Posted by Toby Inkster on 11/15/05 10:20

Bob wrote:

> If people spend 2-3 minutes as you did "figuring out" how to use the
> program I think this is acceptable. Do you agree? Mildly agree?
> Disagree? Vehemently disagree?

Although I don't think it's unreasonable to ask a visitor to spend a few
minutes getting to grips with how a site works (especially if it's a
complex application) the fact is: it's not up to me; it's up to them; and
most visitors aren't prepared to do so.

Visitors expectations are that they will know how to use your website
straight away. If they've used it before, then good: they'll know.

If they've never used it before, then they're going to need to learn
almost instantly: and the way to do that is to make it work like every
other site they've used before; after all, your visitors spend 99% of
their time on other people's sites!

One ordering system I like is Insight UK's <http://uk.insight.com/>. When
you click the "Add to Order" button by a product, the screen shows you the
entire contents of your shopping cart, and allows you to either checkout
or continue shopping. As you move around the site, continuing to shop,
there is a small icon in the top right of the screen that displays the
total cost (minus tax and delivery) of your order. Clicking on the cart
icon brings you back to the cart listing at any time.

It's simple to use, and works in much the same way as Amazon, Play.com and
pretty much any other order system I've used. And I've not read any Help
pages at any of those sites.

(I also like Insight UK because my account manager there tends to give me
a pretty good deal.)

--
Toby A Inkster BSc (Hons) ARCS
Contact Me ~ http://tobyinkster.co.uk/contact

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