Poreto’s Principle in Web Design

Poreto’s Principle is also known as the 80/20 rule.  It can be used observed in almost all fields of effort.

e.g.  In a company, 20% of the staff do 80% of the work.  In a garden 20% of pea pods hold 80% of the peas.  At a party 20% of the people will eat 80% of the cake.

When it comes to building effective websites for business and individuals, I’ve discovered the equation looks like this.  80% of the site is built in 20% of the time.  It’s the remaining 20% that takes an additional 80% of the time.  And it’s this 20% that seriously sets one website apart from another.

Now, having said that, I think there is a market for the simple sites that are built in 20% of the time. Quick, simple, no tweaks, straight off the template – what we might call a ‘business card style’ or ‘simple web presence’.  It’ s not built to win stacks of business, wow clients or engage their minds and senses.  A simple place where information can be found.  I build these sometimes because it’s all the client wants – and having said that, they tend to look pretty good and clients are most impressed getting what they do for about $1400.

Move up from that and you get something totally different. You get hours upon hours of tweaking, changing, support and testing.  You get my Brainspace – the remaining 80%.  You get the wow factor, you get the engagement, you get something that will win business and convert browsers to buyers… it goes without saying that you’re going to pay at least double for the privilege and it’s more of a journey than an event.  .e.g. stevepenny.org maroochycarsound.com.au

I’m sure you can see this at work in your business.   And there are times when all people want is the 80%.  Case-in-point are the Virgin and Jetstar models of air travel.  You want to get from A-B with no extras,  no refund and no apologies for under $100? Great!  But don’t pay peanuts and expect the moon – if you do, you might find yourself upset and starring in a TV program about whinging idiots at airports!

We need to decide who we want to cater for, what pushes our buttons and what the market is demanding – sometimes we may be able to offer both a First Class and Economy Class option.

You may be a First Class type person and pleased to deal with the high end market and you’ll work on improving your effectiveness. You may be happy to do a set task for a set amount and move onto the next one,  so you’ll sit in the Economy market and you’ll work on improving your efficiency.

So when it comes to a 80/20 business model.  Be the ’80′ or the ’20′ or offer both’.   Just don’t be the ‘/’  .  It confuses everyone!