Ebiz MBA, ebizmba.com, released it’s top 15 Most Popular Web 2.0 Websites on Saturday, May 12, 2012.
Read the listing here:
http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/web-2.0-websites
When you look at the names listed you will find that these websites share one common characteristic. Simplicity of design, navigation, and functionality. Also these sites have realtime updates and are updated at a high frequency. At Brand Builder Solutions we consistently see sites out there that may be catchy to the eye but lack the ease of navigation and lack of strategic purpose.
The sites that score lowest on our list are the sites generated in Flash or still have a majority of Flash in the functionality of the site. Let’s set aside the fact that Flash is not compatible with any apple mobile device most notably the iPhone and iPad. Let’s review the standard PC browsing that still makes up the clear majority of internet usage at home. All browsers are Flash compatible.
But the biggest problem with Flash or any compiled functional element of a site is the ability to update content in the real time world of the internet as it now stands. Here are the problems with sites designed with Flash.
- There is a Flash load time before any content is displayed.
- To update navigation elements you must update the swf file and reload it on the server.
- The same goes for content. It still takes the procedure of updating the swf file and not a content managed solution of simple html edit
- You need a Flash programmer to commit changes.
- It’s difficult for a new Flash programmer to modify the file which will cost you time and money.
Those are the top 5 reasons. There are many more. And we don’t want to strictly single out Flash but it is the most glaring offender in the Web 2.0 and Social Media driven internet world.
Topping the list is Youtube. Aside from the fact that everyone loves funny videos of cats and the duck song, Youtube is immensely popular because it is easy for the end user and easy for the content contributors to post their content.
Another notable site is WordPress.com. Wordpress.com hosts very popular blogs. It is known for it’s ease of use and scalability into more complex areas. Although we don’t use WordPress.com as our host, we do use WordPress to design our sites. Wordpress with the right development team can handle complex customization if you hire the right development team. At the same rate when you either install your theme or custom design your theme updating the content is the main focus. Wordpress sites have a very simple to use CMS. For the majority of our clients we can train a novice in under 2 hours to update their sites.
Since content is king, WordPress site architecture allows for very easy updates and lots of content that increases engagement, creativity, content, and SEO. It also has a brilliant tagging system and search functionality that is rivaled by very few.
We would love to have your business, but most importantly for your own development considerations please review the benefits of a WordPress driven site. And please don’t ever consider a site done in Flash.
Other sites on the list include: Wikipedia, Twitter, Craigslist, Flickr, IMDb, Photobucket, Blogger, Tumblr, eHow, Yelp, TypePad, HubPages and Digg. I’m sure you will see that volume of content, ease of audience navigation, ease of end user content updates, and pure function over form and simplicity is what keeps these sites at the top of the list.
