The Orbiter

Too often, developers, marketers and executives get uber-excited over the latest and greatest way to do something. This can lead to perceived usability that actually ignores the user. A few examples of common missteps in user experience: Read More >

As the open-source content management systems have matured, so have competitive Chicago web design firms. For many years, Orbit clearly stood apart by providing a content management system standard with all website projects. Until recently, Orbit only offered Mighty-Site, our own CMS. To meet client demand for open-source options, we have expanded our technology offerings to include three content management systems:

1. WordPress
2. Drupal
3. Mighty-Site^®

Read More >

Any hungry person searching the web for a new place to eat can tell you that restaurant websites have their fair share of annoyances. Long flash intros, download-able PDF menus, lack of contact information and hours…it’s basically an obstacle course to find the information you need. Read More >

In the web industry, we tend to be obsessed with the future: mobile devices will outpace desktop users by 2014, tablets will forever change the way we watch cats ride skateboards, Facebook will take over the world within three years. But the imagined future is far less important than the actual present. The success of a website depends on how well it serves real people, right now—and that means taking a hard look at what’s really happening out there. Read More >

Recently, I have been in a few meetings where we are working on developing a web site. In these meetings, it has been suggested that we skip the wireframe stage and roll right into what the site is going to look like, the design. This kind of thinking stemmed from the notion that the client would not understand what wireframes are and that jumping into design would get us one step closer to launch. This suggestion is a bad one. Read More >

Amazon.com moves a lot of product. It processes 24 orders every second. Its 76 million (and counting) unique visitors would make it the world’s 17th-largest country, if it were a country. And just about every person I have ever interviewed for a usability study has mentioned using it. This success doesn’t mean that it’s always smart to copy from Amazon. It’s still necessary to think critically about your content, audience, and goals before implementing any feature from another website, even proven leaders. Read More >