Site Design: Forget the Bells and Whistles

Have you ever sat in a movie theater and got so wrapped up in the story that you actually forgot you were in a theater? The screen, the walls, the people around you all "disappear". It’s quite the experience and when it happens it is always a pleasure.

In my last post we discussed how the key to affiliate marketing the WA way is to trust the process as presented. In other words, don’t reinvent the wheel; Kyle really does know what he’s doing.

We also went over the importance of focusing on content creation and less on design. Time management is important to all of us budding entrepreneurs, and every minute spent fooling with your site’s design is a minute you’re not writing new content, and it’s the content that is driving all of your traffic.

That said, there are still going to be members out there that are obsessed with making a site fancy. Therefore, I would like to address site design just a bit today…

Forget the Bells and Whistles

Today’s article is a result of a discussion I had with @LenkaSophie. She is absolutely incredible, and her posts are a must read for everyone needing a bit of encouragement. Give her a follow.

So, here is my position on site design: simple and clean is the way to go. And lest you think I recommend that because I lack the “talent” to do more, I remind you that I am well versed in such topics as graphic design, UI, and coding languages like HTML, CSS, Java, and many more.

In other words, I can make something fancy and beautiful if I choose to. But I don’t. And here’s why…

For our purposes, human psychology is much more important than art and design.

Think of it this way...

Our brains are extremely powerful, but one thing they can't do is process two things at exactly the same time. Thus, if a reader is paying attention to what they see -- the design -- they are not focused on your content.

Likewise, my belief is that a site's design should be such that it melts away into the background and the reader -- much like in the movie theater -- gets drawn into the content. They are fixated on the words and the story. They are concentrating on the information. They are focused on what brought them there in the first place. And that makes them want to stay longer and return in the future.

If you can accomplish that, you will have provided them with an incredible experience.

Take care and keep writing.

AJ