You know when you go to a website and start reading an article, say, and then suddenly a big box pops up covering the page saying get our free thing, or sign up for this or that? I always try to click that box away as fast as possible. And even if I do manage to find the close button, it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But it wasn’t until recently that I really thought about why those types of so-called “dark patterns” bother me so much. They don’t show respect. They show me that whoever created the website is more interested in getting me to do something that helps them out than they are in serving me as a visitor, a reader, a potential customer. And if that’s the beginning of our relationship, where’s it going next?
One of our core principles at Tassu is respect, and this respect ripples out into everything we do. Naturally it guides our interactions with you, our customer. And it also importantly factors into the work we do on your website and marketing. When we build your website, we make sure it reflects in all its aspects the respect that you have for your customers, and they will feel it. And if the visitors to your website feel respected, they’ll have a more positive experience, they’re more likely to have a good impression of you and trust you more. And that’s the right foundation for a long-term relationship.
How does this respect show up in practical terms on your website?
Here are 3 ways:
- Beauty: Your website should be aesthetically beautiful. This is like when you have visitors over at your house and before they arrive you clean up, you put on some nice music, you set out a bouquet of flowers. This is respect and makes them feel welcome.
- Clarity: The text on the site, the language that you use, should be clear and direct and honest.
- Performance: The site should be performant and easy to use. What do I mean by that? I mean the pages should load quickly, if not instantly. When something is clickable, that should be clear, and when I click it it should just work. When I scroll down the page, it should happen smoothly and elegantly without interruptions or surprises.
These 3 characteristics—beauty, clarity and performance—are the hallmarks of website experience that shows respect. And that’s what we strive for with every site we build. So take a look at your web presence and ask yourself if there’s anything you could optimize here to make sure you’re showing respect to your visitors. And if you’d like to talk to us about partnering with you to make your web presence more respectful and giving you and your organization more confidence online, get in touch with us.