While on the phone recently with a Web host, I mentioned wanting to create a second domain to be used as a dev space, and was surprised that this was the first time they had heard the idea. Here’s the deal: once your site is launched to the public, you can’t make changes to...
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It's a Fluid Medium — Don't force it to be static
OK, I’m a reformed perfectionist, and there are times I still obsess over the smallest details. (In my own defense, my clients like that I fix their typos for them, so maybe obsession has a place…) But I love that the Web is a fluid medium, where changes are possible at any time, and...
When Creative Gets in the Way
I’ve been visiting a lot of artistic sites lately, and the right half of my brain is impressed with the amazing visuals that some designers have created. The left brain, however: not so impressed. Folks, this isn’t Myst. As much as I admire the creative impulse, if a user has to hunt around just...
Getting to Done… or, "The door's open, Spot — just go outside already!"
I’ve got a client who decided to start small, with a very basic site (something I often recommend for small businesses — get your feet wet, find out what works, limit your investment risk). But now that it’s time to launch, they’re balking. We’re still speaking, and the relationship is solid enough, but for...
Web Stats: Useful and Dangerous
Maybe you didn’t even know it, but your Web server probably has a wealth of visitor traffic info waiting for you to delve into it. Most commercial Web hosts keep log files, which record interesting information about each visitor and page visited on your site. (Privacy hounds, don’t worry: it doesn’t usually include any...
Web Site Housecleaning
I’m starting work on a small site — home page and five subpages — but the Web server has hundreds of files on it. Unused pages, drafts from who knows when, navigation graphics from previous versions, and who knows what else… I’ve dealt a lot in site management, including archiving strategies and site organization,...
Technology Moves Fast, People Don't
It’s worth remembering that people don’t change as fast as the technology does, especially for those of us who work in technology every day and (perhaps) are more oriented to changing along with it. I’m not advocating that people adapt to change faster — I’m advocating that technology workers remember that with technology, people...
Ode to White Space
OhWhiteSpace! How little you are used in Web design — how blithely we pack in the content, using ever-smaller fonts and multi-colored backgrounds, lists nested inside lists, trying to jam as manywordslinkslogoschoicesas possible into the first screenful, not realizing that clutter brings confusion — or knowing it, but having many messages to deliver and...
More than IE: Testing with Other Browsers
If you’ve never looked at your site with another Web browser, you might be in for a big surprise. Many Web designs (even if a professional graphic designer or Web programmer created it) were created and tested only in Internet Explorer. Viewed through another browser, some of them fail miserably. If you’re not checking...
Using Color for Direction
If you’ve read any other posts on this blog, you know that I generally consider content or services to be the most important part of any Web site. Users want to know, “what can I do here?” — and everything you do, from design to layout to artwork or photos, should focus on that...