Not all countries have a 5 digit postal code and states

Most websites that require a postal address are also international, but it is a wonder how so many of these sites can make fatal flaws that make there site look unprofessional or unusable.

A registration form many seem like something simple to create, you just need to get the users postal address, username, password and email address. So many websites on the net can not seem to get even their registration forms correct.

5 digit postal codes

The idea that a postal code has to be 5 digits seems to be ingrained in every American. From their point of view, every address has a postal code and all postal codes are 5 digits.

When a website goes international, it needs to understand that the American way is not always the way that everyone else does things. Some countries:

• Have postal codes, but many citizens do not use them
• Have non-numerical postal codes
• Have postal codes shorter than 5 digits.

New Zealand has a 4 digit postal code. When someone from New Zealand uses some American sites, often they can not correctly enter their postal code as it is not 5 digits.

States

Hey America, not all countries have states. Just because a user can enter their country does not mean that your site is international. You need to understand that

• Smaller countries do not have states
• Users need to be able to enter non-US states
• Users need to be able to continue without entering a state.

Come on America, there are more than just Americans using the net.

Tags: Miscellaneous, Usability, Web Design

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Comments / Replies

• 

  blufindr Says:
  17 March, 2009 at 2:05 am

  Australia, too, only has a 4-digit post code. We do have states, but because of the post code syntax, writing the state down is not a necessity. Also, writing down the suburb is not needed; most of the time, the post office will send your stuff where it needs to go.

• 

  chinturj Says:
  28 July, 2009 at 12:40 am

  It's right. But INDIA is having 6 digits. It wil be nice if the digit limit depends on the selection of country. It need some home work to get the no of digits of all countries. But it wil help sites accessible internationally.
  
  Thankyou
  Abhishek

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