RSSMay 25th, 2006
I love apple
Not to be overly geeky or anything, but I love apple. Not only was the company founded on my birthday, but they are truly the branding marvel of the 21st century thus far. It is a privilege to watch as they captivate the world with their every move. Others do their best to follow, but it never rings true. From the commercials to the innovative products, their brand is in a league of their own.
As a loyal user and follower of all their major announcements, I have become a huge fan of Steve Jobs. You would think the Rolling Stones were about to take the stage before he makes a presentation. I mean this guy says the word and Disney cuts off their 10-year relationship with McDonald’s because their food sucks.
All this to say that they never cease to amaze, and their latest apple store is certainly no exception. The store is technically underground, but above ground is a gorgeous glass box. To my knowledge it is absolutely one of a kind. You must see it, and you can visit the website for more cool pictures.
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May 18th, 2006
Internet Explorer Stylesheets
Anyone that has built a website with web standards understands the incredible feeling of finishing a layout with validating XHTML and CSS. That unbelievable feeling of bliss and confidence comes to an abrupt halt when you actually look at your layout in Internet Explorer.
While it is the world’s worst browser, web developers must make their layouts functional in IE because the majority of internet browsers still use it. So in order to make it work, the really smart people created hacks. They all work great for now, but with the new release of Internet Explorer 7 on the horizon, we are called to rethink all of our hacking.
This new version invalidates some of the most popular hacks created to help developers display their layouts on IE, so we are stuck. Luckily, there is indeed a solution: put all of your IE hacks in a separate stylesheet!
That’s right, just create a stylesheet with all of your IE hacks and include it in your layout like so . . .
<!--[if IE]>
<link rel="stylesheet" xhref="ie.css" mce_href="ie.css"></link> <![endif]-->Keeping your hacks in a separate file will solve your problems and ensure correct layouts on versions of IE old and new. But hey, why bother with IE for your personal browsing? Just download firefox, better yet buy a MAC!
For more information on this subject, visit Position is Everything.
Posted in Web Development - 1 Comment
May 8th, 2006
Must-have software for web developers
I wanted to take a moment to talk about some software I discovered while at SXSW this past year called Xyle Scope. This tool for Mac OSX uses the safari browser to display web pages in the left pane, source code in the right pane, and css styles in the bottom-right pane. While it works best on larger displays, it is absolutely awesome for inspecting code, tracking bugs, and learning from other talented designers’ techniques.
Xyle Scope has literally saved me hours of time in optimizing my standards-based layouts. It recently helped me a great deal when I had to sift through an existing website and rebuild the layout without modifying the source code. It was a great learning experience and made the $19 investment well worth it.
This is just one of these programs you have to see to believe, but I find it to be one of my personal favorites. Download the 30-day trial and see for yourself. Thanks to Dave Shea for mentioning it in one of the interactive panels this past March.
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May 7th, 2006
5 Steps to Building Better Websites
So it is time to jump head first into the digital realm. It is time to take your business or career to the next level, and you are convinced a great website is the answer. The problem is that most anyone can start planning for a new website and get completely overwhelmed within the first five minutes.
While the process of building a website can sometimes be long and complicated, ensuring a successful project is absolutely within grasp. Having an understanding of some foundational principles will certainly get you on the right track, and we are here to help. Thus the reason we have created 5 things you can do to build a better website.
1. Create a Call to Action
The first step in creating a successful website is to create a call to action. So many people get wrapped up in features and design elements that add no real value to the project. Sure those are important, but not nearly as important as your call to action.
Think of this as your overall objective, your goal. If users do this while on the website, we have achieved what we set out to do. One of the most common points of action is a purchase. Others want visitors to sign up for a mailing list, or fill out an application of some sort. It could also be to persuade someone to visit your place of business or upcoming event. These are all examples of a call to action, the foundation of a website.
Once you have come up with a call to action or possibly 2-3 of them, that becomes the basis for everything else you wish to accomplish. These are our objectives, and every image, every page, every pixel should revolve around achieving your goal at the very highest possible rate.
Having a call to action also helps you to make key decisions in the web development process. With each added feature or element, just ask yourself, “Is this helping me to achieve my objective?” If not, it is quite possibly in your best interest to move on.
Conversely, if you narrow your objectives down to one or two, it is much easier to come up with strategies that could help you create the desired action. For instance, let’s say your #1 call to action is to get visitors to make a purchase. A great way to give visitors more confidence in making the purchase would be to list a page of positive testimonials. You could actually setup a module where people could talk about their experience with your product, and others could read the submitted testimonials. That adds instant credibility to your product and helps you to create the desired action with the visitor.
2. Plan Ahead
After laying a foundation with a couple overall objectives, now is the time to build on it with content. While your web development team should be of great assistance in helping you narrow things down, it is a great idea to get your ideas on paper. I always like to start with the main menu items and work down until each and every page is in its proper place.
Be sure to use a pencil during this process, because it could get messy! Writing out each main menu link, then each page within that main menu area really helps you to grasp the “big picture”. How does your website structure line up with your primary objectives so far?
At this point I want to offer a word of encouragement to the “creative-types” reading this essay. I am a born planner, so this is not hard for me, but I know enough creative people to understand how excruciating this is for you. No one says it has to be perfect, but spending 30 minutes trying to grasp the big picture of what you would like to accomplish through your website can really keep you on the right track.
The best possible way to plan for a website it to learn from those that do it best. Find successful websites that provide similar products or services, and simply take notes. Chances are your website does not need to re-invent the wheel, there are others already doing what you want to do well. Take the time to do some research, and other websites will practically do the work for you.
3. Don’t Make Me Think!
This title is borrowed from the great book by web usability expert Steve Krug, called Don’t Make Me Think. This concept is the easiest of the five, but so many fail to embrace it. It all revolves around the word “simplicity”. When it doubt, keep it simple, period.
You experience the highest possible success rate by making the design and content functional. Stop thinking about what will look cool and impress people, and make things easier on the user. Whomever you work with to build your website should have expertise in this area, but here are a few things you should be prepared to avoid at most any cost:
- Inappropriate use of flash
- Annoying advertising
- Hard to find contact information / help
- Text displayed as an image
- Text/content displayed on a dark background
- Confusing industry-specific jargon
These are very basic rules to go by, so make sure your developer understands your desire for clear functionality throughout the site. If it does not help your visitors act on the desired outcome, then there is no place for it on your website.
4. Content is King
The perfect design, page structure and site simplicity really add up to very little without effective content. That’s what your audience is there for. They typed in the address or found it from a search engine because they are in need of information. If you do a good job of convincing them that you have what they need, your call to action will be successful.
Not only is properly placed, effective content crucial to the success of your website, but it is also important to keep it updated on a regular basis. Give people a reason to come back by keeping your content current and making sure the public knows about it. Some ways of adding new content would be through a “latest news” section, email blasts, or a blog. Just try to find a way for your audience to keep coming back if at all possible.
5. Own It
As you have seen, there is a great deal that goes into the development of a successful website. While there are proven steps and methods that can guarantee your success, someone has to own the responsibility of making it happen.
Whether you are a one man/woman show or you have a team at your disposal, a desire for consistent improvement is the most important element of this equation. Sadly, there are no shortcuts to success on the web. Like any other venture, it takes dedication, passion and vision.
If you outsource a company for the development of your website and they give you the best possible solution, just remember that in the end you have to “own it” for the long term to ensure continued success. While this process is not profound or innovative, it does work. Follow these simple steps and you are on your way to a successful web project.
Posted in Web Development - 24 Comments
May 4th, 2006
Lightbox Love
One of my very favorite “Web 2.0″ features to discover in the last year or so is called Lightbox. Rather than try to explain it myself, the guys at Treehouse Magazine wrote a great article and demo on it. It seems that article has inspired some very cool variations of this technology.
A couple of my favorite lightbox demos come from Lokesh Dhakar and Xilinus. Those particular ones are slightly code-heavy, but if used appropriately, can add a great deal of character to any website.
There is a comprehensive list of these different lightbox examples here.
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May 3rd, 2006
Internet Explorer downgrade, how do we fix it?
In late March, Microsoft announced that it would be downgrading their Internet Explorer browser thanks to a recent patent dispute with another company claiming rights to ActiveX controls. This downgrade would effect any website that embeds files using the object tag. Numerous file types will be affected, but flash is probably the most common.
While most of us in the web development field would just assume never work with Internet Explorer again due to it’s lack of CSS support, it turns out a majority of people still use it. So Geoff Stearns has come up with a great workaround that allows developers to embed SWF files just the same, while avoiding the object tag and making use of some very clever javascript.
I found this tutorial and sample download very useful and will be implementing it when necessary in current and future projects. I would encourage everyone to make the appropriate adjustments before Microsoft is scheduled to release the update at the end of this month.
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