Comments on: Website Owner’s Manual Review

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 21:33:00 +0000

Very insightful. I just ordered my copy. Look forward to reading and hopefully I can increase my presence. Thank you.

By: drew

drew — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:05:54 +0000

My tip: Listen.

Yup, so you’re right… your client IS wrong – but if you’re good, their idea can be actualized without you telling them how awful it was before you took the good from it and enhanced their website. Rather, LISTEN to their idea and use all you know about the web to have successfully applied their concept while utilizing best practices.

By: Dergi

Dergi — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:22:43 +0000

Thnx this great post

By: Diamond Lister

Diamond Lister — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:45:48 +0000

this is a great website to compare diamond prices

By: dave

dave — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:43:50 +0000

compare diamond prices

By: plumbing san francisco

plumbing san francisco — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:17:34 +0000

Thank you all, for sharing your knowledge and ideas with us. I will be appreciate if anyone tell me more about the ownership of websites and the budget what is needed. :D Regards, plumbing san francisco plumber san francisco san francisco plumbers

By: blackberry unlocked

blackberry unlocked — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:00:56 +0000

Step out of your skin and always look through the eyes of the websites public, and a whole new world will open. blackberry unlocked blackberry gsm unlocked buy blackberry unlocked

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:58:46 +0000

My number one tip may be one of the few here that is probably not covered in the book:

The website owner, when evaluating a freelance developer or team of developers, should ask to see some sample code, and then have the code evaluated by a senior in-house programmer, or, if not applicable or none is available, an objective outside programmer. In either case, the chosen evaluator should be fluent in the applicable language, and should be instructed to focus on such qualities in the code as modularity, maintainability, etc.

By: Peter Bowyer

Peter Bowyer — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:17:01 +0000

My number one tip? Write good headlines, and copy that matches reader expectations.

This post is titled a “review”, and not being able to preview the book in my local bookstore I wanted to know what another experienced web designer made of it and what they disagreed with (or criticised).

The “Is it for you?” section was vaguely helpful, but having expected a comprehensive book review I left feeling dissatisfied, which means in future I’ll be less inclined to visit this site or click through from Google Reader to read other content.

My number one tip restated? Manage expectations.

By: Kyle W.

Kyle W. — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 07:29:36 +0000

My number one tip is to engage with your readers and pose questions for them. Although this can be kind of depressing when you are starting off, giving the reader something to think about normally leaves them with sometime to take away from your website. When you engage in your community, it shows that you care and value their input as well. This is VITAL for the success of web sites.

By: godzilla

godzilla — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:51:08 +0000

wohoo! i can spam here :D

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:26:06 +0000

Cool, looking forward to checking out this book.

My best website owner’s tip is to have a rock solid vision that your team can clearly work towards. Making sure everyone is on the same page is invaluable.

By: Chris Thurman

Chris Thurman — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:45:06 +0000

Website Owner Tip # 408: Avoid people who claim to be social media gurus, especially those who randomly follow you on Twitter. This also applies to other self-proclaimed gurus. I mean can you get a real title?

By: Rob Watson

Rob Watson — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Two words: Source Control

There are many options. My absolute favorite is Subversion. It has saved my butt more times than I can count.

By: m a r c o

m a r c o — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:50:19 +0000

Content is definitely very important, but it has to be the right kind of content. It has to be fresh and useful to users. Design, user experience, seo, etc. is very important, but in most cases secondary…

The Paul Boad video was awesome! It deals with something every designer has gone through: clients from hell…

By: verbatim coding

verbatim coding — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:45:44 +0000

Yes i really appreciate this comment verbatim coding questionnaire verbatim coding survey coding

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:55:31 +0000

My tip: From the start, think about how you are going to maintain the site, and how best to do that. People focus a lot on the visuals, accessibility, IA, and that’s all very important, but also oriented towards Launch Day. But what will the site need to look like on Launch Day + six months? What content will need to be added or updated in that time? Where will that content come from? How will the updates be done? I’d guess the main reason many sites don’t get updated adequately is not because the owners don’t have new information to publish, but because it’s too cumbersome or time consuming to do the work.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:23:58 +0000

This is one of Paul’s tips (are there any tips he hasn’t covered?) which I always have at the back of my mind.

“Don’t make your problems your users problems”

By: isemann

isemann — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:58:49 +0000

My number one tip is not to get bogged down with watching and over-analysing your statistics.

By: Maikel

Maikel — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:43:46 +0000

My best tip is: you will never get it right the first time, get over it.

Many designers think they can craft a perfectly “user centered”, or Conversion oriented interface in one go. They also tend to get their ego involved. This could lead to some very harsh situations, when it later appears that the initial approach wasn’t the right one.

The key is: Release early and iterate. See how your users use your interface. Based on those observations, adjust and tweak.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:05:55 +0000

My tip is about website content. In my experience, one of the hardest things I face running our website is getting copy written and maintained. I find that one of the most effective ways of getting it written is to have a copy writing away day. It doesn’t necessarily have to be away from your organisation, just find a new setting, away from your desks (and normal distractions) and spend a day writing and reviewing the content of your site. If you can provide the tea, coffee, biscuits and lunch (food is always a motivator) even better. You can get a lot done and bounce ideas around which not only gets the job done quicker but breeds enthusiasm too.

By: David Horn

David Horn — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:54:39 +0000

My number one tip for website owners is: make friends with your designers and developers. Often times, and in particular I feel, with small freelancers, there is a severe ‘them and us’ attitude. The client is wary of getting screwed within a process they don’t understand, and the designer is wary of getting screwed on price / feature creep of the project.

Relax everyone! We’re all in this together … make friends with your web team – nobody wants to get upset, we all want the best for the project. Let’s work together and we’ll get there. Start with a strong agreement on project scope (be it fixed at the start or allowing for incremental change), and don’t feel like you’re always in a battle!

By: Christ

Christ — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:52:45 +0000

Flats to rent in West Hampstead

By: Christ

Christ — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:52:04 +0000

Flats to rent in Hampstead

By: julz h

julz h — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:05:31 +0000

Ah, this is going to be obvious to everyone here I hope!
“Flash intros? No. Just say no, no no!” ;-)

By: David Myers

David Myers — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:33:13 +0000

Have a way to communicate with the users of your website. Getting feedback and being responsive to suggestions is a must for any developing website. This is not to say that you have to take every little bit of feedback, but its good to know what your members want and their thoughts about your website.

By: Adeline

Adeline — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:27:42 +0000

Just because all the ‘bells and whistles’ are available to use (eg. social media and life stream feeds) on your website, it doesn’t mean you have to use all of them, less is more!

By: Greg Owen

Greg Owen — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:21:48 +0000

Manage client expectations. Make them aware of the different phases a project will go through. An informed client is often a happier one and they’ll feel part of the process if you keep them in the loop with any progress or problems along the way.

By: Adam Butler

Adam Butler — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:50:17 +0000

Basic but important: For god sake Back Up!

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:28:43 +0000

My tip: Know both that a website is never perfect or completed. We know you want your website to be the best in the field, but coming up with a new idea every week to make it better only delays the launch of a functional website. It is better to get it out there and as you see how it is being used start to make changes, they may or may not be the changes you thought you wanted. Love the Lillington joke to end the podcast.