March 2010

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Suggestions for Building a Successful Business Website

March 29, 2010 in Technology, Usability | No comments

Per usual, I’ve been surfing the web. Here are some frustrations I have with some business sites:

  • Items Are Out of Date. Sometimes when browsing a site I will see information about events that have long since expired. This information is not pertinent, and tells the user that you don’t keep your information up to date. What does that say about your business? If you aren’t detail oriented in your website, how are you when it comes to making your products or fulfilling your services? It might also be harder to see upcoming events if there are bunch of past events in the way. I don’t care about the last six months of wine tastings, I care about the next three weeks.
  • Your site is missing information. Quick! I need your phone number! Wait, I’m driving to your office, but I forget your exact address. You’d be surprised how many times I have looked for the address of business and been unable to find on their website. Sometimes Google Maps will be able to help me, but not always. The most important and common questions should be the easiest to find. If you are a consumer facing business, you should have your address and phone number in the footer of every page on your site. You should also have a contact page, containing the same information.
  • You assume a level of interest/knowledge I don’t possess. You are most successful Fencing gym in the bay area when it comes to split match foil saber fighting. One problem, I’m new to fencing, and I just want to learn. I have no idea what split match foil saber fighting is (t’s made up for the purpose of this post). Yeah, it’s nice that you are the best at it, but what I really want to know is how to get started. What classes are appropriate for me? Your claim is a little like boasting, and not relevant to me. If you HAVE to use technical vocabulary put references to the terms so I can understand it. Along those lines:
  • Relevant information is hidden. When putting together your web site, spend some time considering the user classes that will visit your site. If you are looking for new business, listing your products and services and how people can buy them should be the first thing on your page. If you are creating a site for people that are already a part of your business, then maybe technical terms are okay. If you are trying to get both, optimize for new people coming to your business. Once people are convinced you are amazing, they will spend the time click another link to get to their content.
  • There are still pages under construction. One of my favorite companies is guilty of this. I swear by my Field Notes, but their website has a page called “The Sheet Team” which has been in a state of non-completion for as long as the site has been up. If the page isn’t ready, don’t post it. Don’t put in a place holder, don’t leave more clutter on the site. You might get one chance at your users’ attention, capitalize on it.

This isn’t the end all list to designing a business website, but is a list of some concerns I have with a lot of sites I visit. Even if you are successful with your website, you might be more successful by fixing the problems above. Remember, your competitors are always trying to improve, you should too. In this world where technology is only expanding, making sure your website is up to snuff is an important part of running a successful business.

Best Payment Form I’ve Seen

March 9, 2010 in Apps, Usability | No comments

I purchased the MacHeist bundle today. If you’re not familiar with it, its a collection of Mac Apps that this group puts together and sells rediculously cheap. I spent 20 bucks, only for one app that I really wanted (Flow by Extend Mac).

Regardless, this post is not about that bundle. It’s about my checkout experience. It was amazing. Textbook UI for checkout. Here’s a screenshot of the payment section:

Lets talk about what they did right here. Firstly, they allow you to pick between Credit Card and Paypal. Note, they don’t make you select which type of credit card you are using. They only support Visa and Mastercard, and they can use the digits of the card to determine which you are using, so they don’t need you to provide that information.

Next two fields are standard, “Name on Card” is easy is enough to figure out and if you don’t you know where to find your credit card number, you’ve got bigger problems.

Next is the expiration date. Lets talk about what makes this field so great. Firstly, they list both the month number and the name. This is very clear. It shows you that you are talking about months and displays the context in relation to the month number. The key here is that they number is first. This means that if your browser supports it, you can start typing with the field selected and get straight to the month number. Also note how this field is a two digit number? Add clarity as the numbers will align in the pull down.

Next is the security code, they have a little credit card graphic to indicate where to find your code. Very helpful.

Next you move on to the address information. There is a clear separation between the Credit Card info and the address info. Breaking forms up makes them easier to parse. None of this information is overly hard, but large blocks of form fields can be intimidating.

All in all, this is the best online checkout experience I’ve had for some time.

Stanford United Video

March 2, 2010 in Personal | No comments

I took one picture in this video (if that), and they were nice enough to mention my name in the credits. Honestly, I was just happy to be a part of the event. I’m against hate and especially against religious persecution. This was an amazing experience, and while this video captures some of the magic, it doesn’t do it complete justice. The sheer number of people present on that little lawn was amazing. It was so hard to move around. There were so many people for the rally and maybe 10 for the WBC.

Why Facebook is Robbing You!

March 2, 2010 in Personal | No comments

I had an epiphany this morning. Facebook is really stealing from us. Not in the normal sense of “Oh, I’m taking your purse and running down the street with it”, but more in the sense, “hey, you own this music, I’m taking it.”

Back up…. How did I get here? I was reading Merlin Mann’s FAQ. He talks about how he has a facebook account but hasn’t checked it in over a year. Also on this page he confesses that he is a “writer” or creator of content. I think the fact that he is a writer and the fact that he hasn’t used his facebook account in over a year are connected.

Facebook takes your content and displays it in a way that they want to. They put it in their look and feel (which I’ll admit is starting to get a bit cleaner, finally), and redistribute it to everyone on your friend list or everyone who if the you let the content be public. Your creative thoughts are broadcast to everyone, and do you see any profit from it? Nope. Do you have control over presentation or how you are represented? Nope.

I’m not including the time or addictive nature of facebook in this conversation. If you consider the time you spend entering comments, or reading others posts, you have even more of a determent to your life.

Starting immediately, I will be taking steps to capitalize on my content, more of it will be here on my blog zacharyc.com and various other local places. I’m also only going to check facebook once a day.