Web Science & Cyberpsychology Blog
Friday, 19th February, 2010

On the Failure of Caribbean Websites

As persons in region are now getting very interested in social media, I talk often about it and share ways in which you can use social media for your particular cause. However, I’ve come to realise that fundamental aspects of our online presence are being seriously neglected. In particular, I’m talking about your website.

Regional Websites Are Failing

Over the years I’ve come to not expect much from websites in the region and I believe others have as well. How many of you think of a local company’s website as being the best source of helpful information about that company? Does it provide helpful information that you can act on?

When I was studying in the UK and visiting elsewhere, the only way I got information about a product and or service being offered by a company was by using the Web. Sometimes this information came from the company’s website or from a general search where I found bloggers or people on forums talking about the product/service. I almost always checked online before choosing and trekking over to a physical store.

In contrast, here in Caribbean I get frustrated when I don’t have the information I need about a particular product/service provided by a local business because they don’t have a website or in most cases even an online presence. Those that do provide websites leave me in bewilderment as they often appear as online business plans prepared in the most eloquent language. Furthermore, these sites feature web designs that lack any trace of logic and concern for ease of use by the humans like you, them and I. I can only imagine the bewilderment visitors to our islands experience when they try to go about looking for local information using the Internet as they usually do at home.

Why Is This Happening?

In my mind, the fault lies primarily with web developers who are poorly trained to think about the purpose and usage (the human element) of websites, and uninformed business execs who invest in poor and cheap ‘talent’ that ultimately produces an ineffective product. Also, there are the web developers who know better and allow clients to strong arm and lead them along a path to sin.

This unproductive aspect concerns me to the core. What is your website suppose to be doing, what is its purpose? Do you as a manager, CEO, director, marketer, PR professional or business exec KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that your website is accomplishing actual business goals? What analysis have you conducted to investigate its effectiveness? When is the last time you made ANY changes to your website?

If you fail to answer any of these questions, you are a huge part of the problem and should perhaps stick to using the yellow pages.

  • Sophia

    When are the other articles in the series going to be ready?

    • http://www.renaldobernard.com/ Renaldo Bernard

      Sorry Sophia, 3 Other articles have been posted, I’ll link them in.

  • http://twitter.com/suffalist Sophia

    There is much I can say on this topic. There are several considerations on poor talent:
    1. there is a lack of training in web development in various countries, most training is just basic. The cost to be trained overseas is of course very high and for many, may not be an option. Sometimes, even if online training is a cheaper option, a person may learn how to use the tools but they often still don’t learn certain theories behind web design and development and the correct processes to follow.
    2. implementation of standards and lack of industry knowledge: there are several web developers and web development companies who lack basic knowledge of usability, accessibility and web standards and are blissfully unaware of latest technologies. When students go into these companies or environments, the bad habits are then passed on to them.
    3. time? what time? and “I don’t need to learn anything else” attitudes: web development companies often expect their developers to do every step of the web process while paying them low salaries. Include the fact that many companies do not ensure that their developers keep their skills up to date and relevant and then you will realise why research and training seems so far away from some developers. They either don’t have the time or they become complacent. I have heard web developers boast about how good they are and then to find out that they don’t even know basic web standards.
    4. overall attitudes towards web sites and web development. In a nutshell, clients believe that web sites should be cheap, they are often not aware of how much work goes into creating an effective site. They then usually make a judgment on cost alone rather than company skill set, expertise, value proposition etc. Therefore, you would find a company who would spend thousands on advertising campaign only willing to spend $1000 US on a web site. You would then find web developers trying to under bid each other, very few are confident or bold enough to stick to their prices and as you would know when that price tag is low, in order to still remain profitable, several things have to go and often these are the things that the client can’t necessarily “see but which are important.

    Lots of times what we see are cheap, inferior sites with no purpose, no scalability, no reason for anyone to use them. The client then keep the site up and does nothing with it until it comes time again for a redesign. That being said, even certain “high end” developers or companies produce badly done sites, some of the same things mentioned above apply in this situation as well (lack of proper training and knowledge).

    Great topic, I look forward to reading more.

  • Sophia

    When are the other articles in the series going to be ready?

    • http://www.renaldobernard.com/ Renaldo Bernard

      Sorry Sophia, 3 Other articles have been posted, I'll link them in.

  • http://twitter.com/suffalist Sophia

    There is much I can say on this topic. There are several considerations on poor talent:
    1. there is a lack of training in web development in various countries, most training is just basic. The cost to be trained overseas is of course very high and for many, may not be an option. Sometimes, even if online training is a cheaper option, a person may learn how to use the tools but they often still don't learn certain theories behind web design and development and the correct processes to follow.
    2. implementation of standards and lack of industry knowledge: there are several web developers and web development companies who lack basic knowledge of usability, accessibility and web standards and are blissfully unaware of latest technologies. When students go into these companies or environments, the bad habits are then passed on to them.
    3. time? what time? and “I don't need to learn anything else” attitudes: web development companies often expect their developers to do every step of the web process while paying them low salaries. Include the fact that many companies do not ensure that their developers keep their skills up to date and relevant and then you will realise why research and training seems so far away from some developers. They either don't have the time or they become complacent. I have heard web developers boast about how good they are and then to find out that they don't even know basic web standards.
    4. overall attitudes towards web sites and web development. In a nutshell, clients believe that web sites should be cheap, they are often not aware of how much work goes into creating an effective site. They then usually make a judgment on cost alone rather than company skill set, expertise, value proposition etc. Therefore, you would find a company who would spend thousands on advertising campaign only willing to spend $1000 US on a web site. You would then find web developers trying to under bid each other, very few are confident or bold enough to stick to their prices and as you would know when that price tag is low, in order to still remain profitable, several things have to go and often these are the things that the client can't necessarily “see but which are important.

    Lots of times what we see are cheap, inferior sites with no purpose, no scalability, no reason for anyone to use them. The client then keep the site up and does nothing with it until it comes time again for a redesign. That being said, even certain “high end” developers or companies produce badly done sites, some of the same things mentioned above apply in this situation as well (lack of proper training and knowledge).

    Great topic, I look forward to reading more.