Web Design
Monday, August 23, 2010
Someone has to write Web site content. Someone has to write Web site content. I could repeat this statement a million times, as it is something of great concern and passion to me. Why? Let me explain in a brief, true story. Names have been masked to protect the, um, innocent.
There’s nothing like a Web site project completed on time and under budget. My colleague and I were proud of the job we did, integrating a design from a designer who wasn’t a Web designer, but we made it work very well. The site architecture was integrated well based on the up-front analysis and the new site looked great, with one exception – there was no content. Literally, pages were blank! When we presented the site to its sponsor, who was also the one who was supposed to have written the content by now according to the project plan, he was irate. After he gave us a short monologue, it came down to the fact he let this slip from his plate altogether, though he was attempting to pass blame onto us. Oh, and this person was also my boss, the president of the company I was working for at the time, and it was for the company’s own Web site.
Completing content for a Web site can be the critical path to the site’s success. Unfortunately this has happened to me more times than I would like. So how do you ensure it is completed on time, as well as being effective and optimized? Here are some tips to follow.
Define the content - Ideally when you sit down to write content for your Web site this should have already have been completed. The information architecture of the Web site will be the top-line for what content is in the site, and its sitemap will define the pages or organization of the content. Within those pages there may be sidebars, call outs, photos, quotes, videos – whatever you feel will effectively communicate what you want to share with the visitor to your Web site.
Envision the content - Once you have gone through everything in the first step, close your eye and envision what the completed Web site will look like. What do you see in your mind’s eye? As much as pages have been laid out with placeholder text and images, seeing the finished Web page will help you in creating what will go on it.
Outline the content - Now that you know what to write and what it will look like, break down the content into manageable pieces, which is in essence outlining what will be the content of your Web site. Will a page of text have several sections with their own headings? Where will the images go?
Don’t forget SEO - Early on in the process of designing your Web site, you should have done work on the target audience of your Web site and their expectations. This information served as the guide post, spaghetti test or whatever metaphor will help you throughout the entire project. From this early analysis, the keywords and who to optimize the content of your Web site to should have bubbled to the surface or shot up like a rocket. Keep this in mind as you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.
Just do it or delegate it - Yes, now someone has to write the content. Hopefully the previous steps have energized you to actually write the content, or scared you into hiring a copywriter to do it for you. But no worries, as with all of this preliminary work done, the copywriter should have all they need to create great content for your Web site.
What may be obvious to some – creating content – isn’t always obvious to all. Have you encountered this yourself, and how did you overcome it? Do you have any tips in addition to those presented here? Please leave a comment and help those whose role it is to create content, whether by choice or force.
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Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 08/23/10 at 04:00 AM
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Wednesday, August 18, 2010
 Coming off the successful launch of the Spartan Charters Web site last week, my Web consulting firm Dunkirk Systems, LLC is proud to announce the launch of the redesigned Web site for Chicago artist Augustus V. M. “Gus” Higginson.
The Web site, at www.AugustusHigginson.com, is a showcase for his work and his career. The artwork section features a gallery of his most recent works as well as some of his past works. As an architectural historian, many of his works pay tribute to great buildings, including The Rookery in Chicago and the Chicago Cultural Center. His works are large-scale, and the site features detailed photos of his works as well as the entire pieces.
 Once again, Dunkirk collaborated with Visible Logic, Inc. and Emily Brackett for this project. Emily’s design not only serves as a great backdrop for Gus’ artwork but also captures the essence of the artist as well. Behind the scenes of the Web site is powered by ExpresionEngine, the great content management system which we at Dunkirk have been working with for years for many of our clients. This provides the ability for editing of all content on the Web site and provides an infrastructure for managing search engine optimization. Integrated in the home page is Gus’ Twitter stream, which you can follow and see photos of his current and past works in process.
On a personal note, it was a fun project, especially working with a local client. Most of my clients are not local, though despite this they progress very well, and many times I have met the client after the Web site was completed! It was great to sit at the table with Gus during each phase of the project.
Whether you have an appreciation for architecture, history, or simply want to see a unique perspective on some great places, check out the new Web site for Augustus V. M. “Gus” Higginson.
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Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 08/18/10 at 10:09 AM
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Monday, August 09, 2010
 At Dunkirk Systems, LLC we are proud to have brought many clients to the Web for the first time. With the launch of the Web site for charter fishing service Spartan Charters we continue along this great tradition.
Spartan Charters is a full service charter company servicing Cape Cod, the Islands, and Southeastern Massachusetts and is a complete fishing guide and charter service. With their fleet of great fishing vessels and 2 experienced captains, Spartan ensures you have a quality and great fishing experience. As they say, they target big fish.
For this project Dunkirk partnered once again with Visible Logic, Inc. to great a highly functional Web site with a great design. The home page design is compelling to draw users to the various sections within the Web site, plus all navigational links are stylized text links, rather than images. A custom-developed content management system (CMS) powers the Web site allowing the Spartan Charters team to modify all Web site content. They are also embracing social media with their Facebook page and Flickr account with a wide variety of photos from past trips and catches.
Whether you’re a seasoned fisherman or looking to entertain clients or guests with a fishing experience, Spartan Charters is the one to call… or contact through their new Web site.
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Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 08/09/10 at 09:43 AM
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Thursday, August 05, 2010
 Believe it or not, there are times you want to directly link to something from your Web site but you cannot. Despite this, there are ways you can still promote what it is you want to link to.
What Possibly Are You Talking About?
The following are a few scenarios where you cannot directly link to something on the Web.
- The publication’s Web site does not post its articles online
- The publication’s Web site requires registration or payment to view the article
- The article is no longer on the publication’s Web site
There are all real-life scenarios and have happened to clients as well as myself.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Whenever you are referencing content belonging to someone else on the Web, it is always a good idea to get their permission. In some cases you may not be able to mention specifics, such as a company or publication name or even the title of the work or article, but you’ll want to find out as much as you can about what you can mention.
Here’s a real example, and names have been changed to protect the innocent. A client of mine wants to link to articles she writes for a cooking magazine on her Web site, and in some cases she even wants to republish full or partial copy from the article. The published does not post articles online, and does not want her to post any of the articles on her own site. However, she can mention the name of the magazine, issue date and number, article title and page number. She can even show a thumbnail of the magazine cover. In this case, we posted all of this information, plus the photo, with a link to the magazine’s Web site.
If, for example, the article is available online but only to online subscribers, we can still link to it, and below the link we can mention this is behind a login which requires signup and payment. This brief disclaimer will show goodwill to the magazine, all the while promoting the fact the client wrote in it.
Striving for the Win-Win
In-bound links to a Web site are always desired and welcomed by a site owner. Depending on your business relationship with a Web site may dictate how you can present a link to promote yourself with their name. If the situation arises, seek out the method where you can present the most you can, and as a result creating a win-win situation.
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Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 08/05/10 at 03:41 PM
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Friday, June 25, 2010
Editor’s Note – This post is in follow-up and support of The State of Your Web Site, a checklist from Dunkirk Systems, LLC which helps guide Web site owners to objectivity on the current state of their Web site. You can download a free, no obligation PDF copy at TheStateOfYourWebSite.com.
There is a reason for having a logo and branding. On the most basic level, it helps identify who you are to others. Whether you are the world’s largest razor blade company or the newest cupcake shop downtown, having a unique look and style and overall package of how you present yourself is important to your company. The same also holds for most all businesses, not to mention organizations and even individuals.
So why wouldn’t you extend this to your Web site? Before you ask yourself why I am asking this, think for a minute and you may recall a site or several where it was not readily clear who owned the Web site! Whether the logo or brand simply wasn’t there or obscured or someplace where it wasn’t expected, not having your brand prominent on your Web site can be a hindrance to your success online.
I believe in this so much that it is the #1 question asked on Dunkirk’s The State of Your Web Site checklist!
Why does this matter? Web visitors have a short attention span, and this has been proven with user testing. If within a few seconds a visitor to your Web site cannot determine whose Web site it is as well as find the information they are seeking, they may go elsewhere.
Making your logo prominent on your Web site and carrying through your branding to the Web site are not a matter of ego. You have invested in these, and they should be present on your Web site. Companies of all sizes may have Web standards developed along with their branding and logo to help guide this. In the absence of this, working with a graphic designer who understands the importance of branding – ideally the same designer who created your brand and logo – will help extend it to the Web.
By doing so does not mean your Web site will lack creativity. A creative designer will be able to prominently incorporate your brand and logo into your Web design! I have seen cases where the logo is “buried” somewhere in the Web site or landing page in the name of creative design. Buried can be defined as the logo being modified to fit the design but lose qualities unique to it, aligned to the right or bottom of the Web page so it is not readily seen “above the fold” of the Web page or simply left off. A balance must be struck to reinforce who you and your firm are with a great design.
A final tip is to make your logo a clickable link to your home page. It is common practice to make your logo a fast-track to the top of your Web site.
Ensuring your brand and logo are easily identifiable on your Web site is one step towards improving The State of Your Web Site.
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Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 06/25/10 at 04:00 AM
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010
 Do you know The State of Your Web Site?
From a client or prospect meeting to a summer picnic, I am involved in many conversations about Web sites. Some people brag about how much they love their Web sites. On the obvious flip-side, many say they hate their Web site. As the conversation flows to some depth, I often find in most cases people cannot quantify what it is they like or dislike about the Web site. By quantifying. I am referring to elements of a Web site which may be working or not working for the site owner, but no specific knowledge of which ones and their status.
In short, they do not know The State of Their Web Site.
To help add clarity and guide change to a Web site, my Web consulting firm Dunkirk Systems, LLC has developed The State of Your Web Site. It is a free, no obligation self-assessment checklist where a non-technical owner of a Web site can review the 34 questions on the checklist and move toward an objective answer to this question. You can download a PDF copy for free at TheStateOfYourWebSite.com.
Emphasis On The Non-Technical Owner
One goal of The State of Your Web Site is to help the non-technical owner of a Web site. Why? From our experience at Dunkirk, which includes my own personal experience with developing software for over 20 years, most “owners” of a Web site or any business application is they are not technical. They may understand technology, but they are most likely not programmers or technicians. Despite this, it doesn’t mean you cannot recognize issues or opportunities for improvements with your Web site. These questions are at a level where if the answer is not known or found to be at issue, a more thorough check by a technician can be made to gain its scope and make a recommendation.
Focus On Business, Content and Design
The checklist is broken into 3 categories – business, content and design – and each has specific questions related to these areas, and of course all can be answered from a non-technical aspect. The idea was where you could place this checklist in front of you, go through each question and navigate through your Web site to see whether you can check it off or not. These are not trick questions – they are presented in a straightforward, objective manner. That being said, someone may not know what a question is asking, which is another opportunity to learn.
Get Your Copy and Learn The State of Your Web Site
There is no obligation or any requirement of your name and personal information to get a free copy of The State of Your Web Site checklist. Feel free to pass along the link to your friends or colleagues, or simply send them a copy of the checklist! But once you use it, you may have questions on some or all questions presented, not to mention you may be ready to take the checklist to the next level and want an detailed Web site assessment. We do have a contact form on the checklist landing page where you can contact Dunkirk, or you can use the contact form on our Web site at DunkirkSystems.com.
In-Depth Converation On Each Question to Follow
Going forward, I will feature in-depth conversation on each question on the checklist here on The Hot Iron. I welcome your questions and comments on each. Together, we can all have a firm grasp on The State of Your Web Site.
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Friday, June 04, 2010
As a Web site owner, today you must do everything you can to draw traffic to your Web site. There are the obvious methods of doing so – links to your Web site, search engine optimization (SEO) and search marketing. All of these are an ongoing process which of course will take time and money.
Many people forget something obvious – visually drawing traffic to your site. The most common way this plays out is when you are navigating bookmarks or manually typing a URL in your browser address bar and a list of previously-visited Web sites appears. Along with those addresses and Web site titles, there may also be an icon appearing. This is called a favicon, and your Web site should not be without one.
Favicon is a contraction of “favorites icon” and is yet another way for your Web site to stand out. It is technically an icon file on your Web server that is referenced in your Web pages and is displayed in the browser. Below is an example of favicons which appear both on the address bar and tabs of my Firefox browser.
 If you bookmark a Web page that has a favicon, it will also appear in your list of bookmarks, as shown in the accompanying screenshot. Favicons may also appear on mobile browsers as well. Note however favicons may not appear on older browser versions, as I have written before are still out there and in use. Most all current browsers will display them. As you can see, a favicon will help your Web page stand out among the others. It can also reinforce your branding beyond the Web page itself, helping lead people back to your Web site if they liked what they saw the first time.
 So what happens if your Web site does not have a favicon? You will see a blank rectangle resembling a piece of paper or simply nothing where the favicon would be, as shown in the accompanying screenshot. As a result, the title of the particular Web page which was bookmarked will have to do all of the work to visually draw people. Again, how does the saying go, a picture is worth 1,000 words?
If your Web site does not have a favicon, contact your Web site designer or developer and ask for one. Of course if you are unsuccessful, you can always contact us at Dunkirk Systems, LLC and we would be more than glad to work with you to make it happen. A favicon is a literally small file that can have a large impact on your Web site.
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Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 06/04/10 at 01:15 PM
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Friday, May 28, 2010
Every time I walk by this it cracks me up, so much that I had to take a picture of it and talk about it here, and how it related to the Web. Below is a photo of part of a sidewalk in Chicago near the northeast corner of Madison and Canal Streets. And what you think you may see is correct, a piece of metal bolted over a hole in the sidewalk.
As peculiar as it appears, unfortunately it is not an anomaly. There are many sidewalks in the Windy City which are patched with metal or plywood. This is most likely the result of the fact that many sidewalks are vaulted (or hollow underneath) which is a throwback to the days when the only way you could get goods into a building were through a lift in the sidewalk to the basement. As the logistics – and cost – to repair a vaulted sidewalk are high, many times something is just bolted over the hole to cover it.
Ideally, the owner of a building with a vaulted sidewalk should be aware of their condition and appropriately budget for its repair or replacement, just as they should be anticipating other repairs in the building. The same holds true for the owners of Web sites.
Web Sites Need Repairs Too
There are 2 cases when a Web site needs to be repaired, with one being driven by the business and the other by technology.
From a business standpoint, a Web site should be closely synchronized with the entity it represents. This includes everything from an accurate phone number to an extension of services offered by the entity to the Web site. If the content of your Web site frequently changes and the site doesn’t have a content management system (CMS) then you should consider adding one, thereby reducing the cost of manually maintaining content. If you send statements or other documents to your customers, making these available on your Web site could reduce labor and mailing costs to get these out. As social media tools become more robust, integrating them into your Web site will give you an advantage to reach out to your fans and followers, who hopefully will become customers.
Technical repairs to a Web site can greatly vary. Whenever a new version of a Web browser is released, your Web site should be tested against it. In some cases, some code on your Web site, such as JavaScript, may not work in a new version. The Web site itself didn’t change, the browser did. As Apple is not allowing Flash to be displayed on the iPhone and iPad, if you have it on your Web site, it will not display on these 2 devices. As smartphones become more and more common, your Web site may require a mobile version to best display on these smaller-screened devices.
Be Prepared
Just as with a home or car repair, Web site repairs will need your time to be addressed, will need to be scheduled and will cost money. Where you cannot always anticipate when repairs will be needed (just as you can’t predict when your refrigerator will stop working) it is best to set aside some funds for your Web site’s eventual repair. How much you will need to save will depend on the size and complexity of your Web site, and your Web consultant can help you with this decision-making. As well, they can help you with identifying potential problem areas and recommend a schedule for you as well. If they cannot, feel free to contact Dunkirk Systems, LLC, as we are more than glad to talk to you about how to best manage your Web site.
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Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 05/28/10 at 04:00 AM
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
While visiting with friends over the weekend, something caught my eye on their notebook computer. It was their work PC, and they had Internet Explorer open to their personal iGoogle page. What I saw on the page was a warning message, as shown below.
The message in a yellow box, prominently positioned below the search box read, ‘You’re currently using an older web browser. Upgrade now!’ When I pointed this out to my friend, she muttered something under her breath about this being an old, slow computer with old software on it. Sure enough, when I checked the version of the browser, it was a version of IE 6. When I pressed the issue, she said they cannot update the browser and everyone has issues with it.
This issue is not unique, and many corporate computer users will have old hardware and software. Many large companies have common “images” of the software on a computer and it is a big deal when something is changed on it, short of regular Windows patches. As a result, many corporate users have old versions of browsers. Since many people may be browsing to your Web site during the day or on a work PC from home, it is something you need to take into consideration ion the design and functionality of your Web site. Talk to any Web designer and developer and they hate old versions of the browsers, and they have a good reason for this angst, as older browsers do not support newer design and functional capabilities.
Get The Facts With Analytics
Issues with older browsers may impact some Web sites more than others. This depends on the demographic of the visitors to the Web site. The sure way to see if this is an issue or not is to check the analytics of your Web sites. By checking what browsers and versions of those browsers are loading your Web site, you will know if this is a large issue or not. Based on this information, you may have nothing to worry about, or you may need to have a conversation with your Web designer and developer to discuss appropriate action, from changes to warning messages. This is a conversation we at Dunkirk Systems, LLC frequently have with our clients and with prospective clients, and we are more than glad to talk with you about this as well.
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Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 04/13/10 at 04:00 AM
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Thursday, April 01, 2010
This morning when I opened my browser to perform a Web search I saw something different on Google’s home page – nothing but their logo. There was no search box or buttons, as shown below.
However, when I went to move the mouse on the page to make the other text appear on the page, I was returned a search results page for what I was going to search on!
So what happened – was I imagining this, or did I not have enough coffee? It turns out it was none of these. Rather, it appears Google has changed how searches are executed, as I found in this article on their search blog about the elimination of the search box.
“Google has adapted its predictive technology used for delivering relevant ads to how searches are performed. We can anticipate your search request without you manually typing in search keywords or phrases. This allows Google to provide a much richer, not to mention expedient, search experience, as well as optimizing our search indicies based on the collective thought of the world’s computer users, which we have been tracking for over the last decade.”
The article went on to mention this is not a beta feature and is live for all users.
Proof In Usage
So how well does it work? The search I was going to manually type in this morning was of “patriots” and I was returned a search results page with the first link listed being what I was looking for. When I paused after reading the Web page I got to from the search, another search results page was presented in the browser, this time for the search term “breakfast” which was what I was thinking about at that moment.
After thinking of several things and getting highly-relevant search results for each, I contacted a few friends and colleagues over Twitter to ask of their experience with this. One friend I was able to get a hold of on the phone in the Boston area said to me, “all I keep getting is search results pages in Google on the search term of 'porn'… wait a minute, that’s what I was, hey, I gotta go” and the call quickly ended.
Impact On Web Community
Though this was just released today, it will be interesting to see the reaction of the Web community to this. People who work in SEO, or search engine optimization, will probably all be out of jobs as what people want for content will be known ahead of time. Usability experts will probably be baffled as there is really nothing to be used on Google search anymore. Anyone developing for the Apple iPad will probably not notice anything different, as it is rumored there is an undocumented “feature” where the iPad blocks Google altogether.
What do you think about the new way to search on Google? How accurate are the search results for what you were thinking? Feel free to share your results in the comments, but you may not want to share everything you thought of.
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Posted by Mike Maddaloni on 04/01/10 at 04:00 AM
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