In this issue

Design patterns

The term ‘design patterns’ has been used in computer science to refer to computer techniques that can be re-used rather than having to be worked out from scratch every time.  Now the term is being hijacked by the web design community to refer to design problems that can be solved once and then reused.  If you design websites you need to know what this is about. 

The Yahoo library

Yahoo are perhaps the most advanced uses of this technique.  They have a design pattern library which you can access here.

http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/

You should check it out to see what I am talking about.

Each pattern is specified with:

• An image showing how the design is presented
• A problem summary  (e.g. The designer needs to call attention to where a data value or content has changed…)
• Use when - A list of places where the solution would be used.
• The solution. A specification of the solution e.g. Change the background color of the content area or data value to a light pastel color.
• Rationale. The reason for adopting this approach
• Accessibility. A discussion of the accessibility of this pattern.

This very formal presentation forces the designer to think through the part of the design and to make sure that every issue has been covered. 

Benefits

By doing this once and then pulling the pattern off the shelf when it is needed the design team:

• Prevents continual reworking of ideas
• Makes sure usability and accessibility issues are thoroughly thought through
• Ensures a consistent user interface throughout the site.  The customer only has to learn one way of doing things

The need for standardisation

The last point above is important in a wider context.  So many web designers see their mission as providing a unique user experience for their customers.  Well – ask the customer!  Do we want to learn a dozen different ways of scrolling text?  Frankly no. 

In a very interesting piece of research by Snow Valley they looked at a number of ecommerce sites.  They found 79 different ways in which sites asked for your credit card type, number, your name and so on.  This is a very simple form on every ecommerce site with (normally) about six fields on it!

They found 28 different terms used for the card security number (the three digits on the back of the card – technically the CVC number).
http://www.snowvalley.com/report/

For me, this points to the need for serious standardisation, and design patterns are the way to make this happen.  There is a need for an industry body to create standard design patterns for the most common operations.  Starting with scrolling text and finishing with the registration form.

But what about creativity

What does this do for creativity?  I tell you what. I have just started designing a car, and I am really really really bored with the arrangement of pedals….  You get the idea?

People are not visiting web sites to admire your creativity (normally – certainly not on b2b sites).  They want from an ecommerce site:

1. To be assured that the site is not run out of a garage with a site designed by someone’s  brother in law who is awfully good with computers – so it needs to look good.
2. To find what they need quickly – and that splash screen you just spent the last week on gets in the way of that.  I have heard it referred to as the 'skip intro' screen.
3. To be able to find out enough about the product to decide whether they want it or not.  So that six point grey text on slightly darker grey background may look cool but is going to go down like a lead balloon to someone who just wants to see the specs of the product.
4. To be able to buy it quickly and easily without having to learn a whole new set of skills.

If you lose sight of these four objectives then you customer is going to lose money and go to another designer next time.

Business Intelligence

Check out the June useability column from Jacob Neilsen on email newsletter guidelines.  It includes some interesting eye tracking studies on newsletters.  The main conclusions:

• People skip the introductory blah-blah
• They scan the first two words only of each heading looking for topics of interest
• People are always looking to reduce their email volume and will trade off newsletters if they find one they think will be more interesting
• Users set up special email accounts for things they think might turn out to be spam, so you need to convince them of the value of your offfering straight away
• Newsletters beat feeds (RSS) for impact and 'warmth'.   
   

From my blog

A month or so ago I received a regular email newsletter from Business Link for London. This site is big on advice to small business in London, paid for by you and me.

It had a link to a white paper 'choosing a web designer' so I put it to one side to read later. Here we are 'later' so I resurrected the mail and clicked the link to go to the white paper. Here is what happened:
 

1. I was asked for email and password
2. I hadn't been back for some time so the site asked me to confirm my details and add a few items of information
3. The screen then said. And I quote:

Thank you, your Contact and company details have now been updated.
Please select which details you wish to review and update...

etc etc

Er Um... the white paper - remember???

News from the web

CinemaNow and guba.com both announced deals with mighty Warner brothers this month to sell their movies online.  This is another small step on the road of distributing films directly to consumers via the internet. A lot of technical bits and pieces have to come together before you dial up warner brothers on your TV, select a movie and watch is a short time later.  But it is coming.

Google has launched an online payments system in competition with PayPal. The service will be called Google Checkout. We will be checking it out you can be sure. 

Proof of identity is such an important issue these days with identity theft being a major crime area.  Symantec is positioning itself to offfer identity management services.  The breakthrough is that it will be paid for by the merchant.

AOL UK is up for sale.  They have a big share of the broadband market so could be quite attractive to some of the big players.  Would they want to continue with the 'classic' AOL service though? It is also trying to sell off its German and French operations. 

The Vonage IPO has beeen less than stellar.  Initially issued at $17 the shares are now down to $11.63.  It seems there were some irregularities in the issue of some shares which means that the purchasers could require Vonage to repurchase their shares at the issue price.  To me, Vonage looks a good investment.  I use them and apart from the odd quality issue common to all VOIP it looks to me like a good offering.

From the 'why would you want to do that?' department.  Nokia has ported a web server onto a mobile phone, allowing a phone to serve up web pages on the internet.  After all they point out: Many mobile phones today have more processing power than early Internet servers. 

From the same department - Google launches a web-based spreadsheet. 

The NUJ has called for a boycott of Yahoo to protest against the internet company's reported actions in China. Unfortunately all the major search providers are tarred with this particular brush, otherwise I would say 'go with the boycott'.  
 
Meanwhile China has upped its censorship of foreign web sites. 

Yawwwwnnnnn... Skype has been accused of patent infringement.  Not again... 

Google has developed a tool that lets you synchronise your browser settings (bookmarks and preferences) across different machines. Here is the kicker - it is for Firefox only, not Internet Explorer.  
  
Making cheap calls over the Internet from your mobile phone using a wi-fi connection is becoming a reality in France.   France's top three broadband providers, have started rolling out services that allow cellular phone customers to use mobile and Wi-Fi networks with the same handset. Interesting if UK mobile operators go down the same route - particularly T-Mobile which has a big wi-fi presence. 

Netscape is changing again - soon it will be a web portal.  Can this once-dominant brand become top of the world again?

Websites devoted to the number 666 did well on June 6th.  (6/6/6).  Chicago's Internet-based Radio Free Satan hosted a massive party in Los Angeles, while a Netherlands-based evangelical organisation called on Christians in 21 countries to hold a 24-hour prayer vigil against Satanic forces.  And much more...