Internal Server Error
what the voices in my head tell me to write
Saturday, October 24, 2009
UX isnt just for the big boys
Recently I have been looking at a lot of relatively small scale web development companies. They produce a whole bunch of sites for small and medium scale businesses. They all seem to view UX as a either part of the graphic design of a site or an unnecessary luxury that they can not afford.
I would personally argue it is something that they cannot afford to be without. It adds an extra selling point to their pitches at clients. It might require explaining a few extra things at the same time but at least it should give their potential clients something to latch on to compared to all the other competing agencies. Its not a unique selling point but at least its a different selling point.
Small agencies seem obsessed with graphic design and SEO. Its almost as if nothing else matters to them or their clients. I would argue that they often fail to meet their clients expectations because they don't consider the user experience. Getting things like e-commerce right is not a matter of fitting things into a CMS/e-commerce system that comes off the shelf. Its a complicated process that needs tailoring to individual sites customers needs. Its in areas like where UX comes and has a huge potential to make a difference to the clients bottom line and the agencies chances of getting more business.
If a small 10 or 12 person agency had one UX person working for them I would personally be prepared to bet that they can pull ahead of their rivals as it would give them a competitive edge. UX is not for the big boys. It gives the little people the chance to compete by giving them more tools to work with.
Permanent link and Comments posted by Rob Cornelius @ Saturday, October 24, 2009
