There are plenty of websites around nowadays which have currency converters on them, but they all tend to take a different stance when it comes to deciding what else will go on the website.
Iccfx.com is a site which leans towards foreign exchange market news and features, as well as providing a comprehensive currency converter facility that can be used by a lot of people for many different reasons.
Overall the www.iccfx.com site is a very comprehensive one which would be of great use to many people, regardless of which area of the world they lived in. No doubt those interested in Forex matters will be attracted to it the most (after all, it is essentially called the International Currency Converter Forex website, hence Iccfx.com) but that’s not to say other people won’t find it of use as well.
Starting with the home page
The International Currency Converter website has a small home page to greet you with, meaning there is virtually no scrolling to see the whole of the page when you land on it. This is just the start of a website that is determined to make life as easy for you as possible, which is a great attitude for any website to take towards its visitors.
The date is displayed in a gray bar below the blue section at the top of the screen, and in that gray bar you will see the day’s exchange rates scrolling across the screen. Not every one is included of course as this would entail far too many, but the main ones are there and it is a very useful ‘at a glance’ feature that is handy to have in front of you. As soon as you hover your mouse over the scrolling information it will stop, giving you a chance to read it in more detail.
A quick and easy conversion table is included on the home page to give you instant access to more quick information; in this case the top six currencies are included, which are the US dollar, the British pound, the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, the Euro and the Japanese yen. The table makes it easy to see how these are performing against each other according to the current exchange rates, and the data provided is updated every thirty minutes. This isn’t as frequent as some websites, but given the fact that some others only update their information on a daily basis it does give you a reasonably accurate idea of what is going on.
There is also a quick conversion tool on the left hand side of the home page, which is automatically set to give you the figures from US dollars to the Euro, i.e. what one unit is worth compared to the other currency. This tool requires you to enter the currency code for each one you need, which is comprised of three letters. So for example USD represents US dollars, JPY represents the Japanese yen, and so on.
If you don’t know the currency codes for the ones you want then you can simply use the conversion table that appears below the results if you click on the yellow arrow next to the quick conversion tool on the home page. The currency converter itself is also on the main page.
The menu itself is very simple and easy to access from the home page, making the website very user friendly. There are five sections, each of which drops down the minute you actually hover your mouse over the top of it.
The home page is quite minimalist in many ways, but it manages to pack in a lot of information in the small space it has to work with. The fact that it resists the urge to have a long home page that requires a lot of scrolling to see every inch of it tells us that the people behind this website have a great understanding of the fact that currency related websites can be rather overwhelming if they aren’t done in just the right way.
When you arrive on www.iccfx.com you will soon notice that the site really does manage to draw you in without overwhelming you, so it certainly gets the job done in more ways than one.
The currency converter
The currency converter is right in the middle of the home page, which certainly makes it hard to miss. It is quick and efficient with just three boxes that need filling in, and offers you the chance to choose from dozens and dozens of world currencies – far more than many other sites give you for starters.
There is a quick way of finding the currencies you need however – once you have clicked on the drop down box you simply have to press the initial letter of the country you want to find the currency for, and the box will automatically take you to the start of the countries beginning with that letter. This narrows down your search time somewhat.
There is one tiny thing that makes this currency converter slightly different from many others though, and while it does not affect the results it is important that you read what the site tells you before inputting the currencies you need to select – otherwise it may get a little confusing.
Most currency converters require you to enter the currency you want to convert first, before selecting the currency you want to convert it into. This website does it the opposite way around however – requiring you to input your destination currency before the one you are starting off with. Once you have clicked on the ‘convert’ button you will receive your results. These are shown as follows – the result you requested is first, followed by the result you would get if you transferred that same amount into the other currency.
This might seem a little strange as it isn’t strictly the reverse result. For example, let’s suppose you want to see what $600 US dollars is worth in British pounds. That result will come up first… followed by the amount that £600 British pounds would be in US dollars. So in actual fact it is the number that stays the same rather than the reverse calculation. It’s interesting but not strictly that useful in the context that you need it to be.
Other useful tools on this site
Under the services section of the main gray menu bar (which can be reached from any page) you can get access to a daily currency table. This is immensely useful if you are at all interested in the foreign exchange markets, or you need to compare several currencies with a single base currency for any reason.
All you do is select the correct base currency for your needs from the list, and then select one or more other currencies from the second list given. You can select more than one simply by holding down your Control button on your computer keyboard while you are making your selections.
When you have made your selections you will receive a table in return which lists all the currencies you have selected and compares them to your base currency. The currency codes are listed for each one, along with a small graphic of that country’s flag. You will be able to see at a glance the current exchange rate which applies in each country, along with the reverse calculation if you should need it.
This tool becomes particularly useful if you become a member of the website (which can be done completely free of charge) as you can take advantage of other benefits which are not available to anyone browsing without being a member.
In this particular case you can elect to have one or more tables that you create emailed to you for later use, and you can also remember the selections for a later date. Not many currency based websites offer any kind of membership for free which gives you access to extra enhanced features, so it is certainly a very good reason to keep this particular website bookmarked in your favorites’ folder.
But perhaps one of the most useful tools this site provides is one that actually takes you away from your computer. This website has tapped into the power that WAP technology can give you by ensuring that you can use their currency converter via your mobile phone. So long as your phone is capable of viewing internet pages you can access the currency converter and use it quickly and easily in all kinds of situations.
This means that it doesn’t matter where in the world you are; all you need to do is grab your mobile phone, visit the site and key in the currency amount you need to convert. This makes shopping trips easier when you are on vacation; not to mention countless other ways of finding out how good a deal you are getting whatever country you are in.
What other sections are there to explore?
It’s also possible to find out historical exchange rates on the www.iccfx.com website. All you have to do is go into the services section in the gray bar and select ‘historical rates’. This gives you two ways to look up the information you need, depending on whether you are after stats for a single day or for a period of several days or more.
The first option lets you choose each currency from the drop down boxes provided, before selecting the date periods you need by filling in the two boxes below. You will then get a graph in return, charting the highs and lows of those currencies against each other over that period of time selected, along with three figures, giving you the high point, the low point and the average as taken over the whole period. A single click on the option given also shows you the reverse calculation. This is an extremely useful tool to have on the site as it is a very comprehensive calculator; there are so many currencies here that you would be hard pushed to think of something that isn’t included.
The quick query option gives you the chance to look up an exchange rate on one date only, but you do need to know the International Organization for Standardization currency codes for this to work, as this is what you need to enter in the boxes. If you are in any doubt however all you need to do is click on the sentence below that asks you to check the currency availability. This takes you into a screen which lists them all, together with flags and the currency codes – as well as the date on which they are available to search from. Six currencies have data stretching right back to 1971, while all the rest go back from anything between five and twenty seven years.
There is also a single page about the Euro. Many currency websites have some information on this particular currency since it is still quite new when compared to many others and it displaced quite a few European currencies when it was first introduced.
There is also a useful table provided showing every country that has adopted the Euro, and what their own currency was worth when compared to the new currency before it decided to take it on back in 2002. There are also a few neat facts about the new currency which gives a more personal feel to the page, rather than simply relying on basic information.
For those with websites of their own, you can click on the Interactive part of the menu to get access to the currency converter if you want to include it on your own website. As far as converters go this one is very neat looking, doesn’t take up much space and you will see that you get the exact code you need to be able to include it with ease.
User friendly features
The website does not have a site map but it is no less useful for that. It might seem to be a small site on first glance but in fact it is packed with information which is set out in an easy to access way.
There is an up to date Forex news section which lists a number of articles which would be of interest to anyone dealing in the foreign exchange markets. This is just one feature that makes this website extremely user friendly, because it makes it more rounded. There is the idea here that people needing a currency converter this comprehensive are also likely to have an interest in the Forex markets, and so they have provided a link to those stories that they would find fascinating rather than having to go elsewhere to find them.
It is also very easy to navigate round the site and find what you need in double quick time. Each section is clearly titled so there is no doubt where you will find what you need. You can also sign up to become a member of the site for free directly from the home page, which immediately gives you access to even more features.
As a current member the sign in box is right at the top left of the home page where you are most likely to look when you arrive on the site, so it’s easy to get started right away.
There is no frequently asked questions section if you should need help in any way, but if you go along to the right hand end of words in the gray bar you will see an ‘Extra’ option. Hovering over this brings up the request to contact them, and clicking on that option will take you to the email address where you can send any queries or questions you might have.
It should be said though that this website does such a good job of providing clear and easy to understand data, information and tools, that you probably won’t have much need to email them for any reason.
In conclusion
This website is certainly well structured and packs a lot into a relatively small space. With the exception of the Forex news page, most pages on the site are restricted to the size of your computer screen, making constant scrolling unnecessary and allowing you to see everything you need to see without any problems at all.
In short, www.iccfx.com is an outstanding website that has far more to it than meets the eye. There is no waffle here – it is simply a good site that knows what it wants to achieve and present to its visitors and does everything it can to make that a reality.
Everyone has their favorite currency website of course, but this one should be given serious consideration to be near the top of the list, since it wins points for being compact, efficient and useful all at the same time. And of course, all of these features also make it perfect for accessing via your mobile phone.