Designing Web sites for events requires a different thought process and approach than a regular Web site. Of course, every design project should be unique, but events have features in common that the design project should discuss in every project. Such common features include: Home page: Event name, date, location and quick explanation of what … Read more
“Forgot password?” should be instant. The site should simply request the user to enter the email address and immediately let the user know if the email address is in the system or not. Otherwise, you could lose out on ordering opportunities. We tried to order dinner online and Paul (SO) forgot his password. He entered … Read more
When I posted the entry about designing a logo, I didn’t expect to get the kind of emails I did about designing on specs. I didn’t think about the issue with such “contests” where a business posts its requirements and offers a set price. People would respond with their creations and then the business picks … Read more
3rd edition update: The third edition took a bigger leap from the second than the second took from the first. Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd ed., comes with a greater focus on Web standards and cascading style sheets (CSS). In fact, the book opens with a chapter on Web standards, whereas it was merely … Read more
Have you ever abandoned a shopping cart during the checkout stage — other than to find out the price (like Amazon says to add to basket to find out price)? I’m sure I have, but the reasons why are not coming to me at the moment (call it human virus-infected memory syndrome — no worries, … Read more
No matter what business a company is in, it can make its site useful for its visitors and turn them into eventual buyers. Cashing In with Content shows how to do that with 20 case studies of types businesses — ecommerce, business-to-business, nonprofits, healthcare, education and politics. Every case study includes an interview with an … Read more
When we design Web sites, we often overlook the simplest things because we’re too wrapped up in the design. After working on Web sites for a while, some of us have slowly moved away from what we know is usable to adding or removing elements that may enhance the ‘look’ — and also break a … Read more
We have a day or holiday for everything now including usability. November 3 is World Usability Day, which is about to start as it’s Thursday in New Zealand. Its purpose is to promote the importance of making things easy to use. If my toaster oven breaks today and I buy another one, I won’t likely … Read more
Web sites want to reach as wide an audience as possible, right? Who doesn’t? Having an accessible site makes good business sense and avoids bad publicity. Imagine the cost that comes with bad public relations or getting sued. I offer more reasons on why designing accessible sites is good for your business in addition to … Read more
I started hearing about Web 2.0 about a year ago. Probably shortly after the first conference of the same name. Since then, when someone writes about it, O’Reilly is almost always mentioned because the company puts on the conference. But in reality, what is happening on the Web isn’t something called Web 2.0. I wanted … Read more