While Google and other sites cache web pages, the best way to ensure you’ve got a timestamped copy of any page is to capture it yourself.

Here are some common tools and methods (most of them free) to help you keep track of pages via snapshots:

The Print Screen key just may become your best friend. After pressing the key, you can paste screenshots into documents, graphics programs and other software.

• The Print Screen key. The quickest and easiest way to capture what a page looks like is to use the Print Screen function. This captures what’s seen on the actual screen (no scrolling) and stores it in memory as a copy. You can then open any graphics or document program and paste the image to save it.

To “print screen” capture on a Mac, hold down the Apple key ⌘ + Shift + 3, then release. Then, click your mouse on the screen.

• Use a screen capture tool. I especially like Snag It, which allows you to capture pages several different ways, including saving an entire page by scrolling in the browser.
• Create a PDF. If you have a PDF creator, you can “print” the page to a PDF file. If not, you can use a free service called PDFMYURL.com (simply enter the full URL of the page and the service will create a PDF file which you can save to your desktop.
• Save As… Most web browsers allow you to save entire web pages to a local HTML file. If your browser doesn’t offer this option – or if results are less than desired – you can always view the source code of a page and copy and paste its contents to a separate file.

After capturing a page, name it logically so you can easily reference it later. Some programs will, by default, name the file in timestamp format, which isn’t terribly helpful when you need to find something on the fly.

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/10/08.
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Post tags: archiving, browsers, organization

The list goes on.

For designers and developers, running multiple browsers (and several versions of them) is a must. Web sites needed to be tested across several platforms.

But for surfing the Internet, shopping, playing games, etc., what’s your browser of choice? And what makes the browser you use so appealing?

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/10/04.
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Post tags: browsers

You may be eager to update your online store to use the latest technology. By doing so, however, you just might be crippling your customer base.

With all the latest and greatest Web features, browsers are constantly needing to be updated to keep pace. The problem with that, though, is that online shoppers might not be ready for these new bells and whistles. Keep this in mind when introducing new technology to your website.

Earlier this year, one online store upgraded the site’s JavaScript functionality, rendering previous versions of Internet Explorer useless. Shoppers are now prompted with a message to upgrade their browsers. While the site is stellar in its design and offerings, I can only imagine how many sales are being lost because of the upgrade requirement.

Recent stats for an online store show that more than half its visitors run some flavor of Internet Explorer. Of that, 8.6% still run IE 6, and just over 23% run IE 7. That's nearly 1/3 of IE users running outdated versions...

Just as requiring Flash installation back when it wasn’t a standard impeded the shopping experience, requiring an upgrade that could take more than – well, any amount of time, really – is a good way to lose business to competitors.

Laugh all you want, but I still strive to make websites function with IE6 – because stats for many clients show that a decent percentage of shoppers are still running the older browser, especially those overseas. While certain graphic formats, such as PNG, may render a bit differently, the core experience is retained. Sure, I’m working at phasing out IE6 configurations on new site launches, but only because there are security elements required for stores to pass PA-DSS compliancy tests. Still, any online store should be able to render properly at least two versions back on most browsers.

Then, there’s accessibility software, such as JAWS, utilized by the blind and visually impaired. Yes, I know it’s personal (my husband can’t see a thing and uses screenreading software on his laptop), but you need to recognize that there are millions of blind and low-vision folks surfing the web. Wouldn’t it be great if those customers didn’t have to rely on family or someone sighted because they can’t shop your store for a gift for their wife or children? As more and more sites are configured not to run in previous browser versions, the more sites there are which Joe cannot navigate. Whenever this happens, it requires a major upgrade in the screen reading software (and trust me, it isn’t cheap). All this, because some sites (and not techie ones) think it’s necessary to use the same functionality as, say, a financial institution.

Online shoppers, like the rest of us, don’t like fixing what isn’t broken. Ask around, and you’ll find most of them hate being forced to upgrade or install software just to reach a web site when a good portion of the others they visit load just fine. Not all newer site designs are going to look stellar in 3-year-old environments, but they should still be shopable.

Keep in mind that many computer users run what was already installed on the system the day they brought it home. Unless someone they know presses them to upgrade, they often leave the system as it was configured from the factory. So, if that means forgoing some “sleek” updates, which can, most of the time, be done by other means anyway, then so be it. Bash Amazon all you want, but that site loads in a wide variety of versions of browsers.

By the way, as I type this, I’m struggling to start an online chat with big tech company. Apparently none of the browsers I’m running are the right flavor. Guess I gotta pick up the phone…

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/10/04.
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Post tags: browsers, Ecommerce, Technology, web design

Tabbed browsing is a feature in modern browsers. Instead of opening new web pages in separate windows, users click tabs to toggle between web sites.

Using tabs is one of the most appreciated features (and was a key selling point for people to install FireFox back when Internet Explorer hadn’t yet implemented tabbed environments). Businesses, however, may be losing money when page links are coded to open in a new window, which is a common action when wanting to provide more information without having the user leave the current page.

The problem with tabs is they make it easier for people to forget what they were doing, which web pages are actually open or simply not notice that a new tabbed was opened after clicking on a link (sometimes the perception is that the link is broken and does nothing).

Read more at Practical eCommerce

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/07/21.
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Post tags: browsers, practical ecommerce, shopability, usability

(more…)

© Pamela Hazelton, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Originally published on 2010/06/01.
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Post tags: browsers, Ecommerce, Mistakes That Kill