Internet For Real People
This morning, because a client had to let their tech person go, I spent three hours changing all their passwords. Email passwords. Web hosting account logins. Database logins for various WordPress sites. It’s the tech equivalent of changing the locks. In one case, we had to create a new Web hosting account and move...
Below is an email thread of my communication regarding a really bad user workflow. I need to point out, this is not sour grapes — I understand slim odds of winning anything of value. I’m mad that someone at Noah’s approved this. Here’s the summary: winning is not “instant,” there’s too much data mining,...
“Hey, B, we’ve just finished the poster for our big event…. so I’m going to have the artist send it over to you to put on the Web site, okay?” Sure, no problem. Your 20-inch by 40-inch, glossy, paper-printed poster is going to look great on the Web site. It’ll be 3% of its...
I was watching an actor’s demo reel recently, and the way they had cut it, the first frame had him making an odd face. Once the video had loaded and was streaming, the scene unfolded and the actor looked great. Problem was, we were on a very slow connection, so the video took a...
A lot of SEO companies offer tempting promises: we’ll get your Web site on the first page of Google. To which you’re supposed to say, sounds awesome — sign me up! But there’s more to that statement, and what they’re not telling you is critical. I’ll explain… but if you don’t know much about...
By now, we all know that static Web sites are boring, right? (Right?) And that search engines prefer sites that are updated more frequently. But all those content changes don’t just write themselves. So… how do you do it? How do you get your site updated more often, and with what? First step: take...
Business owners: your Web site might be talking behind your back. People naturally infer things from design, and the same holds true for your Web site. Example 1: I was visiting a Web site recently for a company that is supposedly all about networking: connecting people with other people. But their Web site sends...
When I start an Information Architecture or User Experience project, there are some fundamental questions I ask myself (and the client). Getting good answers is crucial to moving forward. Who’s the primary audience? What’s the business goal (…or goals, in priority order)? What is currently working? What is not working (and why)? What is...
For my clients, I do a lot of little stuff for free. Sometimes the client notices, sometimes they don’t. For example, I was reviewing the old Web site for a new client today, and I noticed that the folks who built their old site never put in a “favicon.” (That’s the little icon that...
Ok, need your opinions on this: do you mind waiting for heavy Web pages to load? It kinda drives me nuts (see Please Wait…Loading…), but maybe the rest of you don’t mind. Today I was on M&Ms Web site, to vote for Orange as my favorite color (poor Eric K, he’s in last place...