We have talked a lot on this blog about the importance of owning the assets of your business. Too often, business owners rely too much on marketing efforts they do not own. Recently, Sonia Simone of CopyBlogger wrote an article that discusses this very subject. She brings up the term “digital sharecropping” which was coined by Nicholas Carr to describe how this phenomenon works:

One of the fundamental economic characteristics of Web 2.0 is the distribution of production into the hands of the many and the concentration of the economic rewards into the hands of the few.

So, when businesses put all of their efforts into sites like Facebook, they need to understand that Facebook effectively owns their content. So, that begs the question, what happens when you somehow violate the Facebook terms of service or they change the way they allow you to communicate with your friends and fans? As Sonia described it, “The more content we create for free, the more valuable Facebook becomes. We do the work, they reap the profit.”

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of the opportunities provided by sites like Facebook and Twitter and Google +. It does mean, however, that you need to realize that for those sites, you are a sharecropper and the landlord doesn’t know or care who you are.

Ms. Simone suggests that there are three assets (that you own) that you should be concentrating on.

1. A well-designed website or blog populated with lots of valuable content
2. An opt-in email list, ideally with a high-quality autoresponder
3. A reputation for providing impeccable value

It is important to know what online assets you own. It is also important to know that the assets you think you own, such as your website, really are under your ownership. Sometimes, businesses think they own their website, only to find out that their web designer is actually the owner. I have seen it happen too many times. Web designers register your domain in their own name and they then effectively own your website. I’m not sure this is always done maliciously. I know some “web designers” who just don’t know not to do that.

Make sure you own the assets of your business and that they are the ones that you are growing. As digital sharecroppers, we may not survive if we put all our efforts into the sites we are sharecropping and the landlord fails/kicks us out/changes directions.

For those of you in the Twin Lakes area, sign up for the Website Strategy and Planning Seminar. The seminar is on Tuesday, September 27th at the Donald W. Reynolds Library in Mountain Home. Visit the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center website for registration information.

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Today we are going to look at 7 major website design flaws. You’ve seen them, and they drive most of us crazy.

They are:

1. Lack of Personality
2. Hard to Read Text
3. Confusing Navigation
4. Distracting Design Elements
5. Auto-Play Media
6. Trying Too Hard To Be Different
7. Click To Enter Pages

Lack of Personality. These are sites with little color and most images are stock images. Many technical sites are like this. Don’t go overboard, but do show some of your personality in your site.

Hard To Read Text. These sites have text that is too small or uses a strange font that is difficult to read. Some have background images behind the text which sometimes hides the text.

Confusing Navigation. You’ve been to these sites where navigating them is like going through a maze. And even though you finally find the information you’re looking for, the next time you visit the site you can’t remember how to get to it. Don’t make it difficult for your website visitors to find the information they are looking for.

Distracting Design Elements. Flashing text and ads, anything that distracts from your message should not be on your website.

Auto-play Media. How many times have you gone to a website and sound (music, voices, train wreck) starts blasting out of your speakers. You had been listening to your favorite band on your computer the day before and had the sound turned up. You start looking for the ‘Stop’ button and can’t find it. If you have some kind of media to be played on your site, give visitors a choice to use it. Don’t force it upon them.

Trying Hard To Be Different. Unless your website caters to a group that requires it to be different, don’t. Most websites are set up similarly the same way most books have a table of contents, chapters and pages. Hiding menu items behind unmarked objects may seem clever, but may be a hindrance for your visitors. Most people visit websites for information, not Easter egg hunts.

Click To Enter Pages. Whether it is a Flash animation or just a static image, Click-to-Enter pages are a roadblock to your website. Why make a visitor wait for 1 second or 2 minutes before entering your site to get the information she is looking for? As with Auto-play media, you are forcing your visitor to do something they didn’t choose to do. If your Flash animation is so important, give your website visitor the choice to watch it.

These are just a few of the no no’s in website design. Let us know the ones that bother you.

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