Comments on: Appalling Appeal: Why people love ugly websites

By: samiam

samiam — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:13:42 +0000

I always pick the lane with the pretty girls

By: Fundamental Flaw of Web Design Firms

Fundamental Flaw of Web Design Firms — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:22:33 +0000

[...] on creating an aesthetically appealing site. Oddly enough, as noted in one of my past blogs, “Appalling Appeal,” it’s common knowledge that ugly websites perform better than flashy ones. Whether it’s [...]

By: Angie

Angie — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:02:59 +0000

Not boring at all, I actually find it really fascinating. This is somewhat off the subject, but still relates to the whole less-attractive-is-more-attracting phenomenon–I’ve noticed that when I got out in somewhat frumpy clothing and don’t really doll myself up, I tend to get more attention. I guess it’s that I look more approachable when I’m not all dressed up, but also I feel more comfortable and therefore confident, and I’m sure that shines through too. There’s a time and a place for attractive people and, like in the “ugly” candidate case, people tend to respect and trust more average looking people. I wonder if it has always been that way or if it’s a product of our beauty-obsessed society. All of the Ancient Greek and Roman classics seem to impart that beauty was revered–Helen of Troy, Tambourlaine, Dido, etc. When did we start to resent beauty? I realize most of those are just stories but it is interesting. Somewhere along the way aesthetics and functionality split, but I still believe (and know in the case of websites) that they can come in one package and I hope that Internet users realize this soon. I’m on the computer all day long and I’d like some more beauty in my life! Come on, who doesn’t!

By: Vicki Kunkel

Vicki Kunkel — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 23:42:33 +0000

You hit the nail on the head about people fearing perfection, fearing perfect beauty. I just finished nine years of research on the topic of mass appeal, and my book just landed a publisher (AMACOM). Part of that research indicates that we are primally programmed to fear perfect beauty and are more drawn to the common, the ordinary and even the homely. Not to bore you here, but in the book I quote several research studies and one case study on how an “ugly” candidate won a major state election over a so-called “stud.”

By: Quiñez

Quiñez — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:01:55 +0000

Unfortunately, ugly websites are the way of the world for many sites translated into Spanish. Companies too often just ‘throw something up there’ that’s usually a bad automatic translation of the English version.

To really get into the U.S. Hispanic market it’s important that companies take their bilingual online presence seriously. Studies have shown that most Hispanic customers would prefer to buy something from an English transaction page because it’s perceived to have more credibility. This is likely because the Spanish versions with shabby translations imply that the site is not trustworthy.

On the flip side, sometimes a successful-but-ugly Spanish website means that there simply isn’t any competiton.

Ideally, the Spanish version would be similar to the English, with an accurate and grammatically correct translation, and include some cultural details relevant to the Hispanic market.

Slowly but surely this is turning around as the Hispanic market is becoming recognized more and more in the U.S. But, unfortunately, ugly Spanish websites are currently another piece of the ugly website puzzle.