What is a web site?

According to dictionary.com a website is, "A connected group of pages on the World Wide Web regarded as a single entity, usually maintained by one person or organization and devoted to a single topic or several closely related topics."¹ Most online sources will say something close to that, but to me that's like defining a car as, "A mobile metal enclosed passenger compartment that is mounted on four rubber coated wheels." It just doesn't do justice to it.

A website is an internet-based intermediary that connects people that have some product with those that are interested in it. The product of choice is information, but it can also be physical items, entertainment, or services.

You can find examples of many kinds of websites on the internet, from business sites like MacDonalds which offer corporate information to shopping sites like Amazon.com which sell books and more.

A Sucessful Design Philosophy

Since a website is a mediator between those who have someting and those that want something the design of the site should take into consideration how to best serve both the owners of the site and the users of the site. A site that only serves the owners will go unused and a site that serves only the users will go unfunded. A sucessful design must work out how both parties will best be served. I call this the internet law of service equanimity.

A successful website will do what it was designed to do. If you want your site to generate sales, you have to find people that want what your selling. Sales are not spontaneously generated by websites, users generate them. That is an obvious example, but the law of service equanimity extends all the way to even the most subtle of exchanges.

Web Traffic

A well designed website without vistors is like a flower that goes unseen. Fortunately traffic is rudimentary and easily understood. All your site's traffic is controlled by three factors:

1. Effectiveness: How effective is your site at giving users what that want?
2. Mass Appeal: How many people want what you have?
3. Find-ability: How easy is it for people that don't know about your site to find your site?

Chances are if your site doesn't have the traffic you expected or desire then it suffers from deficiencies in one or more of these areas. Web traffic is a dependant on return users (effectiveness) and new users (mass appeal & find-ability).

Web 2 and beyond

For the last four or more years many have been branding recent trends in web sites as "Web 2.0" or rich internet applications. Essentially the trends towards rich user interactions, application class interfaces, and user to user networking is only the natural progression of adaptive technology and good design principles.

To people interested in developing new web sites or applications I recommend forgeting about all the hype and marketing buzzwords that web'sperts like to make up. Focus instead on the development of web applications that address the needs of both the owner and users and use proven and reliable technology.

Following this simple design philosophy will produce sites that are 3.0 and beyond and have people scratching thier heads trying to come up with a new buzzword to better define your site.

David Michael Akers
web that works