.ben* : Web Content Design

Titles, metadata’s #1 superhero ability

Ben Ellwood — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:00:27 +0000

Titles are the hardest working pieces of writing on your site, and will be seen many more times than the page itself. Readers will see the page title as a link, either on your own site or somewhere else so It's essential that page titles make sense when used outside the context of the original page.

Should you write for the web?

Ben Ellwood — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:00:36 +0000

Text is just one way of communicating online. As a web user what methods do you find easiest? Are you making it easy for your readers to engage with you?

Measuring dissatisfaction

Ben Ellwood — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:00:35 +0000

The Microsoft Office Online team started to measure the dissatisfaction of customers using their site, instigating radical changes in how they managed their site.

Ignore your visitors

Ben Ellwood — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:51:09 +0000

Visitor counts and page views do not provide useful information when analysing visitors to your site when not used alongside other details. Statistical reporting needs to involve analysis, not copy & paste.

Metadata, superhero of the Internet

Ben Ellwood — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:01:09 +0000

Wearing their underwear on the outside gives superheroes special powers. Everybody knows this to be true. Just as Superman keeps Metropolis safe and Batman watches over Gotham City, Metadata is busy fighting crime and saving the Internet.

Create action, measure success

Ben Ellwood — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:18:13 +0000

Every web page should incite an action from your reader. A strong call to action makes broswing simple and keeps objectives in focus. For each page you create, ask yourself: * What is the purpose of the page? * What do I want the reader to do next? * How can I measure the success?