Injecting Desirability Into Your Website

[mandy]

I’ve worked for a multitude of Web sites, but they’ve always emphasized function over form, useful and usable over truly engaging. There was never enough time or money or even talent to do more. And maybe that’s why, with one exception, none of them has ever been or will ever be the kind of destination where people arrive and say, “I gotta tell my brother/friend/mom about this…”

What did they lack above all else? Desirability comes to mind — that sense of play or uniqueness that lures visitors in and immerses them in experiences that transport them.

So how do we inject desirability into the sites we work on?...

full article: http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/09/04/is-...#more-1083

A related Forrester Research report:

Consumers are spending more and more time online, seeking out experiences that are relevant, engaging, and personal. However, many Web sites make users struggle to complete simple goals, have little to no emotional punch, and fail to embrace the diversity of consumers' wants and needs. To make matters worse, today's Web organizations must often backburner projects that would improve their sites' desirability factor in order to fix more pressing problems. As a result, the topic of desirability largely remains a mystery in the user experience community. We've explored three tactics for creating desirable online experiences: 1) providing engaging content and functionality, 2) focusing on aesthetics, and 3) incorporating elements of game design.

free summary (full research report is $279): http://www.forrester.com/Research/Docume...21,00.html