It’s time for me to get Covid-19 and seasonal influenza vaccinations again. We’re pretty isolated here, but I do go into town from time to time for hardware, groceries, and the occasional show. I’m also still recovering from surgery for thyroid cancer and don’t need any complications, so I’ll get my shots.
My new PCP on the island recommended a local pharmacy, but it’s still a 25 minute drive away so I thought I’d check on-line and see if I can get an appointment. I felt foolish even trying — the state of on-line presence for most on-island businesses is abysmal. More than one person who knows my background suggested that I could supplement my income by doing site design and hosting for local businesses here.
So I was surprised to find that the pharmacy:
- had a website and
- it was up to date and
- it was very easy to navigate and
- it included the ability to schedule vaccine appointments and
- the scheduling process was simple, straightforward, and it actually worked
I’m not saying that their web site was “good for a site from the island.” It was actually good, period. That’s pretty rare: I’d say that fewer than one commercial website in 20 that I encounter deserves to be called good. What made it good?
- it was fast
- it didn’t load up multiple megabytes of Javascript frameworks; it appeared to be mostly HTML+CSS
- there were no pop-up windows or menus
- nothing was animated
- the forms I had to fill out were simple, easy-to-read, and made sense
- the contrast was good and the text was large enough
- there was little or no client-side field validation that prevented me from copying/pasting/autofilling the fields
- they didn’t ask for access to my location or other unnecessary information that could be sold to data brokers
- they didn’t complain about my using an ad (malware) blocker
- they didn’t make me complete a meaningless captcha
In short, the site served the needs of the customer. It was almost minimalist otherwise. As a result, I will remain their customer going forward.
—2p