Online Brochures - A New Hope?

In the newsletter this week I wrote a piece about how the "online brochure" style of website could be making a bit of a comeback. This kind of site is typified by reproducing information that one might find in a printed brochure on the web, without adding all the interactivity and social aspects so prevalent these days.

I was suggesting in the piece that the ubiquity of Flash has made these style of sites well worth producing in certain cases, but what do you think? Is Flash still a bit of a dirty word, or do sites that make good use of the technology still have a place in the corporate marketplace?

Simon
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Enjoyed your piece in the newsletter.

IMO online brochure type sites are pretty pointless unless they have some sort of obvious call to action - even if it's only to contact the company. People go to a product/service website to interact, find out info they couldn't find offline, and move closer to buying something. The website should be the online equivalent of a salesperson, not just a brochure.

As to Flash - it has its place, but the message is the key point of a site (or should be), and that means good copy, not "flash"y graphics. (And this is coming from a designer!) Having said that, the key message presented well, in a nice interactive manner, is much better than the key message presented badly (or boringly).

Hi Mr Beeblebrox,

That's true about the call to action. For most brochure sites that's simply to be intrigued enough to get in touch I guess, as you say.

It's interesting the weight you put on the copy. I actually agree with you, but it's often the last thing that people are willing to pay for - way behind the design/photography/servers etc. I know a few good copywriters, and the results of using them for a project are pretty dramatic in terms of professionalism, focus and overall style. Plus the copy tends to get done on time, which is rare if clients do it themselves!

Simon
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[Edited by simon on 21-Dec-07 09:31]

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