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I am a web designer, and an internet junkie and I have a few pet peeves that
need purging...
TIPS FOR YOUR WEB SITE
If you are a "real" company with "real" products and "real"
people,please put your address and phone number on your site (usually on acontact
page is best). Afterall, you put your address and phone numberin your city's
phone book don't you? You put this information on yourbusiness card too, don't
you? Think of your cyber presence the same wayyou do with your earth presence.
Most people will be more comfortableordering from a company that doesn't appear
to be hiding behind theanonymity of the internet. An address may not be as important
as a phonenumber as some businesses are home businesses and safety concerns
may bean issue.
Please let your visitors know right up front - before they fill outforms -
that your offer is good only in the USA (or wherever). As well,let your visitors
know what currency your prices are in. This isespecially important to Canadian
visitors who are burdened with the"dollar that isn't worth a dollar".
And speaking of forms.... pleasecheck them to make sure they work properly.
Make sure you have enoughcharacters allotted to all fields so that the user
can correctly input apostal code or zip code, province or state etc. - And,
if I spend a lotof time filling out your form, I expect the SUBMIT button to
work! Ifyou are using java for your forms, please check that it is compatiblefor
both Netscape and Explorer.
TIPS ON EMAIL
I get letters all the time from people claiming to have visited my website,
and then they go on to say that they have a great offer that is aperfect fit
with my site.... Hmmmm... I don't think my dog Harpo (whohas his own email address)
is really interested in selling Golf Clubs!!I have about 50 email addresses
and the "harvesters" have a picnic whenthey get to my site! So my
DELETE key gets a vigorous workout!And please - this is a MUST - have an easy
REMOVAL system in place.Asking me to call a long distance number is not appropriate.
Instead,have a special email address for removals. If you are not sending SPAMyou
won't be overwhelmed with removals... and if you are sending SPAM,then you deserve
to have your mailbox filled to the brim!
TIPS ON SOFTWARE
Please, please, please.... put the system requirements right up front!I'm a
MAC user and nothing is more frustrating and disappointing toactually start
downloading a great piece of software only to find out itis for a PC! And if
you're not developing your software for MAC... justtake a look at Apple's quarterly
report - you'll see that Macs aregaining in popularlity. If you don't build
it - someone else will!
IF YOU'RE SELLING SOMETHING
Get a real email account.... and a real web site - a professional onewith your
own domain name. I'd be more inclined to take you seriously ifyou take your
business seriously.
SPELL CHECK
No one is perfect.... but at least take a few minutes to proofread yourwork...
after all, if you claim to provide a great product or serviceand you have typos
in your emails or web site.... well, it just blowsyour credibility as a professional.
The biggest culprits I see are....you / yours, their here
COMPATIBILITY
Please check your pages in Netscape and Explorer! Tables workdifferently in
each browser - incorrect coding can make your sitevirtually invisible in Netscape!
And those CSS stylesheets with the verysmall type... sometimes I can't even
see the "l"s on a Mac in Netscapeand the type is so small that it
is impossible to read. Please test yoursite on both platforms and with both
browsers.
I hope that the information above will inspire you to check out your websites
and make any changes that may be necessary. We can all make theweb a better
place!
About the Author:
The Mac Lady - Nancy O. Johnson - Vancouver, BC Canada
"Oh, what a wicked web I weave...."
Web Design / Web Hosting
INTERNET: http://www.the-mac-lady.com / EMAIL: maclady@the-mac-lady.com |
