Ask HN: What are must have and must not have features, in a website?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3990777

by snambi • 14 years ago

1 3 14 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

This question is for hackers and designers.

When launching a site, there is a debate of what features to have and what features not to have. Some features/flows/pages are specific to the site. But, there are common features/pages all sites must have. And some features are definitely a NO.

First time launcher can make a mistake of having or not having a feature.

Can you help identify the list of "MUST HAVE" and "MUST NOT HAVE" features for a site?

Madintelligence• 14 years ago

I definitely think an "about-us" page is the most important part of the website - it introduces the who, the why and allows us to get the voice of the people running the site.

kellros• 14 years ago

This is quite a broad subject.

I'd say it's very important to focus on usability (navigation, layout, flow) - without proper implementation people will sometime just quickly scan and close the website almost immediately.

Depending on the website I'm working on, navigation usually includes a 'public' menu (main tabs), 'personal menu' (profile/log out), 'reverse navigation' (breadcrumb), 'section' menu (back-end tabs) and occasionally a 'contextual' menu (in content).

If you think along the lines of domain driven design, it is easy to spot different contexts at work.

A very important aspect of any website (and design) is consistency.

Pages would generally consist of at least a Home (sometimes used as a lead page), Lead page/s (where visitors land when clicking ads - sometimes the home page is used instead), Product pages (depending on the company, products or services can be listed here) and a Contact us tab.

The 'about us' should be evident throughout the entire design. Quite a few times I've seen the 'about us' page act almost entirely as a page where potential clients can find the physical address of a shop or service (sometimes include contact information).

Hope this short list helps you out, but that should at least get you started.

RSASecure• 14 years ago

I agree with the previous comment...a new site should focus on usability as the site has one chance to create a good first impression and have a repeat visitor. Another good feature to have is a feedback dialog. Site can be vastly improved based on constructive feedback by diligent users.

The site should also be crisp in its message as to what service it is providing.

Ask HN: What are must have and must not have features, in a website?

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