for the love of work

Making a website - what do you need to know?

May 02, 2008

Constructing a website -

• What do you need to know?
• What do you want to know?
• What would like to know about making it work for the reader you want?

In a recent post about blogs vs websites I said that blogs require a commitment; you have to post fairly frequently and predictably.

One important thing I'm going to add - and it applies to both blogs and websites - you have to write content that your readers want.

In the case of a 'how-to' blog - and for the love of work is essentially a 'how-to' enterprise - we want content that visitors need. On Broadway, the play's the thing; it's the same on the net - kontent is king.  (bet that caught your eye - we know, it's content)

What do you want to read about here at ftlow about making a successful website and what do you really need to know? We can help!

1. Are you looking for a designer?
2. Are you already working with a website designer and not too sure about what they're suggesting? 
3. Does web development sound a bit too confusing? 
4. Are you about to embark on building your first site? 
5. Do you already have a site that doesn't deliver the results you want? 

Tell us what to write.  Please.

You can type a suggestion in the skribit box to the right - the one that says 'what should I write', or you can leave a comment, or you can send us an email.

This post was inspired by a post from Darren Rowse at ProBlogger - Skribit - Find Out What Your Readers Want You to Write About.

What Font Should I use for my Website?

Some basics to keep in mind when you choose a font for your web site.

Computers can only display fronts that are installed in their systems. 
The vast majority of people never install extra fonts; they stick with the ones that come with their operating system.

These two statements should lead you inexorably to the conclusion that you should only use standard system fonts for a website.

I find that my clients will spend hours agonizing over what font to use.  Maybe it's so they can avoid spending hours agonizing over writing the site content!  I've had clients insist on downloading a special font they really like and then use it for everything That's fine until they see their site on someone else's computer.  No fancy font! 

There are other factors to consider. 

• People can set their web browsers to display only a certain font.
• Windows and Mac operating systems don't have the same fonts. There are some in common, and some that resemble each other.  
• Some fonts are considered easier to read than other.

Choose a common, easy to read font and focus on your content.

Windows Font	Macintosh Font	CSS	Windows Screen Shot	Macintosh Screen Shot
Arial*	Helvetica	font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
Arial Black*	Gadget	font-family: "Arial Black", Gadget, sans-serif;
Book Antiqua	Palatino	font-family: "Book Antiqua", Palatino, serif;
Comic Sans MS	Comic Sans MS	font-family: "Comic Sans MS", cursive;
Courier New*	Courier	font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;
Georgia	Georgia	font-family: Georgia, serif;
Impact*	Charcoal	font-family: Impact, Charcoal, fantasy;
Lucida Console	Monaco	font-family: "Lucida Console", Monaco, monospace;
MS Sans Serif	Geneva	font-family: "MS Sans Serif", Geneva, sans-serif;
MS Serif	New York	font-family: "MS Serif", "New York", serif;
Palatino Linotype	Palatino	font-family: "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;
Tahoma	Geneva	font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;
Times New Roman	Times	font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif;
Trebuchet MS	Helvetica	font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Helvetica, sans-serif;
Verdana*	Geneva	font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;
Symbol	Symbol	font-family: Symbol;
Webdings	Webdings	font-family: Webdings;
Wingdings	Zapf Dingbats	font-family: Wingdings, "Zapf Dingbats";

from About.com

Web Writing: 5 - Five - Important reminders about being Effective

Web Writing: 5Five - Important Reminders about being effective

See all the stuff I could do in one short heading  You'd want to use this mix of styling sparingly but it can be very effective.

People read the internet differently than ordinary print.

They scan.

If they see information they like, they'll stop and read.

If not - it’s easy to move on to another site.

1. Put the most important information near the top of the page
2. Write short sentences; short paragraphs
3. Use descriptive headings so people know what's going to follow
4. Use bold, italics, and colour to highlight important words and phrases
5. Use bulleted or numbered lists to present information

Guidelines for internet content length

• Headings: 8 words or less
• Sentences: 15 - 20 words
• Paragraphs: 40 - 70 words
• Page word count: 250+ words

From 10 Tips For Writing Effective Web Copy

Links to articles about writing for the internet

• The 10 Commandments of Internet Writing
• Web copy style
• Writing for the Web
• 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web

Happy writing!

You can't trust the spell checker - or is that spellchecker?

Spelling Counts on your website or blog.

More and more of us can't spell and I include myself in the 'can't spell' group.  I used to be able to spell.  But that changed when I started using a computer and spell checker.  Slowly I lost the incentive to worry about my spelling, the spell-checker would catch mistakes.

You can't rely on the spell checker to catch everything.

I don't even know how to spell spellchecker.  Is it one word or two.  Both show up in google searches.

It's All About Context - A spell checker isn't going to know that you meant you're when you typed your, or their when you typed there.  I was going to say that if you have trouble with these you could stick a little note on the wall in front of your computer to remind you which (maybe you'd type witch) one to use and when.  That only works if you know you that you don't always know the difference.

Words we commonly confuse - or commonly confused words (I picture a word shaking its little head in despair while muttering "right, left, this way, that way, it's all so confusing".  As well as words that sound exactly alike there are words that sound similar to one another and are often used in the wrong context. 

The upside of using one of these words incorrectly is that a lot of people won't notice, a lot of us use them incorrectly. But not everyone - and some of your customers may equate good spelling with good work.

AskOxford has a list of commonly confused words.  Lots of other grammar and spelling tips on the site, it's worth bookmarking.

If you aren't about to take a basic English grammar course then the best thing to do is have someone proofread your work. 

What does CMS stand for?

Are you talking to web designers because you're thinking about having a website designed - or redesigned?  Have they told you that they have a great CMS that's easy to use?  Are you standing there nodding and thinking "What the heck's a CMS?"

When a web designer talks about a CMS he/she is talking about a content management system.

In very simple terms a content management system is a program that is used to add/change/update content on a website.  Some are fairly simple; some are incredibly complex. 

All Content Management Systems involve a learning curve.  All of them. 

Why does your web designer think you need a CMS?  Often it's because it's easier for the web expert to design the shell of the site - the look of the pages, navigation process - and then - add content using a Content Management System.  It won't be easier for you, at least not in the beginning. 

I know, cynical of me.

Who gets to decide whether or not you use a CMS? 

You do.  It's your web site.  There's nothing inherently bad about using a CMS.  Or wrong about not using one.  If it's easier for your designer to make your site with a CMS that's fine.

BUT - don't agree to a CMS thinking that you're going to use it to manage the site content by yourself. It's unlikely to happen.  And it's not a particularly good use of your time either.  If you have new content every day, then consider having a blog.  Blogs are far easier to work with - and much more user-friendly. They are also content management systems, but they're designed for people who don't have a lot of time to play around.

You can read more about content management systems at Wikipedia.

Blog vs Website - which one do I want? What's the difference?

There are probably as many explanations of the difference between a website and a blog as there are people doing the explaining.

I think of web sites as fairly static; the content doesn't change too often. 

The tone of a website may be more formal, because it's more focused on your product or service.

A blog is more casual - not a place that you push too hard for business.  On a Blog you can be more opinionated and have a chance to develop an ongoing relationship with readers.  You post entries - or articles - fairly often and you can usually write about a wider range of topics than you would cover on a website.

What you're reading is a blog.  You can see the difference if you look at the website for the love of work. Sometimes it makes sense to have both. 

Blogs require a commitment.

• You have to write content. 
• You have to add to it fairly regularly. 
• You have to post frequently especially in the beginning. 

Search engines seem to like blogs.  They get indexed quickly and articles perform well in rankings. 

A website can look like a blog and a blog can look like a website, but it's usually simpler.  It's a lot easier to set up a blog by yourself - than it is to build your own website. 

You want a blog if you can make the commitment to post regularly and have something interesting/helpful to say; something that benefits your clients and potential clients.

The difference between unique monthly visitors and unique annual visitors - understanding web stats

We've looked at the difference between visitors to your site and hits on your site.  Now let's look at the difference between daily, weekly, monthly, and annual unique visitors.

There are a lot of stats tracking services available. 

Some of them are log-analyzers; they take the raw data from the logs and calculate traffic, so that you don't have to.  The stats you get from your web host are usually log analyzers.

There are also tag tracking services and programs. 

You add some code to each page that you want to track in your site.  I use Statcounter on smaller sites and Google Analytics on bigger sites.  Statcounter has a free service as well as paid options for sites with more traffic.

There are lots of stats tracking services.  If you're doing this on your own just pick one and use it. (My personal preference is statcounter).

All of the tag tracking services use cookies to track visits. 

If I visit a site once each day I'm a unique visitor each day in daily summaries.

In the other summaries I'm a unique visitor in the first week of my first visit, in the first month of my first visit, and in the first year of my first visit.

If everyone who visits your site visits just once, then your daily unique visitors - totaled over a year - will equal your annual unique visitors.  Not likely - but it could happen.  If it did, you'd want to take a look at the goals for your site.

For any given period you will have unique visitors, first time visitors and returning visitors.  First time visitors plus returning visitors will equal unique visitors for that period. 

Remember these are all just numbers.  Whether they are good or bad depends on the goals you set for your site.  It's important to interpret your web stats not just look at them in isolation.

The stats here are for a blog - Aude France.  Take a look at the different summaries and you'll get a feel for the relationships between the numbers. Click on any of the images for a full size summary.

Weekly Stats Summary

Monthly Stats Summary

Annual Stats Summary

Proofread your web pages

Avoid spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and typos in your content. 

Use an editor and/or a proofreader to check and correct your content.  Pay them.  It's worth it. 

One of my own advantages as a dyslexic and bad typist is that I know I make mistakes.  I transpose letters and numbers, I leave out words, or put them in twice.  I never notice these mistakes until long after I've published a web page.  So - I work with an editor, who checks my spelling and grammar and makes sure that my content makes sense. 

You want people to focus on your message, not on your mistakes. 

If you have an issue with writing let us write your web site content for you. 

We'll make sure it's all good!

Choose a descriptive domain name for your website

Your domain name should relate to what you do, to the content of your website - another factor to keep in mind when choosing a domain name.

Choose a logical domain name; logical in the sense of making the most of your most important service or product.

Choose a domain name that describes your site

If you're a plumber it's better to use joetheplumber.com or plumber-joe.com than it is to use your name.  It's also better to include the word plumber rather than the plumbing in the domain name because more people will search for plumber than will search for plumbing. If you are a plumber and you need a website contact us, we'll build a great plumber site for you.

There are time when you should use your name for your domain name

If you're well known in a certain field or geographic area and are building a new web site it's probably a good idea to build on your existing reputation and use your name as the domain name. Ideally you could use a combination of your name and what you do - joeblowplumber.com

Should I use hyphens in a domain name

The real question is: should I choose a short domain name, a long domain name, or have hyphens in my domain name.  Something else to consider when you choose a domain name.

A short domain name - the ideal
A one word domain name with a .com extension is the ideal.  Probably the unattainable ideal.  10 years ago you could still register a one word domain name.  It's almost impossible to do today.  All the good words are taken.  So are the bad words, no doubt.  People started registering them in the 90s.  They aren't all associated with web sites and some of them are for sale but if you're a small business it's not likely worth the investment you'd have to make. Better to register a long domain name for your site.

Long domain names - the reality
You can't always find a long domain name.  I started searching for availability of a name for a real estate agent in Durham.  In order to have a long domain name you would have to register durhamontariorealestateagent.com.  Way too long.  Way too hard to type. 

It's important the you keep the hard to type factor in mind.  I find it difficult to type long names because I say the word in my head as I type it and then have a tendency to put a space between the words.  That means that I get a message saying that the server could find the site I wanted and I then have to type the whole thing over again in the address bar.  It's actually easier to type a domain name with hyphens between the words - for me anyway.

Hyphens in domain names - the solution
A real estate agent in Durham could register durham-real-estate-agent.com.   It's easier to type than durhamontariorealestateagent.com.  It describes what they do and where they do it which can be important considerations when you select a domain.

Three hyphens are probably too many to have in a site URL.  I'd try and limit it to two but it is an solution for someone who needs a name website in a very competitive domain name niche.

If you're trying to decide whether or not to have hyphens in your domain name, contact us. We can help you explore options and alternatives and find the perfect domain name.