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01-16-2009, 05:03 PM #1Web Hosting Master
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If you're browsing for a new host, do you care about the design of the site you're looking at? Would you be put off a host if their site was poorly designed and ugly?
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01-16-2009, 05:09 PM #2Web Hosting Master
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I won't get too into the psychology of sales (for example, I own a food place in a mall, and supposedly, reds/oranges/and blues make people want food more), but of course it matters. Nobody wants to look at something that's not enjoyable to see. There are exceptions though. If the ugly site offers the same thing for $4 with a better review history from customers than the pretty site that charges $25 for the exact same stats, then of course I might stay on the ugly site a bit longer.
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01-16-2009, 05:33 PM #3
I won't get too into the psychology of sales (for example, I own a food place in a mall, and supposedly, reds/oranges/and blues make people want food more), but of course it matters. Nobody wants to look at something that's not enjoyable to see. There are exceptions though. If the ugly site offers the same thing for $4 with a better review history from customers than the pretty site that charges $25 for the exact same stats, then of course I might stay on the ugly site a bit longer.
Same take here (for example, I own a salon in a professional building with lots of colors in a tropical theme - does it help with walk-ins? Absolutely!). In a marketing sense, content is generally 60 percent of the value though. On a website, your challenge is to get prospects to read your content! If I happen upon a website that's difficult to read - small type in light colors blended into the background - I move on immediately.
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01-16-2009, 05:51 PM #4Retired Moderator
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As a web hosting consumer, I am definitely very sensitive to the design of a web host's (or any company for that matter) site. The way I see it is this: if they don't put any effort into the design or functionality of their site, what are the chances of them putting forth effort in customer service or another important aspect of the company? The company website is the first thing a potential new customer sees, so it should make a good impression. If a site is sloppy, it makes the company seem unprofessional.
Sure, there are great services with crappy sites and crappy services with great sites. But why take the risk of being labeled crappy before anyone even tries your services?
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01-16-2009, 05:53 PM #5Disabled
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I am actually the type of person who would pay more for a company with a better looking website. I believe it is more professional and since your whole business is based off of your website, I feel it is a must. You don't want your customer to get a bad impression from one of the first things they see. It can easily attract customers or... make them go elsewhere.
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01-16-2009, 05:55 PM #6Web Hosting Master
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Sure, there are great services with crappy sites and crappy services with great sites. But why take the risk of being labeled crappy before anyone even tries your services?
Very well put.
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01-16-2009, 06:00 PM #7Ecotours Guest
The sites that all use the same template turn me off for some reason. If a company is going to be better or different than the rest it needs to look different than the rest (IMO).
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01-16-2009, 06:12 PM #8Web Hosting Master
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It has to be professional.
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01-16-2009, 06:20 PM #9Web Hosting Master
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I am actually the type of person who would pay more for a company with a better looking website. I believe it is more professional and since your whole business is based off of your website, I feel it is a must. You don't want your customer to get a bad impression from one of the first things they see. It can easily attract customers or... make them go elsewhere.
What gives me a good impression is a website where I can find what I'm looking for.
If the website doesn't make me confident I will find it, I just quit it and look somehere else - it's not as if there is any shortage of suppliers ready to take my money.
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01-16-2009, 07:17 PM #10Retired Moderator
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I try not to judge the hosting service by the site's design, first of all because "ugly" is very much a matter of personal taste. I may simply have different likes and dislikes than the hosting company's owner/designer.
But, as much as I try, I'm sure I still am influenced by looks. You can't fight your instinct and win 100% of the time.
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01-16-2009, 07:17 PM #11PlexxStudio Guest
Yes ugly and poorly made sites are definitely a turn off, but then again pretty sites can still be poorly made, in terms of content arrangement and navigation. If a site look really good but I can hardly find what I'm looking for, then I'll move on. A site should have as much as the info as you would need displayed in an organized and eye-catching fashion!
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01-16-2009, 07:32 PM #12Web Hosting Master
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One big thing in hosting is information. "call for pricing" is bad. Make sure pricing and plan info is on the site.
I seen lot of dedicated/colocation providers not provide price and require to call because they don't want to code a section to add their plans. I skip right over such hosts and move on.
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01-16-2009, 07:41 PM #13Danananana Danananana Batman!
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My personal opinion, a companies website shows how they dress.
If you were a judge in a court of law, two men walk in: one wearing jeans and a oiled down shirt, and one in a highly professional business suit. Who are you more likely to believe and listen to?
There are those rare cases though, so just be careful in choosing a company.
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01-16-2009, 08:41 PM #14Retired Moderator
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It may not be required to succeed, but it absolutely doesn't hurt to have a great looking design. In such a tight market, you want to have every possible edge.
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01-16-2009, 09:11 PM #15Web Hosting Master
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I'd be VERY inclined to sign up with a host having a clean (valid xhtml and non flash based) website design and has useful info within my 2 seconds glance.
You can tell a lot about the host owner from the design of their main page.
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01-16-2009, 09:17 PM #16Corporate Member
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Interesting discussion. A blend of functional design and good looks is key. But we all know that beauty is subjective.
Best
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01-16-2009, 09:40 PM #17Web Hosting Guru
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I like a site that presents the offers in a no nonsense manner. If they have a lot of flash I assume they are trying to impress the newbie.
Ugly doesn't bother me if the facts are easy to find. There is a certain type of "cookie cutter" site that screams new low budget reseller using a template that causes me to pause.
I'd be VERY inclined to sign up with a host having a clean (valid xhtml
And just to yank Zsev's chain; how many of you validate a site before you consider using it. Though he and I are saying the same thing about flash.
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01-16-2009, 09:46 PM #18Web Hosting Master
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If you were a judge in a court of law, two men walk in: one wearing jeans and a oiled down shirt, and one in a highly professional business suit. Who are you more likely to believe and listen to?
I've been lied to and exploited by more folks in suits than I have folks dressed like humans!
I wouldn't apply my next statement to just ANY type of business, but with web hostin in particular I would not git services from a company with a crappy site. It's all about context. Web hostin is a highly technical thang, so it sorta calls fer a nice, slick site.
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01-16-2009, 09:57 PM #19Web Hosting Master
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And just to yank Zsev's chain; how many of you validate a site before you consider using it. Though he and I are saying the same thing about flash.
You're right, validating html is a null point but I give credit to site layouts that render well under firefox + minimum font size enabled. Getting old and having a high resolution monitor is bad for the eyes
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01-17-2009, 03:23 AM #20Aspiring Evangelist
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Of course if you get into all that psychology stuff, having Valid XHTML or incorrect grammar or ugly designs or whatever, you could say that they reflect on the personality of the person that made it.
For example (no, I'm not a psychologist, and this is probably wrong), you could say that someone who uses valid XHTML likes to follow the rules or something like that.
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01-17-2009, 03:31 AM #21Junior Guru
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If you're browsing for a new host, do you care about the design of the site you're looking at? Would you be put off a host if their site was poorly designed and ugly?
For me if I can't read the site well. I have visual problems and that requires enlarging of text and if the site doesn't format well that I probably won't be a customer.
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01-17-2009, 04:16 AM #22Web Hosting Master
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Oh and VERY important, this is a bit beyond design but worth mentioning, is broken links. Broken links is a big sign of disregard or carelessness. So is other "mistakes" like a javascript error, or something more along the lines of this (http://support.galileo.com/Canada/).
Yes, that's code that probably should have parsed on the server, but they messed up, exposing their SQL password to the world.
If I saw something like this on a provider's page I would immediately move on to the next candidate no matter how promising their plans seem.
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01-17-2009, 06:13 AM #23Web Hosting Master
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If I saw something like this on a provider's page I would immediately move on to the next candidate no matter how promising their plans seem.
Yes.
So, a well-done web site might not bring me in, but a badly-done web site will drive me away.
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01-17-2009, 08:14 AM #24WHT Addict
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I will immediately turn away from any host using one of those horrendously crowded web hosting templates. A web host's design should be clean, succinct, and above all, original. Vector Level and A Small Orange are two great examples of this.
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01-20-2009, 10:38 PM #25Web Hosting God
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There are many psychological factors involved when making a purchase. The more you have covered, the more chances you are going to make a sale. How a site looks is part of the psychological process. Doesn't matter if it's a small part, if you have it covered it's another step on the path to making a sale.
(yes, our site is horrenduosly outdated and is being redesigned and will relaunch probably end of next week)