feddy.ca

Things will remain quiet here on the feddy.ca front for the foreseeable future.  I am occupied with other things for a while and it will take some time for them to be straightened out.  The site is not being abandoned, nor will I stop monitoring activity here.  Maintenance will continue in order to stay ahead of the attackers and spammers.

When I come back it will probably be with a new design and format.  Until then, my off-line focus will be on developing my desired direction for the site.

A great idea for a book, the Website Owner’s Manual: The Secret to Successful Websites, is a guide for website owners’ whose background is not in design or development, allowing them to get the most from their website.  I have not read the book, but I believe there is an untapped market for this book.  From the review, table of contents and synopsis I believe even individuals responsible for a small business or personal website will get a lot out of this book.  A crash course in planning, launching and managing a website will help many people achieve the success they expect on their first attempt.

This week’s Google Search event has provide some interesting announcements as to the future of search.  Google’s real-time search is another step towards an immediate index of what is happening in the world being at your fingertips.  The addition to mobile search by voice, location and sight brings immediate results with you anywhere.  These technologies are in the infancy but provide a peek into the future.  Who would have thought that search engines, specifically Google, would have advanced so much in the past 10 years?  Immediate answers to any query imaginable has all kinds of ramifications to those searching and those trying to be found.

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A recent Vitamin entry 10 Things to Consider when Writing for the Web contains much of the same advice that I stress when people ask about creating or redesigning a website.  Know your audience, find your purpose, and develop a friendly voice or dialogue with visitors are a few things that need to be figured out before you start.  Then once you have a draft down there are the headlines, links, and style to polish.  Finally, refine the work by whittling it down to the right length, checking spelling and grammar.

Notice I said get a draft down or outline set before you start worry about your headlines or links.  Focusing too much on the ten tips you read and trying to make sure you follow them right from the start is a recipe for writer’s block.  Get ideas down on paper, in short and point form and work from there.  Once you have your vision forming, worry about the details like headlines and links.  An outline is a good place to start, but don’t think you will get it right in your first draft.  Your initial thoughts may take you somewhere completely different once you see it on paper, requiring major revisions.  It does get you to where you want to go, though.  Now get writing!

Kristina Halvorson lists three web content mistakes in an interview on ThinkVitamin.  While directed at larger organizations that employ copywriters and content professionals, I think the mistakes and solutions can be valuable for even small organizations to understand when creating or updating a site.

I’ve spoken about forgetting about the content in designing a site before, where the focus is on the visual look and splashiness of the site.  Kristina’s number one mistake talks about forgetting about the content after it is created.  She talks about a content life cycle that allows the content to remain it’s freshest.  There are also some great questions to ask when starting a project that will help define what needs to be done.

The second mistake is about the time needed to create the content.  I’ve talked about this before as well.  Good content doesn’t create itself, so get started early and don’t bite off more than you can chew.  Remember, more is not always better.  The third mistake goes with the second.  The project should often be defined by what you want to say, not the other way around.  Establishing the project around your goals and mission helps accomplish that and if you get off track, refer back to those to right yourself.