.
Before I can explain this statement, I have to enlighten you about the structure of our company. Whizpr, which is a Benelux PR-agency, also has an office in the Netherlands. We both have our own clients, our own methods and our own website. A few months ago, our Dutch office launched their new website and... we had some mixed feelings about it. We were overwhelmed with information, images, word clouds, colours and details... it was a typical Dutch website. Although it met all the needs of the Dutch surfer, we weren’t convinced that this style would also appeal to the Belgian audience.
Therefore, even when keeping all crucial elements for a good website in mind, it might not be perceived as appealing by different cultures. Even in Belgium, there are significant differences in style. The south likes a lot of colour and details while the north prefers simplicity. Actually, there even is a great difference in people from the same region. People that are mostly facts and figures oriented are mostly drawn to websites with a lot of information, graphs and details, while the more sensitive and creative people prefer images and colours.
Finally, I must say that you can definitely follow some rules to create a usability-friendly website, but whether or not it’s appealing, is a shot in the dark. When you are targeting a very specific audience within a small geographical region, you might have a chance to find something that works for the majority of your viewers, but it’s far more difficult when you are designing for different countries.
So, like a very wise French saying goes: les goûts et les couleurs on ne se discutent pas.