10 Costly Assumptions on Web Development

I came across this article a while ago and thought that it was worth sharing with you guys. It basically covers 10 assumptions in web development that might be costing you money. The article was written with business and ecommerce websites in mind, but most points can be applied to blogs as well. The 10 assumptions are:

People will know how to find your website
People know what you sell
Everything will go as planned
People know where to click
People know how to get home
People know where they are
People know how to buy
People will volunteer loads of personal information
People will contact customer service if they have a question or problem
People will come back

The key takeaway from the article is: never assume. In other words, you should not design your website based on assumptions. Just because you behave in a certain way, it does not imply that other people will do so, too. This is an interesting topic and I will be covering it soon in a more in-depth post. Stay tuned!

Daniel Scocco on August 23, 2008 Subscribe to our RSS Feed

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15 Responses to “10 Costly Assumptions on Web Development”

Justin @ Palmer Web Marketing on August 23rd, 2008 2:38 pm

Thanks for mentioning the article!
Get Your Green On on August 23rd, 2008 4:24 pm

People know how to buy is a great point. Most people just assume that people are much smarter than they are. Dumb it down.
Rarst on August 23rd, 2008 5:22 pm

Yeah, very-very true. I learned it recently myself. I started blog with RSS links in the top of sidebar assuming people know to find them there… Later I decided to add them to bottom of posts as well and in few days number of subscriptions multiplied by five. Felt so stupid.

It’s not only important to read about stuff, it’s important to actively test and experiment as well.
Cheryl Clausen the Increase Sales Coach on August 23rd, 2008 7:21 pm

Great post. This is a good reminder that you have to get inside the head of your prospect and see things through their eyes. The same is true when it comes to sales.
العاب شمس الدين on August 23rd, 2008 8:53 pm

i think that our decisions should not be based on assumptions but on real thinking .
Todd Andrews on August 23rd, 2008 10:06 pm

Dumbing it down is the most essential thing I have ever learned…but struggled to master.
iman354 on August 23rd, 2008 11:23 pm

Yessss, very-very true
Kedoa on August 24th, 2008 12:48 pm

Great post, thanks! Very very true!
The Blogger Tips on August 24th, 2008 2:53 pm

You are right. Sometimes we also need trial and errors..
Steven Wilson on August 24th, 2008 9:13 pm

One must think like a customer to sell to a customer.
I will be looking forward to your follow up article on this subject.
Karl Hardisty on August 25th, 2008 12:17 am

Dumbing it down should cover everything, including the text on websites. One of the more difficult aspect of our job is to convince clients that they don’t need every buzzword known to man strewn across their site.

We’re strong advocates of writing copy in the same manner and style as one would talk to another. After all, a website is ultimately a conversation, as well.
Angel Cuala on August 25th, 2008 4:47 am

This is a great reminder but as a blogger, I would consider the first and the last as the most important ones.

For the first one, this is why bloggers should think twice before applying for a domain name. Shorter ones does not mean it can easiy be remembered. It should be related to the blog topic but not the whole phrase.

I made this mistake for my blogspot blogs but I learned somehow.

For the last one, I think the best way is to mention something about your next post or activity just like you did at the end of this post.
Cwd on November 18th, 2008 5:00 pm

I am a web designer and never heard of such an advice before, thanks for sharing it