PHP and MySQL Web Development 4th Ed-tqw-_darksiderg

Considering the Types of Commercial Websites
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Poor Presentation
“On the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog,” or so goes the old saying. 1 In the same
way that small businesses, or dogs, can look larger and more impressive when they are
using the Internet, large businesses can look small, unprofessional, and unimpressive with
a poor website.
Regardless of the size of your company, make sure that your website is of a high standard.Text
should be written and proofread by somebody who has a very good grasp of
the language being used. Graphics should be clean, clear, and fast to download. On a
business site, you should carefully consider your use of graphics and color and make sure
that they fit the image you want to present. Use animation carefully, if at all. Never play
a sound without the user requesting it.
Although you cannot make your site look the same on all machines, operating systems,
and browsers, you can make sure that it uses standard HTML or XHTML so that the vast
majority of users can view it without errors. Make sure that you test it with a wide variety
of screen resolutions and the major browser/operating system combinations.
Failing to Answer Feedback Generated by the Website
Good customer service is just as vital in attracting and retaining customers on the Web as
it is in the outside world. Large and small companies are guilty of putting an email
address on a web page and then neglecting to check or answer that mail promptly.
People have different expectations of response times to email than to postal mail. If
you do not check and respond to email daily, people will believe that their inquiry is not
important to you.
Email addresses on web pages should usually be generic, addressed to job title or
department rather than a specific person.What will happen to email sent to
fred.smith@example.com when Fred leaves? Email addressed to sales@example.com is
more likely to be passed to his successor. It could also be delivered to a group of people,
which might help ensure that it is answered promptly.
You will probably receive a lot of spam sent to addresses that you put on web pages.
Bear this fact in mind when deciding how to forward or handle emails sent to these
addresses.You should consider using form-based feedback rather than directly giving out
email addresses as this reduces the incidence of spam.
Allowing the Site to Age
You need to be careful to keep your website fresh. Content needs to be changed periodically.
Likewise, changes in the organization need to be reflected on the site. A “cobweb
site” discourages repeat visits and leads people to suspect that much of the information
might now be incorrect.
1 Of course, an “old saying” about the Internet cannot really be very old.This is the caption from a
cartoon by Peter Steiner originally published in the July 5, 1993, issue of The New Yorker.