How to escape the 'Black Holes of Web' that suck time away from UX & content.
The most precious resource on any web team is time. Just keeping the show on the road requires so much effort that spare time has to jealously guarded.
That's why it's so important to avoid the black holes of web.
Black holes are issues that mercilessly consume your time and destroy any hope of meaningful progress.
The best example is the website homepage.
Forever circling...
How many endless hours have you spent debating homepage updates? I bet you have sent hundreds of emails and hosted countless video calls defending homepage integrity against nonsensical requests.
Bad news. You've fallen into a black hole.
The truth is that the homepage debate will never finish. The mad requests will never end. You can't escape. You end up circling forever...
It pains me to admit it, but there are some things we just need to give up. Endless homepage defence is one of them.
The effort is simply not worth it.
90% of your visitors never see the homepage
It's our little secret.
As web professionals we know that homepages - although significant - are just not the most important thing about a website.
For most large-scale sites I have worked on, +/-90% of visitors never even see the homepage! That's right. 90%!
These visitors start with a Google (or AI) search that directs them deep into the site. Homepage? What homepage?! It's irrelevant for these folks.
Instead, the most important things for them are:
- Is content easy to read and understand
- Can they navigate intelligently between pages
- Can they complete important tasks easily
As such, I no longer allow myself or my team to get stuck in 'black hole' discussions. We have so little time for UX and content improvements that we need to target it for best possible return.
The homepage simply isn't a priority.
Of course, if a business team demands some ill-advised homepage update, I'll definitely push back - but I definitely will *NOT* spend all my time defending it.
So, let business teams endlessly argue among themselves over the homepage. It keeps them off my back.
In the meantime, myself and my team will be getting on with the important stuff that 90% of visitors actually want - content, UX, accessibility, etc.
Labels: Content Design, Content Strategy, UX, Web Governance, Website Management
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