Name, rank and serial number - How do you get people to fill out your online forms

I am sure you have seen some war movie in which the captured soldier is asked about the secret plans, and even under torturous conditions he will only provide his name, rank and serial number.

Your website visitors feel the same way when you hold information "hostage". They are going to clam up, and all you'll get out of them is limited info, or worse - nothing at all!

• Keep it simple and necessary - Can you get away with only the name and phone number? If your visitor is serious, they will provide real information. Any additional information you require can be collected with a followup phone call or email.

• Tell them what comes next - your visitors should know what is going to happen after they fill out the form. Will they have to check their email for a link, will something start to download or redirect them to the content they are requesting.

• Send a confirmation message - While this has nothing to do with them filling out the form, it has everything to do with marketing. What if they stumbled onto your site and accidentally closed their browser? Now, they have an email confirmation page with a link back to your site! Smart move.

Your site visitors came to your site to make a purchase or engage your services, don't make it hard for them to get the process started online. Online forms are a vital part of your website (or at least it should be), make the most of them.

Must have iPhone apps for web designers

If you are like me you know that the iPhone is more than just a cool toy, it can be a valuable tool and resource. And, if like me, you are a web designer who not only creates websites, but is involved with maintaining, tracking, enhancing and almost anything a clients asks to have done - you know how important it is to be "connected" at all times.

Now with all that said, here are my most used apps - these aren't just apps i saw on some other list page, but rather apps i used weekly, if not daily (and i will keep it brief by just giving the app name, the usage and why you need it.)

Analytics - This app is by AnalyticsApp.com and it is a complete Google Analytics application. You can get your Google stats instantly and you can track a huge number of sites.

FTPOnTheGo - Wow, this has come in very handy. This FTP client allows you to download files, like HTML, JSP, PHP or really anything and edit them in a text editor and send them back to the server.

GoDaddy - I have purchased tons of domains for clients on my iPhone.

CC Terminal - I can get paid anywhere anytime. this credit card app is easy to use and connects to your authorize.net account.

SEO Ranking - Add your domain, enter your keywords and find out where your site ranks. this app also keeps a graphical history so you can track your SEO successes (or slips).

That's it. I have a couple others dedicated to just web stuff, but I don't use them as much. Oh, the names that used above are how they appear on the phone, so if you search the App Store they should come up. They aren't all free either, but Analytics and FTPOnTheGo are worth the price.

Click here, click here!

I was recently involved in a discussion regarding website usability with a few fellow web designers. It was during this conversation that I thought about the word "designer" in our titles. Most would say a web designers job is to make a website look good, and the siteboxpro team and myself would not argue with that - but there is more to it.

My REAL job is to ensure that our clients get a great website AND their clients get a great web experience. A great web experience is one in which the user is able to find information, navigate the site, and get what they expect. Plain and simple, the site should be easy to use. I've put together a very short list of things that help make any (your) website more user-friendly:

• Click here! - if this phrase or hyperlink appears on your site, remove it. Instead, let the description be the hyperlink - example: "Click here to register" or better put "Register".
• Going Home - your logo (which should appear at the top of your page) should be clickable and return the user to the homepage of your site.
• PDFs and hyperlinks - open PDFs in a new window. All other hyperlinks should be in the same (parent) window - unless you are sending the user to a different website entirely.
• No underlining - underlined text should be reserved for hyperlinks - use other typographical elements such as bold or italics to emphasise.
• What's the status? - hyperlinks should have 3 states - not visited, visited and active - make sure you are using colors and decoration to let your visitors know where they have been and even more importantly where they haven't!

Simple things go a long way. It is the part of every web design to ensure a website is functional, easy to use and - of course - looks good.