Usability is critical for every web site. If users find your site difficult to use they will leave regardless of how pretty it is or how neat your AJAX application works. Unfortunately, usability often takes a back seat to design and SEO.

Network World has a good interview with Steve Krug about how web 2.0 features impact usability.

Labels: usabilitiy

According to a Actinic survey; web designers are making more and more websites but the drop in prices have resulted in no additional revenue. They suggest one problem for web firms is a lack of efficiency in their design process.

The survey also found an increase in PHP over ASP and Unix over Windows as the preferred platform.

Labels: revenue, web designers

Netvertise and its owner Elliot Krasnow have been ordered to return return $160,000 to its customers. The company is also banned from selling franchises for web design. According to the judgment Netvertise misrepresented the potential income from its franchises and overstated the value of its software.

Between 2000 and 2005, Netvertise sold franchises for $20,000 to $100,000, and those franchises offered Internet services to small and medium-size businesses. Included in the franchise was SEO software, which the company claimed would create first page results on Google.

But don't worry about Elliot Krasnow. This is already the second time the FTC has ruled against one of his companies for using deceptive practices. He will have his next sham company up in no time.

Labels: bad seo, fruad, netvertise

I have long noticed that the rush to make a web 2.0 site is leading to a lot of bad design. More and more sites are slow loading and overly complex. Apparently I am not alone in feeling this way. Designers need to remember that interactive is nice but it shouldn't be used to the detriment of usability.

Labels: usability, web 2.0

The story traveling around the internet is that white screens use more energy to display than black screens. Google changing to a black screen would save 750 megawatt-hours every year.

While this may be true for CRTs, it is not the case for LCD screens. LCDs actually use less power displaying white. As more people move to LCDs, white is the new green.

Labels: green, white screen

If you were a customer of RegisterFly you are now keenly aware of the problems with the domain registration business. As the company disentegrated from internal management struggles many people were unable to access their domains. Some advice for protecting yourself is:

1. Check the reputations of your prospective registrar.

2. Be careful registering your domain with a hosting company.

3. If you must make your whois information private then use a 3rd party privacy service.

4. Do NOT allow your registrar or hosting company or designer to have any stake in your domain whois records.

5. Make certain your whois information is accurate so you can be contacted should complications arise.

Labels: domain registration

Many have argued about whether a web designer has the knowledge to do search engine optimization (SEO). I think before you make that decision you should look at their past work. If they are just learning SEO you might be in trouble but I have met some designers who are very competent at SEO. The real question is if they have the time to do the work.

Tom Shivers makes the case that only a specialist can do the job here.