[consulting] Thinking about the Broken Web, Our Role?

[Shai Gluskin]

Hi Folks,

I'm continually amazed about how many web sites are broken. Just two
examples I've noted recently. Frigidaire's product registration tool is
broken. They are a huge company selling a gazillion of pieces. Another one:
Amex has a dedicated site where you can look up worldwide which ATMs accept
their pre-paid cards. In Haifa there were about 40 sites when I checked;
that seemed right. The site noted that AMEX is part of the Bank Hapoalim ATM
network in Israel. I checked for Tel Aviv; the site returned "0" ATMs. I
then went to Bank Hapoalim's web site and found they have over 50 branches
in the Tel Aviv area, all with ATMs. Amex' web properties are typically very
good, but not in this case.

I work with very small clients. I think I provide great value for them. I'm
leveraging Drupal's great power. I do warn them, though maybe not loudly
enough, that although I test the sites I deliver, there is no way that I can
test them thoroughly enough given the power of the functionalities typically
installed and the number of variables in the wild. When they discover
something that is broken I'm very fast at fixing it... but I can't, as part
of a planned testing regime -- given their budgets --, catch everything in
advance.

I guess it gives me solace when I find broken aspects of an AMEX or
Frigidaire site.

I generally find that my clients are relieved that I fix things quickly as
opposed to being pissed that something was broken in the first place.

So maybe nothing is wrong. Maybe this is just the price we pay for high
levels of innovation... that there are so many moving parts that not
everything will work at any given time. So maybe the most important thing is
that there are good feedback mechanisms in place.

But maybe that's just a rationalization.

Your thoughts?

Shai

Shai Gluskin
Owner, Content2zero Web Development
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