Greetings, readers! Welcome to the March 2009 issue of ZooNews, from professional Web site design company Zoonini Web Services. Don't hesitate to let me know what you think about this issue, or share ideas for future topics.

This past weekend two very different experiences got me thinking a lot about signposts, as they relate to physical, real-world navigation – and its Web counterpart.

It's Saturday evening, and I've made my way to a Montreal suburb. Tonight I'm here to see a play and I walk up the ramp to enter the college where the performance is taking place. A sign in black with turquoise highlighter greets me right away at the door, with the name of the play and a straight-ahead arrow on it. Handmade and a bit rudimentary, but clear. I know for sure I'm in the right place. As I enter the building, more arrow signs lead the way. Greeters along the route make sure I know that there's a second show going on in a different theatre space, but that I should just walk past the other ticket booth and go down a few stairs to the ticket kiosk for our play. Signs continue to guide us along the corridor. A few paces later, I end up where I'm supposed to be, the front-of-house person finds my name on the reservation list, I buy my ticket, and she gives me a piece of paper with a number, telling me in what order I can enter the theatre so those who arrived earliest can grab the best seats. Before the show starts, just to be safe, they announce that if anyone is here to see the musical, and not the murder mystery, they're in the wrong place. The evening is relaxed and fun.

It's Sunday, 10:50 am. Headed to my friends' new flat located in a nearby Montreal borough. Google Maps tells me the trip should take a swift 11 minutes. Unfortunately, Google Maps does not tell me that when I get off the highway, I need to immediately veer right at the fork before making another left, otherwise I'll end up on the wrong side of the bridge. Several minutes later, as we determine that we are definitely lost, I call the friends who are waiting for us and between their help and the Perly's map book – which has saved my hide more than once – we finally make it to our destination. I am tense and frustrated. When we leave, what should be a simple 1-minute zip back to the highway turns into more driving in circles, because there is no sign indicating the turnoff to the entrance ramp. What a simple thing it would have been to have that sign. It is pouring rain, and I am not a happy camper.

Later, driving home, I was struck by the contrast between the two experiences, and what a difference having – or not having – clear signposts made. It dawned on me how unexpectedly similar this feels to dealing with Web sites that make their navigation clear – or not. Think about how frustrated your visitors get when they can't find obvious signposts telling them where to find what they're looking for. Unintuitive site menus with ambiguous names, icons that could mean any number of things, a million clicks to find key information like contact details. Don't frustrate your potential clients and customers. Make it easy for them to find their way.

I'm always amused by Lake Superior State University's compendium of overused "Words that Should be Banished" – and the 2009 list is filled with game-changing, mavericky expressions that make me want to conduct a desperate search for more original ones.

The two items in this year's Internet category are:

-monkey – referring to the trend of adding "monkey" to any old name to make it seem cute and current. SurveyMonkey, the popular online survey service, immediately comes to mind.

<3 – the first time I encountered this symbol only late last year, I admit I was baffled, and it took some Googling to figure out that it was supposed to represent a heart and mean "love." Even in this short span of time, I've quickly grown tired of it.

Got a technology term you'd like demystified in ZooNews? Send it to questions@zoonini.com.

This month I was thrilled to launch Find Your Great Work, the companion site for Michael Bungay Stanier's new book devoted to helping people "stop the busywork and start the work that matters." Built entirely on the WordPress platform, the site encompasses a collection of free MP3 audio interviews with gurus including David Allen of Getting Things Done and Mac Evangelist Guy Kawasaki, a store selling the book and related products, and a resources section full of free downloads, including the first three chapters of the book.

Lots of speaking gigs these days – which delights me, as I love sharing Web tips with entrepreneurs and anyone interested in improving their Web site. Last week, my colleague Charlotte Riley of A.C. Riley Communications and I gave a workshop called Optimizing Your Web Site: Strategies for Online Success at the March Montreal Girl Geek Dinner. The place was jam-packed and we unexpectedly – but happily – gave our presentation twice: once on each floor of the restaurant, as no single room was big enough to accommodate the crowd! A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who came out to participate. We are especially grateful to the folks who put forward their sites for a mini-review.

In late February, I gave Zoonini's Web Site 101 Crash Course to a group of aspiring women entrepreneurs. Waving a big hello to all the new ZooNews readers who attended that night! If you're thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, the Women's Entrepreneurial Center of Quebec is soon beginning a new session of their 12-week Starting a Business program, open to both women and men. Find out more in this PDF (ou en français) or contact instructor Donna Morris at deedeecanadian@gmail.com.

À la prochaine,

kp
aka Kathryn Presner