October 28, 2005
If you can't read it how can a search engine?
I like to think, or perhaps just hope, that despite the advances in technology the human brain still has a pretty good edge on the machines. If you want your website to show up will in a search engine why not build it so it's actually readable to a human - if you can't read it how do you expect a search engine too?
I like to think, or perhaps just hope, that despite the advances in technology the human brain still has a pretty good edge on the machines. If you want your website to show up will in a search engine why not build it so it’s actually readable to a human - if you can’t read it how do you expect a search engine too?
Seems like a simple enough issue but it amazes me how many times companies still want to build sites that contain underlying code with tables within tables within tables etc that present a search engine with an endless array of
Simple, standards driven design cuts through this and gives you a site that can make sense to someone with virtually no HTML knowledge. So if they can read it chances are Google et al can too and that means they’ll be able to categorise it properly and web users can find it more easily, you might even find site traffic going up?
Posted by harryp at 12:27 AM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2005
Its Not All About You
Common mistakes in developing websites can be avoided if the client and the agency take the time to look further into what they are building a site and who’s the site is being developed for. Sounds simple enough but how many websites seem to have been built with little or no purpose behind them?
Among some the myriad of possible mistakes and mis-directions in corporate website design three of my ‘favourites’ are:
- Building a website without clear purpose or justification
- Designing the site to suite the tastes of the companies executives
- Structuring it according to the organisational design of the company it represents.
- Information hierarchy agreed to avoid upsetting any dept or division who’s not been given equal footing to the one next door.
- Unless client and agency have a clear understanding of Objectives, Goals, Strategy and Measures for the website the chances of getting a good ROI required are limited. This doesn’t require a version of War and Peace for a strategy document, just be able to answer some simple questions such as; Why are we building this? Who’s it for? What do they want? How will we measure success?
- An organisation’s internal mindset, how it sees itself, is not the same as the customer's. Don’t try building a site that will make the CEO and all the department heads happy.
- Architecture, interface and functionality design need to be centred around user needs at each development stage. Information from online surveys, beta-test groups and usability studies are invaluable in this respect.
- Every gram counts - carry nothing unless you need it, don't buy anything unless you weight it
- Wash and go - 1 spare t-shirt, socks etc, just wash as you get in the shower (it's better to be little bit smelly than a lot knackered)
- Never leave home without a deck of cards and ear-plugs
A few years back, I was leading the online component of a major privatisation project, the client was a large organisation making the journey from the public to private sector. Essentially this involved moving from being an inwardly focused, technically driven, with only one client, to becoming a client, service orientated organisation needing to attract new clients and customers.
The challenge was the client had never had to look at themselves like this before, and the work required to get the organisation into a logical structure from a customer’s view was immense. The hardest part wasn’t designing the architecture taxonomy, but getting the client to get outside of their corporate mindset to understand and buy into it.
We got there in the end, but there where more than a few tears along the way, so what steps can be taken to avoid them?
Posted by harryp at 06:00 PM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2005
The 80:20 rule
If you are putting out a print or televised communication it's got to be right, once it's out there is no turning back, can you imagine the joy of spotting the typo as the national print campaign hits the streets? But this approach doesn't serve as well online.
If you are putting out a print or televised communication it's got to be right, once it's out there is no turning back, can you imagine the joy of spotting the typo as the national print campaign hits the streets? But this approach doesn't serve as well online.
With the web you can adjust tweak, revise. If you have built in the tools to measure, test and respond to feedback putting the site or application live when you're 80% of the way there means you can tidy up the 20% of the fiddly bits with real testers and feedbacks, learn from mistakes and roll that learning into the next release.
Build, release, evaluate and learn for the next time.
Posted by harryp at 02:37 PM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2005
Travelling Light
August was a quiet month for work but a busy one for going up mountains. Twelve days of wandering along the Haute Route with a 14Kg rucksack gave me plenty of time to think about travelling light, and what not to take the next time.
August was a quiet month for work but a busy one for going up mountains. Twelve days of wandering along the Haute Route with a 14Kg rucksack gave me plenty of time to think about travelling light, and what not to take the next time.
Some golden rules for hiking in the hills:
Here's the revised kit list (everything minus the kitchen scales used to weigh it all with). With no camping equip just 19lb, inc. camping just under 28lbs, also includes a version for alpine ski touring.
Posted by harryp at 02:40 PM | Comments (0)
September 05, 2005
Soft launch or hard landing?
Google seems to like the Beta phase, Gmail has been a Beta for nearly a year now, and one begins to wonder when it will be out? But there’s a lesson in this.
Google seems to like the Beta phase, Gmail has been a Beta for nearly a year now, and one begins to wonder when it will be out? But there’s a lesson in this.
I can’t count the number of times a client has given a public release date for a website project without consulting the developers the “we have to go live by X-date because we put out a press release” line is one that is guaranteed to bring a groan from the design and technical teams.
Soft launches and beta releases aren’t always possible, we can live with that but the reality is you never know how well a site is working until it actually starts working. Letting it out slowly or letting a selected group of ‘friends’ have access and starting using the site is the best way of seeing if the thousands of decisions and assumptions that went into the build actually stack up.
This isn’t an excuse for missed deadlines or for a lackadaisical approach to project management, they need to be spot on, but building in a beta phase before announcing to the world that the new site is live one of the best ways of making sure that when you turn up the volume the speakers aren’t going to blow.
But it doesn’t stop there. The customer isn’t the only audience the site needs promoting to, it needs to be promoted to an explained to employees and agents as well. If sales or customer service don’t know what the site does how does it help them? Launch the site internally, make the effort to get buy in from your staff, show them how it can help make their lives, and those of their customers, easier.
Posted by harryp at 12:28 AM | Comments (0)