16 一月, 2006
网站发布，beta版？
ajaxian网站前日发布了一篇新的文章，谈到网站发布新的功能时需要注意的几个问题，较有感触：
- 不要发布未完成或者不完整的功能
- 不要为了表示一直在更新，而故意限制某些功能的发布
- 虽然IE还是主流，但是早期的使用者一般都使用Firefox或者Safari，千万不要忽略这些人
- 避免没完没了的“lauching soon”页面
- 吸引博客，但是不要与他们争论，即使你是正确的
- 不要向用户索取额外的个人信息
还提到几点，关于如何降低用户试用的门槛，保证html/css和javascript代码的合法等，都是在发布网站或者发布新功能时候应当考虑的问题。
原文：
Tuesday, January 10th, 2006
The Importance of a Good Beta
Category: Ajax
, Usability, Editorial, Web20
We get a lot of submissions for beta sites to showcase their use of ajax. Michael has written a great post that should be required reading for anyone before they click “send” on that press release email. He stressed that you often only get one chance with the early adopters, so if you blow it you may not have another shot.
He writes about the key make or break features of a beta:
- do not release incomplete or broken features
- don’t hold back features just to have new items in a month
- IE still has the mainstream market, but early adopters use Firefox and Safari - ignore them at your peril
- avoid the eternal “lauching soon” page - do it close to release and give info on what you are releasing
- engage bloggers, and don’t get into flamewars with them (even if you are right)
- don’t ask for any more personal info then you need
Jason of 37 Signals fame has some experience with successful launches, and he says don’t launch a public beta at all. If you launch public, call it 1.0 and take full responsibility.
For more Ajax specific demos and showcases, I would add the following items:
- its all about the user experience - your typical early adopter maybe spends five to ten minutes trying out your demo, you better make sure you impress quickly!
- barrier to entry should be zero - if you run a social recipe site that has the latest purple-drop-fade technique you want to share, create a demo page that requires no login. If you absolutely must require an account, setup a demo acct and make it default.
- validate html/css, clean up your javascript, and check your platforms - see browsershots and safari test.
- if its open source, provide the code (zipped and online) in an obvious place, with license clearly stated
- a blog detailing the development of your site can be great, even for those who don’t care about your service
