Category Archives: Website Strategies

Website Strategies

Who Still Uses Internet Explorer 6?

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (13 Mar 2009)  |  Leave a comment

On the verge of moving into the next decade with a state-of-the-art browser (Internet Explorer 8), web developers like me wonder, who still uses Internet Exploder, er…sorry Explorer 6 any longer?

Sadly, many do.

Checking out my Google Analytics report for the last 6 months, 19% of our viewers still used the crabby old browser as compared to 41% for Internet Explorer 7 and 29% for Firefox.

Why aren’t people leaving this browser that has been around since August of 2001?  Unfortunately there are many reasons.

First, if you own a PC that doesn’t have at least Windows XP Service Pack 2, IE7 is not available for you to install.

Second, many applications developed over the years are built with IE6 as the delivery mechanism.  Remember at one time, Internet Explorer held 95% of the browser market and this was during the hayday of IE6.

Third, people don’t like change.  For years, I have been wondering why my wife won’t turn off the “Classic Windows” look on her computer…we tried an upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 and she didn’t like it.

Fourth, and most importantly, Internet Explorer 7 was buggy at best and quite annoying.  One of Microsoft’s attempts to be cutting edge, moving the refresh button to an unknown land and moving things like bookmarks and the file menu.  Plus, IE7 did its best to act like Windows ME. While it didn’t bring back the beloved blue screen (usually), it would just disappear in the middle of loading a page, or it would lock up on the dumbest things.

And finally, it was not standards compliant, so many developers chose to start using Firefox exclusively and only kept IE7 on a single computer for testing and worked with IE6 because it was the most touchy in terms of coding for new CSS standards.

Will the soon to be released Internet Explorer 8 change that trend and finally kill IE6?  Most likely not.  The biggest reason is the economy.  Companies don’t have the funds to re-engineer old software tied to IE6.  Computer owners are probably going to be slower to migrate away to new computers due to tight budgets and the fear tactics of Vista’s quality (which is nowhere near as bad as some people will have you think…Apple are you listening).  And, overall, people don’t like change.

I hope I am wrong, but look for Internet Explorer 6 to hold on to at least 10% market share (which means it will still be leading Safari and Chrome combined) into 2010.  Many IE7 users will upgrade, but IE6 will be a tougher nut to crack.

Read more of this post.

Website Strategies

When Hiring a Web Developer, Ask for References

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (12 Mar 2009)  |  Leave a comment

It amazes me how many horror stories I hear from potential customers about how they have been taken or abused by other web development companies.  I have seen actual cases of what equates to shellshock in clients who have stopped trusting anyone to actually communicate with them or help them complete their websites.  It is very hard to win these normally calm, confident business people back over into a trusting relationship with their web developer.

Sadly, there are a lot of good coders and programmers out there that get into business, but don’t have any business sense.  They come up with some buzz words, read a ton of articles, but they miss the larger point…satisfying the customer.

With the web design industry one of the most accessible to anyone with a computer, an HTML or PHP book, and a website, its no wonder these horror stories occur.

But there is a way for the average web services client to fight back.  And it is a very easy and time tested one…but one that amazingly not a lot of people try.

Ask for references.

That’s right, just like a job interview, your potential web developers should provide a list of a few websites they have delivered. In addition, you should call these previous customers and ask them the following:

  • how they were treated
  • were deadlines made and adequately met
  • did the developer communicate during all phases of the project – especially when delays might have occur
  • did they provide a contract
  • were their payment terms agreeable
  • did they answer all of your questions and were they clear or did they use a lot of jargon and talk over your head?

Its amazing how many people are glad to provide these comments.  And if they aren’t happy, then you will get your answer quite clearly.

Then before hiring your programmer, make sure you are comfortable talking with them.  You are going to spend the next month or more…and then into the future with maintenance, talking with this person.  You need to feel at ease and you need to feel they are answering your questions and focusing on your business more than their skills.

A website can range from $1000 to $100,000 investment.  The web developer is going to be a leader in getting your business marketing online.  Would you trust this to just anyone?

Then think of them as if they were going to be working for you side by side.  Would they be a good fit for your team?

With a little bit of due diligence, you can avoid the painful heartache that is attributed to many who have enlisted the help of the wet behind the ears web programmer/business person.

Read more of this post.

Website Strategies

Greatest Website Ever…For Developers

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (23 Feb 2009)  |  Leave a comment

So I’m on chat with my hosting company because one of my clients websites is down.  Now, this is a very tough position to be in, squeezed between a customer whose website is on the fritz (or so they think) and a hosting company who keeps telling me there is nothing wrong.  The ultimate feeling of helplessness.

Until the hosting tech says, hey, check the site out in this address: ( http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ )

Genius! Eureka!

I plugged the client’s address in and boom, confirmation that their site wasn’t down.

To any web developers who host sites for clients, I urge you to bookmark this site!  Save you, your hosting company, and your customers a lot of sleepless nights.

Read more of this post.

Website Strategies

Usability Article

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (18 Feb 2009)  |  Leave a comment

Nice article passed on by our programmer Jason.  Good information to keep in mind when speaking of web site usability.

Read more of this post.