Citation
(2006), "Whats on the web", Strategic Direction, Vol. 22 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2006.05622hag.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Whats on the web
The CIO site and its paper-based products address issues vital to the success of chief information officers (CIOs) worldwide. The intention is to provide technology and business leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT’s role in achieving business goals.
There is a wealth of interesting news on this site, a map of internet ownership in the US and a number of useful resources
Among these are some good tools – such as a Business Case Development Template and a Strategy Audit for IT – developed and vetted by CIOs and shared with the IT leadership community.
A touch of spring
Springwise scans the globe for the most promising business ventures, ideas and concepts ready for regional or international adaptation, expansion, partnering, investments or cooperation. They track more than 400 global offline and online business resources, as well as “taking to the streets of world cities, digital cameras at hand.”
Who are they aimed at? The budding entrepreneur, head of a start-up, management consultant, marketing manager, consumer insights expert, trend watcher, journalist, private investor, business development director or venture capitalist according to the site.
The best bit, an accessible “idea database” is divided into the following categories:
art & design, automotive, education, entertainment, fashion & beauty, financial services, food & beverage, gaming, government, homes & housing, life hacks (no, we don’t know either) lifestyle & leisure, marketing & advertising, media & publishing, non-profit, social cause, retail, telecom, mobile, tourism & travel and transportation.
This is one of the best sites we have seen this year. Don’t miss it.
Fast talk
What’s the biggest change facing business in the next 10 years? This is a typical (and intriguing) headline from the FastCompany website – an excellent resource even if you don’t wish to subscribe to the online or paper magazine they produce. Fast and easy to navigate, there is almost too much going on here for one lunch break. See for yourselves.
A good week
Business Week online is what you would expect from a top media title, slick, informative and easy to digest. News stories, investment information and advice, sections on Asia and Europe – there is an awful lot here and most of it is pretty good.
And finally
Good for Jakob Nielsen. He asked for submissions for website usability problems that readers found the most irritating.
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Top of the list were legibility problems – bad fonts won the vote by a landslide, with voters complaining about small font sizes and low contrast between text and background.
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Then there were non-standard links – violating common expectations for how links work is a sure way to confuse and delay users, and might prevent them from being able to use your site.
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Most of the Flash that web users encounter each day is bad Flash with no purpose beyond annoying people. The one bright point is that splash screens and Flash intros are almost extinct.
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Content that’s not written for the web – content should be short, scannable and to the point (rather than full of fluffy marketing-speak). Web content should also answer users’ questions and use common language rather than made-up terms (this also improves search engine visibility, since users search using their own words, not yours).
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Bad search - search is a fundamental component of the web user experience and is getting more important every year.
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Browser incompatibility
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Cumbersome forms – forms are used too often on the web and tend to be too big, featuring too many unnecessary questions and options.
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No contact information or other company info – even though phone numbers and email addresses are the most requested forms of contact info, having a physical mailing address on the site might be more important because it’s one of the key credibility markers. A company with no address is not one you want to give money to.
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Frozen layouts with fixed page widths
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Inadequate photo enlargement
He concludes: “This year’s list of top problems clearly proves the need to get back to web design basics.” Hear, hear.
For more, go to www.useit.com/alertbox/designmistakes.
Contact us
For a particularly interesting and useful site you could always try our own! And if you have any favourite (or otherwise) sites that you would like us to review on these pages, please drop us an e-mail and we will give them a rigorous review.