Seldom have I come across a website so badly designed and implemented and hosted as the 2 Oceans entry site,
http://admin.twooceansmarathon.org.za
The last time I ran the half marathon, it took me 33 minutes less time to run, than it has to enter this time.
It must be some kind of record, to have a web based form that takes 2 hours and 43 minutes to complete.
Firstly, did you give any thought at all to server load? Clearly not; your server crashed at 11:12 under the load, after I had been filling in the form for 1 hour and 12 minutes. Load balancing is EASY. Getting a hosting company with multiple servers is EASY. Did you not think that perhaps, a large number of people would attempt to enter at 10am?
Secondly, have you ever heard of usability? Clearly not, the design of the forms is appalling, starting from the starting "Identify yourself" search. whose results appear below the fold, in an area unrelated to the search. The poor interface design continues throughout - why have a single radio radio button question (requiring YET ANOTHER postback) on many of the medical questions.
Thirdly, just prior to your server crashing, you logged me out and refused to let me back in, without a "logon id" yet you did not make that compulsory in step 4. Either it is required or it is not required. Which is it?
Is there a specific reason you opted to use ASP.NET post-backs to verify information rather than client-side validation? That alone cost me many minutes as each post-back cost 5 minutes or more.
On post-back, your validation messages are all clustered at the top of the page leaving me to guess which "province" is required in a form that spans 2 pages and has several "province. Is there any reason why you opted not to show which items on a very long page are required in a more useful way?
Why ask for masses of medical information at all, when after pages and pages of irrelevant, personal questions you ask "do I agree to let you use the information" NO! I do not! Especially after wasting so much time!
Did you not think to have a "skip this section" option for those who do not have a spare hour to fill in this information?
After your server crashed, I got lucky and found you had allowed users to skip the medical section. Not 30 seconds later, my friend tried and found you had re-instated it. WHY??
This site is spectacularly poor. I would be embarrassed to be associated with the design, the development and the hosting.
As a professional web developer with many years experience, I am shocked that anyone should have to experience this **** coming from my industry.
. Guess they'll have similar issues then.
