I had the great good fortune (or terrible experience—take your pick) of having gone to a convent school, where handwriting, both legible and beautiful, was stressed. I will confess to using it less and less as time goes by, however: my MacBook has taken the place of writing in my journal, in my correspondance, and in my fiction.
I’m not the only one that has happened to, surely. And a fairly recent article, Anne Trubek explores the same issue … with some interesting conclusions.
One might consider handwriting as a technology — a way to make letters — and conclude that the way of making them is of little moment. But handwriting is bound up with a host of associations and connotations that propel it beyond simply a fine-motor skill. We connect it to personal identity (handwriting signals something unique about each of us), intelligence (good handwriting reflects good thinking) and virtue (a civilized culture requires handwriting).
So perhaps you might want to think twice before giving up your fountain pen for good! And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
Welcome to a new year (we’re a month into it already, oh-la-la!) … and a new opportunity to reach out to the world via the Internet! If you haven’t updated your website in a year or more, now is definitely the time. Old websites look like just that, and nobody is going to spend time on a site where one feels a need to brush the dust away. Having an updated site shows potential clients or customers that you care, that you’re there for them, and that you’re aware of web trends and changes.
If you don’t do anything else this year, try this resolution on for size: in 2009 I will make sure that my website has changing content.
Why is changing content important? It’s essential from a search engine optimization standpoint: the webcrawlers that spider the web and report back to the search engines love new content, and the more you provide new content, the more they’ll visit your site. Frequent visits nudge your rankings up. So it’s a good place to start—and it’s as easy as adding a blog and updating it regularly. Or start a column, a series of articles, updates in your area of expertise. Anything that is up to your standard and that can make your website a destination for spiders and people alike will work.
I’m once again celebrating the new year by bringing back my (updated!) advice piece: Website Design 101. In a time when we’re going back to the basics, these basics are very pertinent indeed:
Website Design 101
by Jeannette Cézanne
Compared to other forms of communication––magazines, books, films, broadcast media––a website is very limited. A website needs to have one function, and then be designed around that function. For example, if your website is meant to sell shoes, then you don’t also want to include photos from your last anniversary party, an article about your beekeeping hobby, or even an American flag to announce your political beliefs.
Long before any language, hosting company, or design is anticipated, you need to articulate the function––or goal––of your website. It might be any of the following:
* Business site: a place to sell your product and/or services
* Information site: a place to provide data, links, etc.
* Entertainment site: a place to have fun
Once you have your goal, keep it in mind every step of the way. Doing flash graphics might be fun, but does it meet your site’s goal? Does everything that you want to place on your site work toward the site’s goal?
If it doesn’t, don’t even think of putting it there!
Here are a few suggestions for you to bear in mind when thinking about your website design:
*Ease of Use: Find out what most people accessing your site are coming there for, and make that the easiest thing to do. Alternately, think about what you want them to do, and make that the easiest thing to do. Use a big, bright button to get them to work toward your goal.
*Speed: If you use a lot of graphics, your site will load slowly. If you use a lot of flash animation, your site will load slowly. If you think that people are so fascinated by what you have to say that they will wait patiently for the site to load, then go for it. Personally, I think that this isn’t a chance that you want to take.
*Colors: Use it for emphasis. Never use blue text, because readers will think it is a link. Do not play with colored text against a colored background. It might look good to you, but it may disappear for those with color blindness.
*Background: You will probably want to make yours white. Trust me on this one. Don’t use any other background color unless it’s absolutely necessary––there are too many variables out there you cannot control (different browser, different video hardware, etc.) that might make it look different than you want it to … and you’ll never know! If you are using graphics, and you probably are, using a white background will make your graphic designer’s job much easier, and the end product better. Navigating a site with a dark or black background may look chic, but it’s like driving a car at night. Visibility is reduced, and you won’t see the road signs as well.
*Consistency: A button should do the same thing on every page of your site. So should tabs, links, etc.
*Clarity: Don’t put too many different elements on the same page. It can be confusing to a visitor, and many will give up if they cannot immediately do what they want to do, or if they do not understand the layout of your site. If the appearance of your website is more important than the content, it’s a sure sign of a beginner at work.
*Complexity: Map out your site ahead of time. A site that’s difficult to navigate will be hard to maintain. Think about locating information easily. In general, the simpler it is, the better.
All of this information is important to bear in mind whether you are creating and maintaining your own website, or hiring a professional to do it for you.
So there it is. Remember all this advice, and decide now what kind of changing content will best suit your website. Remember that Customline Wordware stands ready to help you with all your website design, content, and search engine optimization needs. Contact us, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!
