13 things not to do when adapting your product to an online model.

By Guy Kawasaki | Entrepreneur.com

Here’s a compilation of 13 silly and even stupid ways some companies are hindering adoption of their products and services. So if you are doing any of them, don’t.

1. Forcing immediate registration: Requiring a new user to register is a reasonable request—after you’ve sucked him in. The sites that require registration as the first step are putting a barrier in front of adoption.
2. The long URL: Say a site generates a URL that’s 70 characters long or more. When you copy, paste and e-mail this URL, a line break is added. Then, people can’t click on the link or it only links to the first part of the URL.
3. Windows that don’t generate URLs: Have you ever wanted to point people to a page, but the page has no URL? Did the company decide it didn’t want referrals, links and additional traffic?
4. The unsearchable website: Some sites don’t offer a search option. If your site goes deeper than one level, it needs a search box.

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Potential customers who want to contact your company are likely to turn to your Web site for a phone number or e-mail address. If that contact information is difficult to find, you could not only lose a sale, but your reputation could suffer as well. According to a study by MaCorr Research, 70 percent of consumers have a negative opinion of companies that don’t give them the opportunity to get in touch directly. Fortunately, it’s easy to make your contact information accessible on your Web site. Here are a few tips to help.

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