A Few Tips for All You Programs Out There
 

I was signing up to a bunch of programs today for a new project and came across a couple of things, I felt should be addressed.

1 - Lack of Skype

Almost all programs who asked for IM info, forced MSN/AIM/Yahoo/ICQ but completely ignored Skype. I understand a lot of adult guys still don't use Skype, for whatever reason, but you guys should update your forms to include it.

2 - Losing Data after Form Submission

Quite a few of the ones I joined, if you have an error in submitting the form, they lose some data you had. I find this is especially the case with selectboxes (for example payout method; if I choose ePassporte, don't reset me back to check after submitting).

3 - Data Validation

If you are going to be strict on fields such as addresses not allowing any type of punctuation, make sure you specify it OR even better, just strip what you don't like yourself during validation. It's pretty old-fashioned to submit a full page, to then point out you don't want a . or # in the street address.

Also, don't require fields that really don't need to be required; for example, fax number. People are just going to submit 0s or other data if they don't have one, so why not keep it consistent by setting a default on the server-side for those who don't enter anything.

Just a few quick observations that may help someone out :)

great tips doode :), thanks

great tips

I love my skype

I wish we all used skype instead of icq.

i go apeshit when they lose all the shit i typed in on the form after i've submitted and they make me go back to a blank form - how friggin hard is it for a programmer to set up so it doesn't do that :mad:

It's extremely easy; it comes down to laziness and lack of testing.

Happens with a lot of large-size programs too, not just small ones.

Skype ftw, good suggestion.

Nice tips...

Excellent points, Keith and dually noted.

In my experience a simple question of whether or not I use Skype leads to me firing it up for said individual... but the other 99.9% of the time I get a simple ICQ with no questions asked in regards to other messaging options.