I've seen many webhosting sites over the passed few years, and I have never seemed to be able to conclude what is generally professional and what isn't, so I am seeking the opinions of others.

there's a basic set of design "laws" that every site should adhere to no matter what you've got to offer.

ads are always a no-no. makes you look cheap. same goes for template monster templates.

as for flags, it depends on their usage. if used for any sort of patriotism, that's a no-no. its a huge turn-off for anyone not from that country.

patriotic text is a no-no for that same reason. there's nothing wrong with having pride for your country, but most patriotic text can seem arrogant and/or condescending. you don't want yr visitors to disagree with you.

i'm not a big fan of flash introductions, but that's just me. i don't think they're tacky, just annoying.

TOS in main nav...probably not a good idea. its not a main "section", should have a link posted within whatever section it pertains to.

i'm a big fan of having images and links to the products/technologies your site utilizes. give credit where credit is due, i say. i would advise, however, that you modify them to fit into your site's design if need be. or just make yr own.

forums are always good, and so are rollover effects.

abstract site design can be good as long as its still functional and aesthetically pleasing.

I agree with marijun.

my addition:

I don't think abstract design are or should be considered "professional". They look nice but they just don't have a professional feeling.

- Ads = extremly unprofessional (as said above)

A webhosting site has to be bright (i.e. lots of white), I should think.

A dark one isnt really professional looking.

Originally posted by jamesyfx
A webhosting site has to be bright (i.e. lots of white), I should think.

A dark one isnt really professional looking.

Try telling that to 2advanced.com :D

Unfortunately, most hosting designs today are flashy and not created to make sales.

As marijun said, every site has to follow a certain set of design rules which includes clear navigation, lot of whitespace, and appropriate image selections.

In addition, the sole purpose of every business website is to make sales--not to entertain. Learn from hosting companies such as Hostway and Rackshack, which actually make sales. If a flashy site makes more sales than simple ones, they would also have them.

Best regards,
T Ragu

I pretty much agree with what everyone has said.

I don't like Flash sites at all. Flash essentially disables any of your browser's in-built functionality. I don't like giving up that control.

Besides, with the advent of TM and other template sites, Flash is so overdone and overused now that it's becoming tacky. The other bad thing about Flash is all the noise they make. If I want music while I surf, I'll bring my own. ;)

I hate intros period - whether they're static or not. I don't want an extra step between me and the content.

As was said also, the internet is a global place that spans borders - patriotic text on a site such as a hosting site is a big no-no (unless of course, you are catering specifically to customers from that country).

Of course, the biggest no-no on any professional business site is ads. You're a business selling a product or service, you shouldn't need to show your customers ads in order to get more revenue.

I guess I should mention the obvious... The %'s don't mean anything in this situation.

Originally posted by tragu
Unfortunately, most hosting designs today are flashy and not created to make sales.

As marijun said, every site has to follow a certain set of design rules which includes clear navigation, lot of whitespace, and appropriate image selections.

In addition, the sole purpose of every business website is to make sales--not to entertain. Learn from hosting companies such as Hostway and Rackshack, which actually make sales. If a flashy site makes more sales than simple ones, they would also have them.

Best regards,
T Ragu

ive been working on this one website and today the client emails me suggesting i should make her sakles site more interactive by putting cute little animal noises on the rollovers. im like.... ummmm...

this follows last weeks great suggestion of her wanting flashing marquees on all pages of her site with some phrase in it.

before that she sent me some home made logos and banners...

Originally posted by LaurenStephens
ive been working on this one website and today the client emails me suggesting i should make her sales site more interactive by putting cute little animal noises on the rollovers. im like.... ummmm...

this follows last weeks great suggestion of her wanting flashing marquees on all pages of her site with some phrase in it.

before that she sent me some home made logos and banners...

on opening day of her site she got 4 sales and she complained about that and im like, most ppl dont even get TRAFFIC let alone sales the first day~

Originally posted by LaurenStephens
ive been working on this one website and today the client emails me suggesting i should make her sakles site more interactive by putting cute little animal noises on the rollovers. im like.... ummmm...

this follows last weeks great suggestion of her wanting flashing marquees on all pages of her site with some phrase in it.

before that she sent me some home made logos and banners...
Tell her she should have a prompt on the home page telling visitors to give their name, which should then be incorporated into every other line of text on the page. Also, try suggesting that she use a pop-under with advertising for her site and a popup menu in which to display the site's navigation. If she doesn't understand the sarcasm and instead decides these are good ideas, drop the contract and run like hell. ;)

ahhh the pm!! i voted for you!

now im questioning myself about that ;)

Ads are the biggest no-no.

I agree, ads are the biggest no-no, and superfluous use of Flash comes in a mighty close second for me.

Originally posted by LaurenStephens
ahhh the pm!! i voted for you!

now im questioning myself about that ;) Woohoo! Thanks for the support! I wanted to give a concession speech, just to let my worthy challengers know there were no hard feelings on my part, but the networks said their time slots were all booked up *sigh*.

(it's good to see you on the boards again :) )

Originally posted by the_pm
(it's good to see you on the boards again :) )

its good to be unbanned (yet again)

now if only my personal life wasnt so sucky!

Originally posted by z280 Hosting
I guess I should mention the obvious... The %'s don't mean anything in this situation.

The numbers also don't mean anything. The question asks "What is/isn't professional on a webhosting company's website?"

Are we supposed to check the ones that are or aren't? Or maybe we should check all of them since they all either are or or not professional.


Anyway if you have a flash intro (or any intro), I'll be at your competitor's site before it finishes loading. Things like sound and silly animations will also make me leave very quickly.

If it's a commercial site (like selling web services) ads, patriotic text/images, rollover effects, etc won't drive me away from the site but they guarantee I won't buy from you.

Jason

I'm wondering why someone thought having forums was unprofessional.

Originally posted by z280 Hosting
I'm wondering why someone thought having forums was unprofessional. Some forums are unprofessional, i.e. the content and look are unprofessional or the use of a forum for a particular site is inappropriate. But the technology itself isn't unprofessional. Perhaps whoever thought it was unprofessional has had experience with some are really are just that.

Flag image

I am designing my hosting firm's website.

I love flat designs so that I don't do crystal designs but one of my firm director is suggesting me to do with crystal design and use flash or complex/abstract banner design.

I don't use banner at all, just logo at top of the page and flat designs but use some crystal icons from www.everaldo.com.

Now I dont know what to do. Please suggest me...

Does anyone know what CMS everaldo.com uses? Their site looks really neat to me.

Everaldo doesn't use a CMS AFAIK. He's a great designer though.

Originally posted by DanX
Everaldo doesn't use a CMS AFAIK. He's a great designer though.

Yes, he is a good designer as is evident from is cool color icons.
I thought may be it was a CMS on his website.

BTW can anyone suggest a simple CMS for use on a Webhost site?

Is it possible to use my pre-made template with a CMS?

i don like template design, there are few host in my country using template design, they get from template monster, unfortunately i found other host in other country using the same design too.. this will give people the impression that they are not proffesional..

how would you feel if there are other host same design with your site?:D

besides, if your site is make of flash, it will float on top of the page, no matter how big you set the z-index of the div, the flash will float over it..

never put flash beneath ur drop down menu.. u wont see ur menu..

Can anyone suggest a simple CMS for use on a Webhost site?

Is it possible to use my pre-made template with a CMS?