June 1, 2009 at 08:42Do not check too hard
When the user fills out a form, the script usually checks the correctness of the entered data. And here users have problems if the developer has made the restrictions too stringent. A few examples:
1. I can’t register on some sites with the address firstname.lastname@gmail.com or firstname.lastname+mark@gmail.com - the developers decided that there could be no dots or pluses in the address.
2. My girlfriend cannot register a domain, since the name, according to the developers, should not contain less than three characters.
3. I can’t send a person an invite to the hub, because his address is x@***.mp - either one letter is not allowed as a login, or the developers of the hub do not know about the .mp domain zone.
No need to care too much about the user. Let him make a mistake, in the end - this is better than if he can’t use your services because of too tough, meaningless checks.
Think right now: maybe your websites have too strict conditions for checking input?
1. I can’t register on some sites with the address firstname.lastname@gmail.com or firstname.lastname+mark@gmail.com - the developers decided that there could be no dots or pluses in the address.
2. My girlfriend cannot register a domain, since the name, according to the developers, should not contain less than three characters.
3. I can’t send a person an invite to the hub, because his address is x@***.mp - either one letter is not allowed as a login, or the developers of the hub do not know about the .mp domain zone.
No need to care too much about the user. Let him make a mistake, in the end - this is better than if he can’t use your services because of too tough, meaningless checks.
Think right now: maybe your websites have too strict conditions for checking input?