Web Design & Marketing Blog

Challenges That Every Website Must Conquer

Category: Blog

Written by Estevan Montoya

We all know that the internet is based in an environment that grows at a rapid rate. People are constantly looking for ways to improve what we find, how we find, and what it does when we find it, all based from a little text search bar. The hardest thing in keeping up with the internet is, well....keeping up with the internet. In keeping up with the internet, there are some hurdles that a website must over come to be relevant, easy to use, and up to date.

Why all changes? Why can't things stay the same as they are today? Well there are a few reasons why things move so rapidly and fast past on the world wide web:

• People continue to learn and improve themselves, therefore they improve their environment
• New techonogly advancements create the need for new software and systems
• People tend to make the rules, teach the rules, and then bend the rules when it comes to the web
• Internet connection speed advancements has caused people to take advantage of what the web offers
• Designers and devlopers want to make the next "big" thing

Really, I can go on and on about why the internet continues to improve and why people are making it improve. Yet, all that being said, websites, if not properly made will face challenges. The designers and developers must find ways to overcome these challenges, or websites will be left in the dust!

What are the challenges every website must conquer?

Browser Compatibility

This is BIGGEST problem I have been facing in designing websites. At some points I wish I could shoot the developers of certain internet browsers....well, maybe not shoot them, so a good slap would be fine. I am serious, what looks good in one web browsers can look horrible in another. This goes for nearly every browser. That means that when a person is writing the code, they have to constantly test it in other browsers. The three main browsers we must consider are the following: Internet Explorer (YUCK!), Mozilla FireFox, and Google Chrome.

These three browsers are the leading browser of choice. In fact, in a monthly study, over 90% of internet exploring takes place through one of these web browsers (CLICK HERE to read more). Though they are popular, they always don't get along. That is why, as we design, we must be aware of issues a certain web browser may have, and write our code to be compatible with all of them. It's not like it used to be, just two browsers, one for mac's and an other for pc's. Try taking a look at your website, in detail, in different web browsers, and you'll see the difference. This will also help you appreciate your website design agency for fixing these problems before you even knew they existed.

Internet Speed

I would like to think that everyone had a high speed internet, connection, but that's not the case (though I'd like it because I have  SLOOOOOOW connection at home!). VivaNet2.0 is located in northern New Mexico, USA, and we have found that there are still people using dial up connections. People often will not have a high speed connection for a few reasons:

• Not avaliable in their area, like my area
• Don't want to pay for upgrades
• Can't pay for upgrade
• Their computer can't take advantage of it

Those are just a few reasons why we must consider how large a website is. If people in a certain area need your service, but don't have the ability to load your website, then you might be losing out. People don't want to wait for long time. We live in a generation when people want results FAST. If your website has too many images, large images, or too many objects that slow your load time, then you must overcome that challenge by making changes somewhere. What good is a pretty website if people have a hard time loading it?

Internet Trends

We all know, website trends change all the time. I remember hearing commercials from AOL stating, "just enter keyword: Blah Blah, and you can connect", or the dreaded "You Got Mail." Then Yahoo! came on the scene. Microsoft tried to compete, then Google came up. Then we all remember MySpace. Now people are tweeting, digging, stumbling, poking, and tumbling. There is a lot to being social media savvy, and it can make or break a website. We can't all keep up with everything, but we can keep up with a few systems that we are familiar with.

I persnonally use facebook and twitter to keep up with web trends. There are a lot more out there, and it you are able, you should try to get to know them. In doing so, you will help you business website and company. just remember, what works today may not work tomorrow, so don't get too settled in one system only.