The death of clean URLs
Check out the following list of links. One group of them makes me angry, the other does not. Try to guess which is which.
Group A:http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/AP_Obama_formally_wins_most_Texas_delegates
http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/south-park/season-6/south-park-602-jared-has-aides/
http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2008/04/obama-takes-lead-in-pennsylvania.html
http://www.examiner.com/blogs/Yeas_and_Nays/2008/4/2/Rove-calls-Obama-coolly-detached-and-arrogant-Hillary-is-calculating-and-a-flawed-candidate
Group B:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d26XQMMJxno
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/26/185844/295/203/484916
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/4152620p-4741651c.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080402/ap_on_re_eu/bush
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/01/paidcontent/main3986783.shtml
This is an open call to anybody who creates or maintains a website for a living: please use human-readable (clean) URLS!
This is a basic principle of website design: People are more likely to click on a link when they know where it will take them.
There are two ways people are going to come to your website:
People like to share links with each other. A LOT. Viral marketing is based entirely on this principle. People copy and paste links to each other all the time. Making your URLs human readable means that people can tell, at a glance, where that link from their friend will take them. And remember -- people are more likely to click a link when they know where it takes them. You do the math! ;)
A good URL contains, at a minimum, the title of the destination page. Author and date/time are optional.
Unique identifiers (www.youtube.com/watch?v=d26XQMMJxno) should be hidden from users wherever possible. They don't mean anything to your users; why confuse them?
For a related discussion, check out this article about "mystery meat navigation", which is the practice of not identifying the destination of a link until you hover over it with your mouse.
And, man-oh-man do I love that URL. :)
Group A:http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/AP_Obama_formally_wins_most_Texas_delegates
http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/south-park/season-6/south-park-602-jared-has-aides/
http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2008/04/obama-takes-lead-in-pennsylvania.html
http://www.examiner.com/blogs/Yeas_and_Nays/2008/4/2/Rove-calls-Obama-coolly-detached-and-arrogant-Hillary-is-calculating-and-a-flawed-candidate
Group B:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d26XQMMJxno
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/26/185844/295/203/484916
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/4152620p-4741651c.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080402/ap_on_re_eu/bush
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/01/paidcontent/main3986783.shtml
This is an open call to anybody who creates or maintains a website for a living: please use human-readable (clean) URLS!
This is a basic principle of website design: People are more likely to click on a link when they know where it will take them.
There are two ways people are going to come to your website:
- Clicking on a link from another site, or
- Learning about your site from somewhere that isn't the web (IM, email, IRC, advertising on a bus, written in a bathroom stall)
People like to share links with each other. A LOT. Viral marketing is based entirely on this principle. People copy and paste links to each other all the time. Making your URLs human readable means that people can tell, at a glance, where that link from their friend will take them. And remember -- people are more likely to click a link when they know where it takes them. You do the math! ;)
A good URL contains, at a minimum, the title of the destination page. Author and date/time are optional.
Unique identifiers (www.youtube.com/watch?v=d26XQMMJxno) should be hidden from users wherever possible. They don't mean anything to your users; why confuse them?
For a related discussion, check out this article about "mystery meat navigation", which is the practice of not identifying the destination of a link until you hover over it with your mouse.
And, man-oh-man do I love that URL. :)