my-wings said:
Well, I'm going to have one on my site. This is because I hate the shopping
cart that I got for free, and I don't have time to learn perl or another
language to correct what I perceive are its defects. So, I'm going low tech
(sort of). If a user wants to order books, he can click on the "order books"
link which will open a new window. In that new window, he can cut and paste
the titles of desired books, and the form will be emailed to me.
I'm opening in a separate window because book buyers like to browse, and
this will enable them to keep the "order" window open while they examine as
many titles as they want. I realize a more sophisticated user could
right-click and "open in a new window" but I suspect many of my customers
won't be that knowledgeable.
This probably won't pass muster as a reason for opening a new window, but
it's the best interim solution I can think of that will enable me to get on
with selling books without becoming a programmer first. I just can't wait
for life to get perfect before I do something, lol.
Alice
You can mark this day in your calendar as the day you were officially told
that you've made the wrong decision.
Then, when you've finally chosen to *hire* someone who knows WTF they're
doing and you finally begin to turn a reasonable profit, you can then count
the days back to today and dream of what could have been bought with the
money you could be making had you made the right decision today.
When you ask a random person on the street where they'd go to order books
online, what do you think they say? Amazon.com
Why don't they say <insert whatever Alice's site here> ?
Well, there's countless reasons, not the least of which is their advertising
budget and longevity.
So, what can you offer that Amazon can't? Do you carry titles that they
don't? Maybe, but probably not. Do you offer better shipping options? No
friggin way. Do you offer better payment options? Definitely not (an
e-mailed form? C'mon.).
The truth of the matter is, any time you get an order, it will be due to one
thing only: That you offered exactly what they were looking for at the exact
moment that they were looking for it and they weren't about to go looking
somewhere else. This isn't all bad. In fact, this is the reason why 98% of
people use the Internet, anyway - to look for something specific.
What it boils down to is that considering the fact that you'll never be able
to compete with Amazon, you MUST do everything in your power to make your
site easy to use. But here's the problem - It appears to me that you're
ignorantly planning on doing everything you can to NOT succeed.
First and foremost is this business of "In that new window, he can cut and
paste the titles of desired books, and the form will be emailed to me."
You're out of your mind if you think users are going to cut & paste titles
of books into a form. And then what? Are you going to call them to get their
credit card? Hell, at that point they coulda driven to the nearest Barnes
and Noble and picked up the friggin thing.
You say "I'm opening in a separate window because book buyers like to
browse"
How do you know this? Do you have experience watching "book buyers" interact
with book websites? I doubt it. Because if you had, you'd have noticed that
your new window is an unequivocal nuisance. If you'd like to give your
users the ability to compare titles, then you need to program an interface
that can do so. You're right in saying that people like comparing items
before they buy, but vomiting new windows on the screen is definitely NOT
the answer.
it's the best interim solution I can think of that will enable me to get on
with selling books without becoming a programmer first
The best "interim solution" is to hire someone that knows what they're
doing. It isn't what you want to hear, but it is nevertheless the truth. If
you're a brick & mortar book store, put up a page on the web that lists
directions, hot titles, and a call-to-action that induces the visitor to
call. In the meantime have an EXPERIENCED professional working on doing the
site correctly. This is your *business* we're talking about here!
-KArl