One Step Ahead

I noticed recently that the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, which I read every day on the Web, has started asking people to register before reading the articles. The SMH is just one of many newspapers to add this feature. Even though registration is free, many users resent having to give out their personal information just to read a Web site. In fact, one enterprising company, BugMeNot.com has created a free service just to help people bypass this registration process.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that people don't like giving out personal information anywhere, let alone to a Web site. So take a close look at any pages on your Web site that ask for personal information. Unless you have a good relationship with your Web site visitors, there's a good chance that they will either (a) leave your site or (b) leave false information. If you really must ask for personal information, ask for as little as possible, and make as much of it as possible optional.