Chase Picks Up the Tab

Chase Picks Up the Tab Has a very easy entry form. The tab order works as expected and the verification code is nice and easy to read. Robo doesn't fill in all fields at first, but you can fill it in and save.

I Hate Flash

This is a post from my other blog, VickieB's Ramblings

OK, maybe I don't hate Flash, but I dislike it intensely. Flash when used to enhance a site can be cool. But, for most commercial sites, it should be at the option of the site visitor. A well designed HTML web site can project a much better image for the average consumer than a Flash site.

Flash based sites

When I go to a site like Suave or Dove (these are sites I have been to lately) and I try to navigate a less than optimal Flash based site like Suave, it's a real turn off. I have had to spend twice as long looking for information than is necessary. You can't use the back arrow or you're taken back to the beginning of the Flash movie losing even more time. The Dove site has a sitemap available, but click on a link and you are still pulled into a flash site. But, at least with the Dove site you can use the back arrow and go back a page without starting all over, but still it would be much better to have a standard site available. Unfortunately, most, but not all, of Unilever's site are Flash based. Big turnoff.

Site menus done in Flash

WD Diary , part of Woman's Day and Classic Heartland, a public radio station have Flash based menus with no alternative, you either have Flash enabled or you can't navigate the site. Not a good impression and another big turnoff.

Most sweepstakes entry forms done in Flash suck, too. There is no reason that your browser's form filler, Google's form filler, Roboform or the like should not be able to fill in a form, any form. There are a lot of people out there who have a hard time either seeing or typing.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Get Some Green to Go Green Sweepstakes

Just like ABC's Water Cooler Moments that ended in December, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Get Some Green to Go Green Sweepstakes is a great example of a lousy entry system. Both the area of the log in button (in the middle of the page) and the log in area (at the top of the page) are Flash. You have to log in in to your account, which is no big deal, but after pressing the button to take you to the log in form, you have to scroll to the top of the page. When the log in form shows up, it looks like it has focus in the user name field, but if you try to type your user name in, nothing appears. You have to click in it first to give it focus. After logging in, you have to scroll down again to see the confirmation. I should be able to use RoboForm (it has all my log in data) to login, but no way. Also, unlike most of ABC, Disney sites, if I am logged in on a related site, I am not automatically logged on to this site.

M&M's Checkered Flag Sweepstakes

Like all of Mars and M&Ms sweepstakes the M&M's Checkered Flag Sweepstakes is Flash based. However, this form is overkill. Like their other entry forms, they are not designed to be used with a form filler, so why they decided to put a hard to read verification code on the form beats me. If they are going to use a verification code, the form should be designed to be used with a form filler.