Max's Coding Corner: Hello World
As part of the interactive department here at HM&P, we deal with all sorts of projects requiring all sorts of technologies. Sometimes a client wants a plain HTML site and sometimes they want Flash with embedded videos. I’d like to dig into some of these technologies to give you, my humble reader, a better understanding of what it is that we (interactive types) do. This includes everything related to interactive work like (X)HTML/CSS, the Internet, how a web page gets to you, and so much more.
As an interactive programmer, I often take for granted my plethora of knowledge about how what we do works. For example, if you were to ask me how the internet works, and more specifically, how the web page you want to see gets from a server to your monitor, I’d launch into a long explanation with terms like ‘routers’, ‘DNS’ and ‘IP Address’. And this would mean very little to most people. So here in Max’s Coding Corner, I’ll try to bring the lingo down to a level where everyone can follow along and better understand what’s going on.
For the inaugural post, I’m going to pose a few questions that should be asked about every web site.
Is it easy to use?
This is a major pitfall for flashy, ‘cutting-edge’ sites. Just because it looks good, doesn’t mean that a user will know where to click to get what they want. You don’t want to completely violate standard conventions for no reason other than looks. It’d be like putting the close button for your browser windows on the bottom. It’d take you a moment to figure out where they went since you’d look at the top of the window first.
Can your visitors easily find what they want?
This is an extension of the first question. If your target audience can’t figure out how to use it, they’ll simply give up and go elsewhere.
Is every word spelled right, and do all of the links work?
Providing a professional experience is important. If a user finds mistakes as simple as a misspelled word, they may not want to hand over their hard-earned money for your services. And if your site’s links aren’t working, they may not be able to get to where they want to go and be forced to use a competitor to get what they want.
Does it work on all browsers and computers?
Something I see a lot are sites that require you to use a certain browser for the “best experience.” Forcing your users to use a certain browser is just lazy. Make sure your site looks the same across major browsers and operating systems. If you don’t have access to a bunch of different computers for testing, check out browsershots.org.
Are you proud of it?
If you aren’t proud of your site, you shouldn’t be sharing it. A web site is an extension of your company (or you if it’s a personal site) so you should want people to see what you have to offer. If your site looks like a 5th grader whipped it up with crayons and you aren’t an elementary school teacher you should really think about whether or not you want people to associate your site’s look with the services you’re offering. The bottom line is if you aren’t proud about your site, you can’t expect a user to feel good about using it.
So if you have a site and you can say ‘yes’ to all of the above, you should feel good about your web presence. This isn’t a catch-all, but it’s a good start. You don’t have to be #1 on Google to be successful and you can’t plan to be an internet success without putting some thought into how your web-presence looks.
If you want to hear about something interactive related, drop a comment and I’ll see what I can do.
Maximillian serves at Howard, Merrell & Partners as a Technical Wizard and Interactive Guru. To learn more, please visit his profile on merrellgroup.com.
