As a resource that brings you articles, tips, and suggestions of what to do and what not to do, you would expect us to be on the top of our game since we put ourselves in the position to be giving you advice. Yet, that’s not always true.
It wasn’t until a few days ago when a kind reader pointed out to me a brutal mistake on my end, especially considering the type of site I’m running here. I had been using javascript to show and hide the search bar for months, and more recently, I applied the same effect to the subpage bar for our extras. The issue, was that without javascript enabled, a big portion of functionality was being lost, and so were a few extra pages.
How could we falter in such an important area? Forgetfulness, laziness, lack of (or too much) alcohol in the system – who knows really? It was a simple mistake that could have caused big problems, and because it was overlooked for so long, it went unnoticed until someone else was able to point it out.
But it is not just about who to thank, but the path taken afterwards. There were two routes I could have taken after being informed about this bug. Sit here and do nothing, like I had for the first few months, because it was an isolated issue, and because really, why would anyone have javascript disabled? The other route I could take was to look into it and get it fixed quickly, to show readers that, hey, I am actually listening to what you’re saying.
Lucky for me (and you without javascript), I took the second route. Thankfully, this reader had even been kind enough to point me to an article that mentioned an alternative method, so we could continue to show the same show/hide effect for people with JS, and just show them the search if they were without it.
The Customer is Always Right
Just like when your at the market and you see that tantalizing candy bar and you peel off a .99 cent sticker from another item and smack it on the candy bar, then proceed to bring it to the cashier and say that was the price advertised, you walk out with a candy bar and a couple extra cents.
Alright, maybe not.
But that “customer is always right” theory applies to your site(s) as well. When someone makes a suggestion or comment, whether it be bad or good, it’s important to look into it. Even if it’s a meager percentage of people complaining about something, or wanting something changed, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
A lot of times, you’ll find yourself making stupid mistakes, whether it be typos, design errors, and a host of other things, and you won’t even notice, because it takes someone else’s eyes to notice the problem. But yet, when someone does report something, you can annoyed. I know, especially in the early going of Devlounge, I would get extremely angry when people would point out multiple spelling errors in each of my articles. While it may have angered me, I made the fixes, and it turn it helped me be a lot more careful when typing, which has brought my countless mistakes down a hell of a lot.
Always remember, visitors know more than you. It’s vital to listen to their thoughts, comments, bug reports, typo reports, and general feedback and do something about it! You may the boss, but that doesn’t mean you’re the best.
