Posted on February 7, 2007
Singing the Praises of Craigslist: Why Content Trumps Design
BY JENNIFER EUBANKS
I have a confession to make: I am addicted to Craigslist. Craigslist has to be one of the most amazing sites ever created. It was designed to fill a void in the online world that was previously only met by newspaper classifieds, and is a shining example of how a good, simple idea can explode into a huge phenomenon.
Once you start to use the site, you quickly get over the fact that it isn''t the prettiest interface out there. In fact, bells and whistles would probably hinder you from quickly getting to the content--and content is king on a site like this. Something that is often difficult to present to a client seeking a new or redesigned website is that the prettiest interface won''t save you if you have nothing substantial to offer.
I have personally used Craigslist to buy a Halloween costume, find a bookclub to join, hire freelance writers at my old job, and even meet a few new friends. I also know several people for whom finding housing or a roommate was a successful venture. In terms of its usefulness and ability to suck your time if you let it (I find the Missed Connections and "Best of" are always good for some amusement!), I feel that Craigslist is right up there with Wikipedia.
Even more amazing is the fact that Craigslist is a company with only 23 employees, yet the 7th highest ranking site in pageviews according to Alexa. As stated on Michael Slater''s blog, Craigslist is something of an anomaly, but a fascinating one at that.
Craigslist is a case study of sorts in terms of what is really important to users coming to a website for information. Content, in this case entirely user-generated, is of the utmost importance, and so Craiglist presents it to you with no frills--just a simple, easy to understand interface. Its simplicity really doesn''t do it justice, considering how powerful the site can be.
You can use the site to learn about a city you might be moving to, learn more about the activities in your own, find a date, find housing, get a job, barter, and buy pretty much anything under the sun. While this in its own right is powerful, given that almost every aspect of importance in your life can be satisfied here, the real power comes from the ability to search and subscribe to feeds.
Let's say that you really want to join a hiking club or buy a used kitchen table. You could scour the individual posts in the groups and for sale sections daily, in hopes of finding what you are looking for, or you could do a search query to locate any current posts matching those keywords. If you don''t immediately find what you want, you can subscribe to an RSS feed that will inform you of any new posts matching those keywords. As advocated on the site Get Rich Slowly, the feeds can help you get exactly what you want, as long as you are willing to act quickly. Post author J.D. also lists several other useful tips for getting the most out of Craigslist.
While this post has now become something of a glowing review for Craigslist, it is also a reminder that while good design is nice, it's what's contained in the design that really matters. Good content is often the hardest aspect of a website to come up with and organize, and the ability to easily navigate and search is key if you don''t want users to quickly click away from your site and onto a competitor''s. You need to give your users a reason to return, and Craigslist excels in this regard.
Agreed. It reminds me of the days when computers were fast and programs where nimble. I just wish there was a way to tar and feather spammers on craigslist. They are the main downside.