Web Site Design: US State
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I have a question for you US CPians. I am designing/coding a web site. And I'm doing the register/payment stuff at the moment. And according to the specs we need to ask for the US state (only for US citizens of course), but is that even necessary? Isn't the zip code unique enough? What would you as US citizen prefer: *Enter only the Zip code *Enter zip code AND US State Hmmm...what to do?
"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, `Who is destroying the world?' You are."
-Atlas Shrugged, Ayn RandTechnically speaking, zip codes are not geographic locations. They represent US postal service service areas and as such are used for sorting mail for delivery. Most zip codes do map to a single city and state, but some are not within the US at all (military bases have zip codes) and others may map to more than one state/town. I can't speak for every citizen of the US, but I suspect that everyone over 15 years old knows their city, state & zip code. For payment information I would definitely collect all the needed details, not just zip code.
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James R. Twine wrote:
The ZIP code is enough to identify the state
Not so sure. I remember doing a project that required US addresses. We looked at a USPS specification for ZIP codes and though the vast majority are location based some are not; specifically this covered Federal bodies, but there were others. Additionally, in some rural areas on state borders there are ZIP codes which cross the borders. Sorry, but it does mean that both State and ZIP are required.
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done.
Yes, I excluded things like Military/APO codes. But even if a ZIP spans multiple states, the value can be used to "hint" or populate a drop-down. Basically, what I said previously for cities/towns can be extended to state(s) in the same way. But agreed, having to enter all three is not a problem and is likely a better idea. Face it -- if ZIP codes worked for everything, we would be using it for everything by now... Peace!
-=- James
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Phannon wrote:
but what's the harm in adding the extra field
Irritate your users who know the accuracy of the post code. This is a serious and valid issue, how much redundant crap do you force you customers to enter. Hint - think of the immigration forms you write out on the plane anytime you cross and border!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
Mycroft Holmes wrote:
think of the immigration forms you write out on the plane anytime you cross and border!
I lost (or had stolen) my passport recently, and the embassy (yes, I was abroad) were quite shocked that I could rattle off passport number, date of issue, expiration, place of issue and birth... But when you fill in these forms 3 times a day some trips, it soon sinks in... I now have to look at it again, being shiny and new though. Iain.
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I have a question for you US CPians. I am designing/coding a web site. And I'm doing the register/payment stuff at the moment. And according to the specs we need to ask for the US state (only for US citizens of course), but is that even necessary? Isn't the zip code unique enough? What would you as US citizen prefer: *Enter only the Zip code *Enter zip code AND US State Hmmm...what to do?
"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, `Who is destroying the world?' You are."
-Atlas Shrugged, Ayn RandRequiring both the state and the zip code will allow you to catch typos in the zip code by validating against the state. I recommend using both fields. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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I have a question for you US CPians. I am designing/coding a web site. And I'm doing the register/payment stuff at the moment. And according to the specs we need to ask for the US state (only for US citizens of course), but is that even necessary? Isn't the zip code unique enough? What would you as US citizen prefer: *Enter only the Zip code *Enter zip code AND US State Hmmm...what to do?
"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, `Who is destroying the world?' You are."
-Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand -
Rohde wrote:
according to the specs we need to ask for the US state
'nuff said. Do what the customer wants. If you have a doubt, talk with him about it. But do not decide at his place.
Yes of course. That is also what I'm doing. I was merely wondering, for future projects, if it at all was necessary - I hate redundancy and the less we can irritate the user the better.
"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, `Who is destroying the world?' You are."
-Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand -
Phannon wrote:
but what's the harm in adding the extra field
Irritate your users who know the accuracy of the post code. This is a serious and valid issue, how much redundant crap do you force you customers to enter. Hint - think of the immigration forms you write out on the plane anytime you cross and border!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
Mycroft Holmes wrote:
think of the immigration forms you write out on the plane anytime you cross and border!
I think it depends on the border you are crossing. The only time I've filled these out is entering the USA.
Recent blog posts: * Event Organisation (Feedback) * LINQ to XML (part 4) * Scottish Developers June Newsletter My Blog
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I have a question for you US CPians. I am designing/coding a web site. And I'm doing the register/payment stuff at the moment. And according to the specs we need to ask for the US state (only for US citizens of course), but is that even necessary? Isn't the zip code unique enough? What would you as US citizen prefer: *Enter only the Zip code *Enter zip code AND US State Hmmm...what to do?
"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, `Who is destroying the world?' You are."
-Atlas Shrugged, Ayn RandWhile most people in the US are used to entering the zip code and state information, I prefer to type as little as possible. I also find it extremely irritating to have to stop typing and reach for the mouse to select my state from a drop-down list. A proper interface should rely entirely on one input device, not mix them on one page. The zip code is sufficient to identify anyplace, so long as your list is current. The zip code uniquely defines the specific post office that handles the mail for that range of addresses, just as the 3-digit prefix and area code of a phone number identify the specific central office (CO) that handles the electrical connection to the destination phone. Both are used for routing decisions. There are exceptions, though, as at my office where one zip code is used for deliveries to the physical office location, while another is used for the postal box where we pick up mail. A different office handles route deliveries, for some odd reason.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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James R. Twine wrote:
The ZIP code is enough to identify the state
Not so sure. I remember doing a project that required US addresses. We looked at a USPS specification for ZIP codes and though the vast majority are location based some are not; specifically this covered Federal bodies, but there were others. Additionally, in some rural areas on state borders there are ZIP codes which cross the borders. Sorry, but it does mean that both State and ZIP are required.
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done.
williamnw wrote:
Additionally, in some rural areas on state borders there are ZIP codes which cross the borders.
All zipcode data bases that I have dealt are based on the U.S. PO's "Gold" database. They all have a single two character field for the state abbreviation.
Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface
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I have a question for you US CPians. I am designing/coding a web site. And I'm doing the register/payment stuff at the moment. And according to the specs we need to ask for the US state (only for US citizens of course), but is that even necessary? Isn't the zip code unique enough? What would you as US citizen prefer: *Enter only the Zip code *Enter zip code AND US State Hmmm...what to do?
"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, `Who is destroying the world?' You are."
-Atlas Shrugged, Ayn RandYou cannot require a zip code. A zip code is merely a hint to the USPS and is not part of an address. Unless you are sending mail via USPS you have no need of it. Even then, it's still not required; only preferred, as are all-uppercase and no punctuation. In many cases, when I know the enterprise won't be sending mail anyway, I don't even provide my actual address. Even AOL was able to charge my credit card without having my correct address. On a related note: I really dislike forms that use a drop-down for state or age or something else that would otherwise require (perhaps) two keystrokes to enter. On many Webforms I have to press 'A' four (or five?) times to get to AZ. :mad:
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Mycroft Holmes wrote:
think of the immigration forms you write out on the plane anytime you cross and border!
I think it depends on the border you are crossing. The only time I've filled these out is entering the USA.
Recent blog posts: * Event Organisation (Feedback) * LINQ to XML (part 4) * Scottish Developers June Newsletter My Blog
Of course it does - don't tell me the EU has got rid of them for EU flights. In Asia and Oz, every time you cross a national boundary you fill in the bloody form with redundant information.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Of course it does - don't tell me the EU has got rid of them for EU flights. In Asia and Oz, every time you cross a national boundary you fill in the bloody form with redundant information.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
Mycroft Holmes wrote:
don't tell me the EU has got rid of them for EU flights
I only have to show my passport at the border. And that is only because the UK refused to sign the schengen agreement. Most EU countries don't even have border controls with each other any more. I once drove from the Netherlands to Germany and missed the sign to say I was in Germany. The only reason I realised was that the road signs changed font. The Netherlands to Belgium, despite no border control, is a bit more noticable. The moment you crom from The Netherlands into Belgium you land in a great big pot hole.
Recent blog posts: * Event Organisation (Feedback) * LINQ to XML (part 4) * Scottish Developers June Newsletter My Blog
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Mycroft Holmes wrote:
don't tell me the EU has got rid of them for EU flights
I only have to show my passport at the border. And that is only because the UK refused to sign the schengen agreement. Most EU countries don't even have border controls with each other any more. I once drove from the Netherlands to Germany and missed the sign to say I was in Germany. The only reason I realised was that the road signs changed font. The Netherlands to Belgium, despite no border control, is a bit more noticable. The moment you crom from The Netherlands into Belgium you land in a great big pot hole.
Recent blog posts: * Event Organisation (Feedback) * LINQ to XML (part 4) * Scottish Developers June Newsletter My Blog
We recently drove from Singapore to Thailand, it took us 30 minutes to get across the causeway into Malaysia, and that was exceptionally quick apparently. Singapore is a great place to travel from however our passports are running out of pages for the stamps ;)
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
