Book review: Website Owners Manual

Written by Carson Pierce Sunday, 13 July 2008 00:00

As website developers, we often take for granted the knowledge that goes into our work. We then place unrealistic expectations on our clients and get frustrated when they don’t get it. This is especially obvious when dealing with clients who have never been involved in a website project before. As a result, we have to act as educators; explaining what’s what, why we do things the way we do and how they can also contribute to the process. Unfortunately, this can take a lot of time – time that is probably not in anyone’s budget. If only there was some sort of “website owner’s manual” that could be given to clients to help remedy this problem.

cover of Website Owner's Manual by Paul Boag

Well now there is... almost. The appropriately titled Website Owner’s Manual by designer/blogger/podcaster Paul Boag is in the works and should be done fairly soon. In the meantime, you can preview the first chapter for free or buy the “early access” edition which allows you to read unedited chapters as they’re completed. Five chapters been released so far:

The secret to a successful website. An overview of the entire book, emphasizing the client’s perspective and roles along the way.
Stress-free planning. How to get off on the right foot and create a blueprint to ensure the success of your project.
Don’t forget the explosives expert. How to define your project and then find the right people to carry it out.
Differences over design. Explains the realities of designing for the web and how to make working with a designer a pleasant experience.
Creating killer content. How to write effectively for the web medium.

Upcoming topics include user centric design, ensuring best practice, choosing a CMS, website jargon explained, promoting your website, engaging your users, and planning for the future.

Each section is packed with invaluable information for clients of website projects: the knowledge they’ll need going into things, the pitfalls to avoid and – most importantly from a developer’s perspective – how they can work with us to make everything go as smoothly as possible. It’s written in a very easy to understand way, even if you have no prior knowledge of the topic. In short, it’s the manual that we wish all our clients would read before their project begins.

If there’s any problem with the book, it’s that most clients will find it overkill for their needs. Is it really worth reading a 250-page book if they’re only going to be involved with one or two website projects in their lifetime? (The answer is probably still yes, but the perception remains.) I guess it’s left to us developers to impress upon our clients the value of something like this, even if it means buying a bunch of copies ourselves and giving them away to them. Trust me, the $40 will pay itself back many, many times. Check it out at:
http://www.boagworld.com/websiteownersmanual/

Carson Pierce... My Hero

Written by Carson Pierce Tuesday, 08 July 2008 20:39

Borken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer "In a small apartment suite above a store, near the window that overlooked the corner of the town square, Carson Pierce sat in a worn stuffed chair, watching a physician, sitting on a bed in the center of the room, tend to Jordan's wounds.

"Pierce wore jeans and a loose black t-shirt that did a moderate job of hiding how muscular he was. Forty, he could pass for thirty. Any traces of advanced age could be found in his world-weary eyes, a blue so pale they verged on gray..."

--excerpt from Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer

Blackfalds Library Website Design

Written by Erin Bourne Wednesday, 28 May 2008 09:05

A little while ago we wrapped up the redesign of the website for Blackfalds Public Library. It was a really fun website to design - first because I'm a giant nerd who loves books and libraries, but also because everybody at the library was really open to a whole new look. There's a lot of great resources on the site, and information about fun programs, art shows and events that the library puts on (Wii week!). Check it out: their new website.

Sagmeister!

Written by Nicole Braseth Friday, 23 May 2008 15:41

Stefan Sagmeister giving a talk at the U of A A couple of weeks ago (May 08, 2008), The GDC pulled some strings and brought in design rockstar Stefan Sagmeister for a lecture at the University of Alberta. Sagmeister was promoting his book: Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far, and Edmonton was lucky for the opportunity to hear him speak about his work.

So, adventurous spirits that we are: Erin, Carson and I drove up to Edmonton to see what all the fuss is about.

The Alberta Sweet 16 Launch

Written by Steve Fisher Monday, 12 May 2008 15:16

Steve presenting the alberta sweet 16 website Today was the public launch of the Alberta Sweet 16...sixteen weekends of fun from the May long weekend to the Labour Day weekend. The press conference was held in Sylvan Lake, an appropriate location to kick-off a central Alberta tourism marketing campaign. I had the privilege of presenting the website to the media. It was fun to take everyone through a project we developed.

Writing for the Web

Written by Nicole Braseth Monday, 05 May 2008 12:32

I fancy myself something of a writer: I can join words together into grammatically-proper sentences with some semblance of voice and personality. But I just learned something that has shaken my writing confidence. Apparently my skillz are not transferable across all mediums... writing for the web is DIFFERENT. You web users don't really read, you SCAN. Yikes!

So what now? I get myself some books on the subject and figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'll keep you posted on what I learn and how we can all take better online advantage of those crazy little things called words.

There are no new ideas

Written by Nicole Braseth Thursday, 03 April 2008 00:00

There are only new ways of making them felt. (Audre Lorde)

This quote feels particularly applicable to the design industry. Dream up a brilliant layout, poster or website: someone's been there before you. But if you're good, you've made it FEEL like something new. In such a creative occupation, too many times we get caught up in the idea that something has to be truly original. Well forget it, it's not. And that's okay, because we can't create in a vacuum.

CHALLENGE! #1: Deathrace 2008

Written by Carson Pierce Wednesday, 02 April 2008 12:37

We have implemented a new program at Idea Market called CHALLENGE! wherein we choose a game or similar test of skill and compete for the coveted Spongebob Trophy. Today was the first such CHALLENGE!: a sort of mini-Deathrace using remote control cars and superhero figures. Points were awarded for each superhero we ran over, with bonus points for things like "making that one guy explode" or "dragging the one that looks like Steve across the floor". View on to see the ensuing carnage...

Page 10 of 18

Start
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next
End