The IWD Design Philosophy

First Impressions - You Only Get One!

I'm something of a minimalist in regards to site design.  But, less really is more, when it comes to crafting an effective web site.  That is especially true of the first page of a site.  We have all seen websites that try to say too much, too soon.  Their index pages are piled to the rafters with everything imaginable, from flashy banners and graphics to advertisements and text in a dozen different fonts and colors.  The overall effect is often like a disorganized, unfocused jumble of words and images with no point of reference.

Faced with a bloated, disorganized web page, most users will focus on what looks promising, or what catches their eye, and ignore most of the rest.  To be effective, it is important to say enough to cover the main areas of interest, but not so much that users disregard half the content.  You only get one chance to make a first impression.  Making that first impression a positive one should be one of the primary goals of any developer.  The first page of a web site should serve as a brief introduction and a warm invitation to explore the site further, not a flashing beacon which, simply stated, tries too hard.