This article from the invaluable Boagworld blog outlines 10 common misconceptions corporations often have about their own websites and attempts to “dispel these illusions and encourage people to face the harsh reality”.

We all make mistakes running our websites. However the nature of those mistakes varies depending on the size of your website. As your site and organisation grow, the mistakes begin to change. This post addresses common mistakes in larger organisations.

Original article: http://boagworld.com/business_strategy/10_harsh_truths_about_corporat/

Summary of key points

1. you need a separate web division
2. managing your website is a full time job
3. periodic redesign is not enough
4. your site cannot appeal to everyone
5. your site is not all about you
6. design by committee brings death
7. you’re not getting value from your web team
8. a cms is not a silver bullet
9. you have too much content
10. you are wasting money on social networking

Key quotes

The article contains some great insights, such as:

On appealing to everyone:

The harsh truth is that if you build a site for everybody it will appeal to nobody. It is important to be extremely focused in your audience and cater your design and content around them.

Does this mean you have to ignore your other users? Not at all. Your site should be accessible by all and should not offend or exclude anybody. However, it does need to have a clearly defined audience that the site is primarily aimed at.

On Content Management Systems:

(A CMS) system may allow for the easy updating of content, but that does not ensure it will be updated or even that the quality of copy will be maintained. Many content managed websites still have out of date content or are filled with poor quality copy. This is because the internal processes have not been put in place to support the content contributors.

On intended audiences:

A website should not be about pandering to the preferences of staff but about meeting the needs of users. Too many designs are rejected because the boss doesn’t like green. Equally too much website copy uses acronyms and terms that are only used internally within an organisation.

On social networking:

Instead of having a corporate twitter account or indeed even a corporate blog, encourage your employees to start tweeting and blogging themselves. Provide guildelines on acceptable behaviour and the tools they need to start engaging directly with the community that surrounds your products and services. This not only demonstrates a commitment to your community but also a human side to your business.

Selected screen-shots

Design by committee leads to design on the fly.

I’m sure we’ve all been in meetings where this happens! I know I have.

The University of Aberdeen's concise history

Most people working within the internet industry will no doubt have come across several of these misconceptions before (certainly I’ve banged my head against several brick walls because of things like these in the past), and its interesting and hopefully useful to see them laid out in black and white.

Original article: http://boagworld.com/business_strategy/10_harsh_truths_about_corporat/