It’s a given that when you link to anything that is not a web page you should indicate the type of file you are linking to and its size. For example, here’s a link to a creative brief example (PDF 29KB) that I used for a project. Read More
Writing for the Web
Letting Go of the Words: Two Free Chapters
If you’re looking for a new book on writing for the web, you might want to check out Letting Go of the Words
5 Sites, 1 Task: Explain How It Works
DVD, CD and video game swapping sites are becoming popular again. Web-app catalog site Simple Spark lists 10 of them. However, depending on the business model, the way these sites work varies. And sometimes it’s not that simple either. Read More
How Customer-Focused is Your Web Site?
This tool’s been around for a while, but I just came across the Customer Focus Calculator. It’s a nifty tool for analyzing your web page copy to see whether you’re truly focused on your customer or are still a little too self-involved. Read More
Are You Making the Most of Your Website’s Thank You Page?
Fiftyfoureleven has a useful post about how they increased a client’s newsletter sign-up by putting the sign-up form on the thank you page of the site.
How to Write Good Section Overview Pages
Contented recently touched on a subject that I often find myself struggling with — what to do with those pesky overview pages that start off a section of a web site.
Read MoreFour Ways to Improve Your Writing
At its heart, the web has always been and will always be about content. Well, that content has to get written by someone. Communitelligence.com has posted a nice 4-point list of “ways to improve your writing”:http://www.communitelligence.com/blps/blg_viewart.cfm?bid=65&artID=345.
Namely:
Writing for Findability
Jacob Nielsen has a useful (although fairly common-sense) article on Useit.com today about “using old words when writing for findability”:www.useit.com/alertbox/search-keywords.html.
A System for Classifying Links
It’s obvious that links can be used for different purposes, such as providing more information about a subject or taking you to an online shopping cart.
But did you ever think that they could be classified into categories based on their function? In Hypertext Links: Whither Thou Goest, and Why, Claire Harrison takes on this task.
I have to admit that the article is pretty lengthy, so if you’re like me and want to cut to the chase, skip to the table of link classes and its supporting explanations.
Read MoreHow to Calculate When to Add Jump Links to the Top of a Web Page
Previously, I asked the question of when it was appropriate to add within-page links to the top of a page and if there were any specifc guidelines concerning this. Read More