The Cookie-Cutter Web 2.0 Trend

There are a lot of talended designers out there these days.  I've recently (within the past couple years) noticed a shift in the design world.  We're already in web 2.0 and while that was great then… it seems to be losing it's effectiveness for me.  Look around, certainly you've noticed that all sites are starting to look the same — the market is becoming saturated with these websites that now look like they could have all come right off a website selling templates.  With their size 30 fonts and buttons that are enormous, I find myself asking one simple question:  how do they plan on really setting themselves apart from the compentition? 

“I literally can't tell the difference from any particular site — nothing stands out anymore”

Don't get me wrong here.  Learning the fundamentals of great design is a must and I'm not mitigating the talent out there.  Let's take two separate sites and complare them real fast just visually; we're not going to break them down right now.  Trust me, it did not take me more than 2 minutes to log on and find two examples of what I'm talking about.

what set's these sites apart?  They're attractive for the first couple seconds and then you realize there's no content… not real information here.  Take a look at these designs and then go to our web portfolio and you tell me what the difference is.

In addition web 2.0 is having a love affair right now with blank space.  Yes, space is great.  Who wants to be bombarded with content and links and convoluded websites?  But, again, there needs to be balance.  Web 2.0 is about networking… social media…applications.  While today's designers are trying more and more to get their sites to look more like applications, let's get back to the basics of making a site visually appealing AND providing information in a manner that people expect because at the end of the day, your average user isn't going to take note of your site, they're visiting for information.  If they can't find it in the first couple seconds, your design doesn't even matter. 

Today Web 2.0 reminds me of the perfect landing page — not a website.  This phase is far from over, however, Web 2.0, a catchphrase coined in 2004 by O'Reilly Media has hit saturation.