Learn to Do It Right. Build a Better Web Site.

Web designers and web site owners often find themselves on a mission to think up ways in which they can make their web site unique and memorable.  After all, everyone wants their web site to stand out in the crowd.

But it’s important to use caution when straying from what’s familiar.  This is especially holds true when it comes to web site terminology.  People have become accustomed to using certain words and phrases to describe specific web site elements.  When you change them in an effort to be clever or creative, the end result is most often confusion.

A good example would be a recent change made at BlogCatalog, a blog directory/social networking site I belong to.  BlogCatalog stated in their September newsletter that due to confusion, they would be changing the terminology of their blog “neighborhoods” to blog “favorites.”

If you are thinking, “What the heck is a blog neighborhood?” apparently a lot of other people were wondering the same thing!  Simply put, a “neighborhood” was a place on your BlogCatalog account where you could add blogs you liked.  Most people know this as “bookmarking” a site, or adding it to “favorites.”  The folks at BlogCatalog must have initially thought that using the term “neighborhood” was a clever way to stand out…a way to be different.

But it ended up backfiring.  People didn’t recognize the terminology.  Most (including me) had no idea what “neighborhoods” were.  As a result, BlogCatalog decided to change blog “neighborhoods” to blog “favorites,” a term that people are familiar with and instantly recognize.

Let’s take a look at a few other web site elements where it’s wise to stick with terms that are well-known:

• Navigation - Use terms that are familiar, no matter how boring or overused they may seem.  The Home page should be referred to as the Home page, the About page should be named exactly that, and so on and so forth.
• Shopping carts - Call a shopping cart what it is - a cart.  Studies have shown that using other terms such as bag, basket, buggy, etc. are not as well accepted or recognized by web site users.
• Buttons - Label form buttons by what their function is and resist the urge to label them with cute or clever words or phrases.  For example, contact form submit buttons should be labeled “submit,” search form buttons should be labeled “search,” and subscription form buttons should be labeled “subscribe.”

When it comes to web site terminology, don’t leave people second guessing.  Stick with what’s familiar and intuitive and your customers will stick around.

Remember, it’s always about the customer.

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