Should I put as much information on my website as possible?

Don’t Data Dump on Me

In 2002 the term “Google it” was recognized as the “most useful word of the year” and in 2006 had become so popular that it was added to the dictionary as a verb.  The internet had exploded with information and the search engine had gained popularity at such a level that we couldn’t imagine not being able to find any bit of information that we needed to know on the internet.  If anything has changed since then, it is just the level of reliance we have on that premise.

Because we believe we can find anything on the internet, as companies we often seek to put as much information on our websites as possible.  After all, the advantage our website provides over a printed piece is the infinite scalability of pages to display all of the information we want to show.  So we create page after page, copying the layout and style of the page before it without any thought to the person who will be reading it.  While we will tell you that it is incredibly important to have a consistent style throughout your site, there are certainly some things to keep in mind when putting information on your site.

1) Just because there is a search in the browser, don’t hide the information.  Assign clear headers to blocks of information that will make it easier for the viewer to scan the page to find what they are looking for.

2) Just because the page can be as tall as you want it to be doesn’t mean we have to scroll through next week.  If you see that your page is getting long, consider breaking it into separate pages with clear names. 

3) If you don’t want to read the whole page, neither does your customer.  If you aren’t willing to read through everything don’t expect someone else will be.  Consider making your content more concise if possible.  There is a difference between needing to give that much detail and going overboard.  You be the judge.