Does Your Site’s Engine Look Like This?
I have a guilty pleasure, and that is creating analogies for everything in my life. My wife often laughs at me, but has told me in some instances it helps her to understand things better when I begin to ramble about technical things that she doesn’t understand (or care to understand).
This past weekend I went to the Cleveland Auto Show at the IX Center. This show was incredible for an array of reasons (so much it would warrant a post of it’s own, so I will leave it at that). One of the displays that caught my eyes (and ears) was the GM Dyno display. This was a large display with a Chevy small block hooked up to get all of its readings (It kind of looked like a person in a hospital hooked up to IV’s and such). I sat. I watched. I listened. There was a GM engineer there walking us through specific demonstrations of the engine and the technologies. I listened intently and watched, and later began to relate this to my job and passion: web development.
Some of you may have read my earlier post where I made the analogy of my flight to California to a user-friendly website. This analogy deals more with the internals of the ‘engine’ of your website (see where this is going?). Without any more ranting, here are my thoughts:
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Finding the right engine to fit your needs. Finding the right engine and internal parts is very important. Not just thinking short term — but long term. How do you want your website to scale? If your goal is to put down 1,200HP to the ground (and not blow up), then there is an array of engines and parts that you can eliminate right off the bat. I own and drive an SRT-4. This car has a 4 cylinder engine that is turbo-charged. It is a great little ‘pocket rocket’, but it will never get me to over 1,000HP (much less) without some major upgrades. Now, if I were to start with a Viper engine (V-10), it would be much easier to get the projected HP out of (with deep pockets and a good mechanic). So, does your website need that V-10 engine if all you are looking for is a steady and reliable 150 HP?
In terms of a web site — your engine can be anything from a full blown framework, CMS, or just a few basic pages — depending on your needs, goals, and budget. Choosing this wisely from the beginning will help you shape your site as a whole.
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Finding the right transmission to fit your needs. This is one of the ways you will be putting the power to the ground. Automatic or Manual? Are there certain areas where the user will need to do the ‘shifting’ to get them to another area? Define these areas and the appropriate actions that need to take place. Some goals only require an automatic transmission. You have a few pages, you let the user know who/what/where/when/and why and that is it — no real interaction is needed.
In terms of a web site — your transmission can be anything from the server software (Apache, IIS, etc) to the programming language used [if any] (PHP, ASP, CFM, Ruby, Python, etc). Choosing this wisely will help you map out how you will be transmitting (distributing) your information and the connections that will need to be made.
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Finding the right tires to fit your needs. This is another very important aspect in how you will be putting your power to the ground. My car has all season tires on it right now (I do live in Ohio, so this is a must). I took my car to the track with these tires on it and struggled big time. What good is my engine or transmission if I can’t put that power to the ground? I watched as the tree went to green and I was off — sort of. You see, regardless of the fact that I have approximately 230HP to the wheels, the fact that I have winter tires makes it that much harder to actually move. My tires would spin, and spin, and spin — until finally it took off. By that time my competition may be a full car length ahead. What would be the best combination? Rear wheel drive? All wheel drive? Slicks? This is what you will need to decide.
In terms of a web site — your tires can be anything from your hardware to your connection speeds. You may have the best website, but without the right hardware and connections to send this information to the world, you could be left spinning while your competition takes the lead.
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Finding the right frame for your vehicle. If I were to take my car as it is now, and try and put it in a monster truck it would be rather useless (though funny looking). This is known as your Horsepower to Weight ratio. If you have an excellent engine, transmission, and tires — it can still be hard to get something moving if it is weighing you down. Find what you need and make it strong, and shed the extra weight that could be just a hindrance. Every now and then you may need to clean out your car and get rid of the junk that has accumulate over the past few days.
In terms of a web site — your body is everything that comprises your content. Images, Flash, Javascript, HTML, and an array of other downloads will all affect how you are putting your power to the ground. Overkill of any of these could extremely hinder your otherwise successful website. Keep it simple, keep it clean. Don’t let it build up with last weeks burger wrappers and napkins.
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Make sure your engine is tuned. Engines still amaze me. I think it is amazing how everything working together can produce some amazing results. Every engine is different, and therefore you need to understand your engine. I could know everything about a Chevy small block — but what good would that do me driving a 4 cylinder Dodge? Know what works. Understand your supporting modifications and the timing as to when they are needed. Understand your Input and Output, Filtering and Displaying. I have a 3 inch short ram intake. It has a nice K&N air filter attached to the end. This filters out debris and other objects that could be harmful to my turbo or engine. If I were to have a cold air intake (a risk in Ohio), then I would also get a water bypass filter to make sure I didn’t water log my engine. The filters are there — to make sure that what goes into the engine is just what you want — cool air (what would happen if you didn’t filter and something like water, or sawdust, or rocks found their way into your turbine or engine?). Once I have all of that air into my intake, the engine needs to know how to handle it and the right mixture. There are many sensors that monitor my engine. Ambient air temperature. Mass air flow. Manifold pressure. Intake temperature. Exhaust temperature. All of these things play into having a well tuned engine — and if you care about your engine, you make sure you know the signs and the sounds. You know what it takes to make it run ‘normal’, and how to tune it to handle pushing it’s limits (at the track). You have to have a perfect balance of air and fuel, or you will risk running too lean or too rich (both of which can cause damage). In the words of my friend Rick, you have to allow the car to both breathe and pass gas. Again, a good combination is needed here. Imagine trying to drink a soda from a 3 inch straw. Not the best solution. On the other end, if you are letting a mass amount of air into your engine, you have to also give it an avenue to get out of your engine. When you let it out — it is not just letting raw gasses out to pollute the air, but there are things like a muffler, resonator, etc that will allow you to filter your output. There needs to be a perfect balance of everything. Don’t forget the oil which keeps your engine running. Maintenance is required, especially after hard driving or miles of use.
In terms of a web site — the tuning means monitoring your site. It means making sure that you are running smooth at all levels and that you are not running too ‘rich’ or too ‘lean’. Some of the ways you can do this is by watching your traffic, watching your access, error, agent, and referrer logs, and looking at your server statistics (I recommend Google Analytics). Doing this lets you have control of all aspects of your site — including how users interact with your site.
NOTE: An important point to make here is that you wouldn’t let just anyone work on your car. In fact, in most cases, you might even take it to a specialist or dealership for authentic replacement parts of your engine. The people that work on your car are trained and know what they are doing. They understand what to look and listen for. They have the knowledge, education, and hands on experience to help resolve your problem in a timely manner. Putting the maintenance of your website into the hands of someone who doesn’t know what they are doing can be very dangerous.
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Understand your driver. Technically, this could have been the first point (but these are unordered, so I guess it doesn’t matter). You need to understand the driver of your car, and they need to understand how to use your car. They need to know where the gas pedal and brake pedal is located. They need to know what the gauges do and how to read them. They need to know how to go forward and backward. They need to know how to use the steering wheel. They need to understand this in conjunction with the laws of the road. They need to know what roads they can travel. They need to know what the road signs mean. They need to know their limits. Drivers often vary. Some want raw speed and could care less about the interior — they just want to get from point A to point B in the fastest manner possible. They don’t want the distractions of the fancy interior, stereo, and assorted gadgets. On the other hand there are those who could care less about the performance of the car and are more interested in the luxury and features available to them. They like the leather seats, they like the power sunroof, they love the Bose surround sound stereo. They love the temperature controls for every part of their body. In some cases, you have a blend of those who like equal doses of both luxury and performance. It is important to note here that there are some things that are standard on all cars that everyone should know before stepping into a car. For instance — Your user will know that the gas pedal is on the right, and the brake is on the left. They will know that the shifter is either behind the steering wheel or directly to their right. They know that the gauges are directly in front of them (not behind them). All cars have these things — and most are located in similar spots. What would happen if you were to reverse things? What if the brake was on the right and gas on the left? What if when they turned the steering wheel left, they actually went right (and vice versa). This would cause chaos.
In terms of a web site — understanding your driver (user) is very important. Don’t try to re-invent things that they already know. Things like mystery meat navigation, or odd placement of your navigation will only throw the user off — and end in chaos. Don’t try to make them re-learn what they already know about vehicles. Don’t try and eliminate the medium — the browser. Doing this only inhibits the usability of your website. Removing their ability to use the browser to go forward, backward, or even bookmark your site is only sending the message to them that their browser is not important, that you have something better (It is like removing the steering wheel, shifter, and pedals, and trying to introduce your own — and most likely in a place they are not used to — can you expect them to really drive properly like this?). Remember to stay within the laws. There are standards out there, set for us to use as a guide to keep everyone driving (browsing) safely. Be sure to construct your car so that it meets these standards (those in California understand this in relations to emissions standards). Don’t try and take over the car for your user. No matter what type of user they are, they do not need you to interject obtrusively through the use of popups, pop-unders, or other actions that try and take the wheel from the user. Don’t tell the user that they need something different to use the car. Don’t let them get all settled in, only to find out that they must use premium gas or high grade oil to even get the car moving (IE — installing flash). You are now trying to make the user do the maintenance (that could better be left to a technician) and requiring them to know how to get the right oil or gas.
Users come in a broad range of understanding and skill level. You cannot assume all are at specific levels. This is where going back to your maintenance log will help you understand. Do they put a lot of miles on the car? Are they hard on the brakes? Do they try to do things that are not possible with their vehicle?
You need to be prepared to send them all of the right signals (in a polite manner) to let them know that they are doing something that is not possible, or alerting them that some maintenance may need to take place. Are they trying to put the wrong fuel in the car? Do you let them know or does your system adjust and know automatically in the background? If you let them know — how do you let them know? Would you put a warning light in the trunk and hope they found it later, or place it right on the dash where they are already focused on their gauges? Are your warning lights a good indication of what needs to happen? Do they know what the light with a gas pump means? Do they know what the little engine shaped light means? Do they know what the seat-belt light looks like? You need to be very specific in your error messages to the user. What about a map? What if a user goes down too many back-roads. Can they easily find their way back to the start (or where they want to be from that point?). Is there a map in the glove box? Don’t leave them guessing what to do next. If you do, it could end up in chaos.
Well, for those who stuck around this long — I hope it helped you get a better understanding of what it means to have a finely tuned website. I hope this will help you understand how to keep your users from wrecking. Remember, you have to create the vehicle - but you can't always predict the kind of driver that will be behind the wheel. Make sure your vehicle accommodates the different users, but keeps them safe at the same time. You need to have a clear vision, purpose, and message. Make sure the user knows the purpose of the vehicle before strapping in. What do you think?
Resources
Also, check out some of the links to the right to get some great inspiration, tools, and ideas to creating a successful and usable web ‘vehicle’.