This past week has been a busy one for us. For my part, I analyzed a lot of sites and came across several new competitors. One competitor has made over 700 sites, almost all of them for a particular industry. They have also won multiple awards for web design. Why? As near as I can tell, it’s because the pictures are very nice and they move around. Any innovations with navigation? No. Any innovations with list building? No. Seems the people who give out awards just look at how pretty a site is, not at how effective they generate more leads and close more sales, and certainly not at the ROI for the site owner.

We’ve outlined a different strategy to this potential client; one that has simpler navigation and integrates list building strategies. They just recently received the proposal, so we haven’t heard back officially, but other sources in our network who are close to the decision makers tell us it looks like their going to make the right decision and go with us. Regardless, I am 100% confident that our unique approach to web design results in a much greater value for our clients.

For the record, at WealthNet we strive for beauty, but not because beauty is an end unto itself. Rather, beauty is part of setting the mood and establishing confidence for your visitor. In that sense, it helps close sales. But having things flying all around the screen, scrolling, sliding, fading, etc. is often counter productive. It distracts your visitor, and search engines can’t make heads or tails of it.

We probably won’t win any awards, except for the accolades of our customers, but we take pride in knowing that we help entrepreneurs and professionals create wealth with our web 2.0 designs.

Are you a designer who disagrees, or a business owner who has spent a lot of money on a site that didn’t produce much revenue?  Share your thoughts in the comments.