The mystery of the PURPLE Square & other Web Design Trends - As told by a Vancouver, WA Web Developer/Designer

Purple Square

Wow. Look at the PURPLE square! Isn't it exciting? So sleek, so informative, so unique. What an attention grabber. I'm gonna sell more because I have a purple square and no one else does! Look at me!

LOL.

One of the benefits of being a Web Designer in Vancouver, Washington for over 22 years is that I get to see some interesting trends come and go. The Purple Square is one of them. I don't necessarily mean EXACTLY a purple square, what I mean is the idea of one.

Example. Let's say you're in the business to sell widgets. You want to sell more widgets than your competition, so you decide to set up a website and hire a Web Developer like me to create a site.

One of the first things we do is sit down look at 10 other websites that sell what you sell.

Let's say you only recognize 5 out of the 10 as competitors. Then you notice that the 3 most popular sites (according to their position on Google) all have PURPLE squares on them. Then you notice that you personally know one of the competitors and you know for a fact that he's driving a brand new Porsche...so he must be selling lots of widgets. Hmm. You think. His product is just like mine, so it must be the fact that his site has a purple square.

Maybe you think you'll sell more widgets if you too have a PURPLE square on your site, because, after all, you want to drive a Porsche too! So you tell to your Web Designer that you require a PURPLE square on your site. Some Web Designers might question you and ask Why? But many will so OK, it's your party and onto your site a PURPLE square goes.

Happens all the time. Too many times...unfortunately. This is how Web Design trends get started. Someone, somewhere (probably some elite designer in New York) decided that a PURPLE square would attract more customers.

But you say. "Hey, the PURPLE square works. I mean look, I'm selling tons of widgets!" Next thing you know within two months everyone in your market has a PURPLE square on their site. Then, you notice sales are down. Then you notice the number one site on Google now has a GREEN Circle on their site and their sales are BOOMING! So you inform your Web Designer. "OK the PURPLE square doesn't work anymore. Now I need a GREEN Circle too."

The cycle continues on and on and on! Yikes.

"Yeah? - A lot of people like that reform. Maybe we should get us some."

One of my favorite lines from the movie "O, Brother where art thou?"

Let's get back to basics here with Web Marketing 101.

Think about it. People are not buying your product because of the PURPLE square or the GREEN circle. They buy your product because it is good and they like it or they hear they might like it and they want to try it. Advertisers who create labels for products in the grocery store would argue differently but for websites... what always sells is a GOOD product at a GOOD price and one with good reviews.

Don't get me wrong. Deciding to make a website that uses modern design is an absolute must. First impressions are very important and a site that looks "dated" can hurt you in many ways. If today's modern design requires a PURPLE square or a GREEN circle just beware that these are not going to sell you more product in the long run. Common sense wins every time.

Check out out our Web Design Page for more examples about how to create a great web site ... or continue to watch this space!