Web Site 101, Feb. 1998: Internet Warnings Can Be False Alarms

All files and images that were created for the site were tested on the two most common browsers, Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer, to ensure that readers using either browser would get the same information with as little difficulty as possible. In doing so, we found that the best way to allow all users to access and interpret the interactive features of the site was to create an introductory page where new users could download the appropriate plug-ins to best view the site.

The introductory page for the L&L site offers downloads for Shockwave and for RealPlayer, the plug-ins necessary to view the streaming video and Flash animation used throughout the site. The site’s introductory page links to the plug-ins’ respective official pages; from there, users can download the appropriate files and, using the back button on the browser, return to the L&L site immediately thereafter.

Users can choose to not download the files and still browse Lawn & Landscape Online efficiently. There is an option on our introductory page that allows for viewing the site without the plugs-ins – it merely warns that some files may not show up as intended.

In choosing not to accept these plug-ins, however, it is important to know what happens if you enter the site through the "normal" channels – that is, by clicking the "enter site" button that assumes you have the software installed. Your system will attempt to run the opening animation from the L&L page and, when it finds it does not have the necessary plug-ins, will try and install them for you.

This is neither a difficult nor dangerous process, but because of the severe warning messages that both Netscape and Internet Explorer offer when they encounter "unknown files" for the first time, many Internet users are frightened away from downloading the files. These messages are merely designed, however, to remove the cloak of responsibility from the two companies’ shoulders should users encounter any difficulties installing the software.

Internet Explorer offers its warning as just that – a warning – and then asks to go forward with the installation process. If, at this point, you decide to install the plug-ins, it is perfectly safe to have Internet Explorer install them for you. Once they have been installed, you can hit the back button on your browser and return to the L&L site.

Netscape offers a similarly sharp warning before the software installation process. After asking if there is a software installation necessary, the browser then goes to its installation page where it chooses the plug-in it feels is most appropriate to run the files it has encountered. Most of the time – not always – it chooses the correct plug-in to download and the files will run smoothly thereafter.

While Lawn & Landscape Online offers current interactive technology on the site, there are certain limitations brought about by slower systems trying to work with larger files. Images and file sizes were intentionally kept small so the site could retain a high level of interactivity.

The streaming video clip, an introduction to the page by Lawn & Landscape Group Publisher, Cindy Code, is one example of a feature that may not work for all systems on all browsers. The clip is one of our larger files (1.33 megabytes) and can take anywhere from five seconds to 90 seconds to download, depending on individual system and modem speeds. Users with slower modems (28.8 bps or lower) may find the video a little blurry and choppy. This is why the video clip is designed as an optional feature.

If Lawn & Landscape Online is difficult or frustrating for readers to use, the site loses all its value. Please feel free to e-mail us with comments, questions or feedback about Lawn & Landscape Online at swork@gie.net.

The author is Internet Editor for Lawn & Landscape Online.