Screw Web 2.0
I think before we even start thinking about Web 2.0 and the future of the internet tubes, we have to implement my initiative.
My "It's 2008!" initiative.
For the past couple of months I seem to be saying this more and more in regards to websites. The whole gist is that being 2008 and the internet should stop making stupid websites. We still need to master Web 1.0.
C'mon! It's 2008!
At work the other day someone sends me a link to a web project that they had an agency build for them.
This was an agency that during a meeting used every buzzword possible - and even some that they just made up on the spot.
"Well, we want to make the application cobbenergy-esque".
They had font issues all over the site, but especially on the front page where fonts seemed to lose their style midway though a sentence.
Our company name was misspelled.
There were items in the main navigation that had no sub-items - so that when you clicked something, you'd get a page that said, "Nothing under that heading exists".
There was latin "filler" text all over and headlines that said "Put Headline Here"
"C'mon! It's 2008!" I screamed.
ChateauPetrogasm
This website kind of drives me crazy. It's a brilliant concept - you review wines with a single image. But that is where the brilliance ends.
Last night I was on the site checking out a friend's latest review and noticed that in the side bar under comments were the headlines "Get Loans Fast" and "Home Mortgages Instantly"
So, they were allowing HTML in comments. And then posting those comments on the front page.
C'mon.
It's 2008.
Somehow, since I have an account I was able to go in and delete one of the offending comments.
Poof! It was gone.
Why I had the permissions to do that, I don't know.
Why I then couldn't go and delete any other comments, I don't know.
The "C'mon it's 2008" law
- Dead ends
On your website, do you have a list of items on the side for navigation reasons? Do any of those items lead to a page that has nothing on it?
C'mon!
If there is nothing under that header, then disable it. Or grey it out. Or something.
- Security & cleanliness
Yea. That is pretty critical. Here at happyrobot, the site has been hit twice. The weaknesses were all due to sloppy housecleaning.
- Fonts
C'mon. The fonts should match and/or complement each other.
- Don't allow users to go crazy on their formatting
Users don't need to be able to format their comments or content any further than bold/italics/underline/etc.
- Moderate
User content has to be moderated. If you allow comments, especially on a business website, someone has to keep an eye on it.
- Firefox
It's 2008. If you site completely fails in Firefox, then that is just silly.
- Interface intuitiveness
So, your logo in the corner doesn't take you to the home page of your site?
Really? Why did you think that was a good idea?
It's 2008. Make sure the interface makes sense. How do you get back to where you came from? Are the actions consistent across the site? If I click that button on this page, will it have the same action as it did on the last page?
(this could also be applied to cell phones and their interfaces which tend to be designed by slow-witted cave bears)
note: of course, happyrobot I assume is an offender of a rule or two.
note part II: personally, I tire easily when people start discussing web2.0 or social networking or cobbenergy
note part III: i mean, to be honest, my personal hell might be one of those Web2.0 conferences.
note part IV: so, why am I in this business? I don't hang out with people who do web stuff. I don't know anyone.
note part V: and the reality is, I find so much of the web pontificating to be, well, dorky.
note part VI: have i mentioned that i barely turn on my computer at home anymore? sometimes i get hints of carpal tunnel.
