Robin Good has ask a question that puzzles us also... Why are companies reluctant to redesign their websites?

He links to an interesting interview covering the reasons for why companies and organizations have so much trouble when deciding to improve the look and accessibility fo their Web sites:

For larger companies, everyone from management on down is short on staff. The last thing they want to do is "assign" themselves another big task. As long as the webmaster keeps abreast of the technical problems, marketing and sales are looking elsewhere to generate revenue. On small business sites, often one or two people wear all the hats, including webmaster and CEO. They spend all their time selling their services, so creating a website project is a low priority.

Getting all the input in one place at the beginning of the project can do wonders for project success. When this is applied to Internet planning (or any technology plan), it removes the barriers and helps each group apply its best creative knowledge. Regardless of the process, you should gather a diverse group to strategize together.

He then gives a list of likely mistakes that people makes in the process of website (re)design.

• Lack of good testing.
• Lack of multiple distribution formats.
• Failure to solicit participation and feedback from customers.
• Redesigning without clear goals in mind.

Design is indeed very important and closely connected to accessibility. It is a great fortune to find a web developer who is an artist or vice versa. We know, we have done.

Testing, feedback and distribution formats are all subjected to the purpose of the website. One of the first questions we ask when someone wants a blog is - Who do you want to talk to?...

When it comes to blogs, design is perhaps more obvious as there is an expectation of individuality by those who read them and some of the blog functionality lend themselves to more creative designs - the banner, blog post dividers, blogroll etc.

The best thing is that you cannot have a blog in flash. Flash websites are one of our pet hates, as we simply cannot see the point. Yeah, they look good to the creatives and obviously to the people who pay for them, but the user is left out from that happy party. I guess the reason I hate flash sites is because they are made according to the 'old media' mind-set. You are supposed to sit back and watch what they prepared here for you. Sod that. As a user, I want to find what I came here for, not watch an animated performance. A virtual resource, if you will. Anyway, feel free to join my 'flash websites are eeevil' movement...

Note: Our Design Guru is in the process of designing, like, the best blog design ever. Well, at least a pretty damn good one.

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