Get your mum to test it

Here’s some great advice on how to cheaply but effectively test a website for usability:

I’ve used a subtle variation of this on a number of occasions, and I can tell you that it really works.

Yellowpages search still sucks

Here’s why the yellowpages search still sucks from the point of view of those who matter: their users.

Try searching for “Travel Inn Hotel in “Carlton Victoria” and you’ll get 10 results, all for the same Carlton Inn Hotel, situated on the corner of Grattan & Drummond Streets:

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Our top 40 local searches

A few months ago I wrote about how most of our visitors come here via a Google search. A small percentage of those even use the search box on the top-right, once they get here.

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Testing your website on a tight budget

Steve Krug, author of the excellent “Don’t make me think” offers a great website usability tip for those on a tight budget:

If you really want to know if your website works, ask your next door neighbour to try using it, while you watch. You bring the beer.

Check out some of his other great tips while you’re at it.

VMware design stupidity

Here’s proof that sometimes software designers make really, really stupid decisions.

Like a lot of other web development professionals who use Linux for their development environment but also need access to MS Windows applications, I run VMware Server to access the corporate MS Office applications, including email.

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