Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Design and Content : About Host Site Designs

[oracleweb]

Greetings

This has been bugging me ..it is small and silly but..well..you know how it can get!

Why do almost all hosts and resellers choose THOSE host site designs ...
MAN I am so bored of them..pictures of computers! and the flash top..over and over and over again!

I remember some years ago when DreamHost came out with a site with all those clouds heh! What a relief!

So much more comfortable for non geeks.

And with all these resellers with sites that have no sense of ..urmm..their uniqueness..no character at all..

I keep thinking at some point a new trend will start ...with hosts working to actually be original and reflect that in their design.

Just a rant

[eservicesu]

Well its not too bad when you see like 10 hosts with the same template_monster design :/

[oracleweb]

My site is still very much under construction.

I decided though to set it up with question

"Hey so where are the pictures of Computers and such"

And provide a link to a monster template version of my site for those who really feel that style indicates professionalism

Yes I REALLY mean it and will do it.

Laughs

[Axi]

Why does a shoe catalog of pictures of shoes? Why does Direct TV have pictures of sattellites? Why do hosts, have pictures of servers?

[oracleweb]

Urrmmm to that last one perhaps..

because they are geeks and see themselves in terms of maintaining a bunch of machines...rather than customer service and interaction...or helping customers be successful in their project or business or using the technology.

Web hosts don't sell machines like shoe salesman sell shoes. Hopefully they sell a service which involves people and their varied projects.



Best

[Axi]

Well, they are selling space that are part of thier servers.

[alexcroft199]

Totally agree with Axi

[websterworld]

Money.

its the answer to a lot of things.
they need to look like pros, you don't see an IBM site with birds do you?

its all about marketing, and I can't blame them for wanting to make money.

But I understand your point.

[oracleweb]

Hi websterworld

I agree..
Money is the answer...At least in what people * think* makes more money

Yet, I wonder if the perception that the monster templates with computer pictures and flash top is what makes a site look more professional or have greater appeal is accurate.

Certainly if one is hosting programmers or tech types..that would be true.

Yet the folks who are not techies...I am not convinced this is a great draw.

I think of it as the difference in appeal between compuserve and aol.

While the interested crowds have soon overlap...many of those attracted to one would not be attracted to the other.

And the biggest complaint I hear from people about bad experiences with hosts ..is not (with a few notable exceptions) that the hosts didn't know how to do thetechnical stuff...but that they didn;t know how to deal with people..or address things to non-technical audiences.

It seems to me most hosts are trying to be everything to everyone..and going the technical design image route...
Yet I have to wonder whether mre specialization migt be fiscally beneicial and provide better service to many people

Best

[websterworld]

hi, oracleweb

Yet, I wonder if teh perception that the monster templates with computer pictures and flash top is what makes a site look more professional or have greater appeal is accurate.

Certainly if one is hosting programmers or tech types..that would be true.

Yet the folks who are not techies...I am not convinced this is a great draw.

I don't agree.

The computer pictures, and happy people, are made and shown for, and only for the "not techies".

Its meant to overwhelm them.
"not techies" see site with computer picture, and happy god.
"not techies" go: "oooohh, aaahh" bow down before the almighty host!

A "techie" person unlike "not techies" doesn't give a tidy rabbits ass if a host has a template with flash or a server pic.

A "techie" will look at the plan value, the forum, the TOS, ask Q's, compare, test, probe and go with another host.

[DayGlo]

I think it's just a lack of creativity.

[ekosektorpje]

I think everyone has just lost their creativity.

I think almost every host looks like a clone. In terms of their services, their branding strategy, and their customer service.

If a host is smart and really wants to make money they will come up with a unique branding and marketing strategy so that they stand out.

Oh and one more thing... You cannot relate IBM this argument. IBM has an excellent web presense its clean, professional, and most importantly effectively conveys their content. In contast, most "amatuer" webhosts, in my opinion dont posses any of those qualities.

[alexcroft199]

They are all the same as said above just like they are "clones" of each other.
They all have the same prices, designs, options everything is the same, and there is too many of them. Soon there won't be any money making involved as there are far too many and it will be hard to start off.

They all use the same template and just change it a bit! There should be something against making the internet this boring. Guess most domains and you will end up at a web hosting and/or design company.
How boring??

[ANMMark]

Well, as a former marketing major, I can tell you that it is important to convey what you do to ALL masses. Otherwise you lose your message.

I believe that you can include images of servers on your site, without being cliche.

We decided not to use computer images in our site, AS OF YET. However, we do plan to include them at some point, throughout the evolution of our current design.

I too however, got pretty tired of the old traditional hosting design. While some would say that our current design looks like a template_monster template in style, the majority vote says it's totally unique.

While I don't think design is the most important aspect of a hosting business, I do feel, as a designer, that it would be nice to see hosts get creative, create a theme for your site, and design around it.

[websterworld]

ekosektorpje you didn't get my point.
I like IBM and its sites, I never said they did anything wrong or boring. I just slipped in the fact that you don't see a high-technology pro company like IBM with birds and clouds on their site.

That is very understandable.
They point is that most hosts are small, and want to seem bigger and more pro like by using this templates. they try to overwhelm plain people. and that's a bit not right.