Tuitive Blog

How to hire a web designer

2010-06-10T14:27:09Z

Every week I have conversations with folks needing a shiny new website. While some know exactly what questions to ask, many clearly have no idea. If you’ve never had to hire a web design firm, here’s what you need to know:

Visual design

Look at portfolios and find a firm that shares your design aesthetic preferences. Make sure enough of your budget is allocated to achieving the level of visual design that you’re seeking.

BONUS: Avoid asking for a “design that pops” or to “make the logo bigger.” If you do, you’ll be feeding the collective angst and eye-rolling of the design community. (I’ll probably get whacked for divulging those inside jokes, but I had to warn you.)

Branding

If your corporate brand is stale or ill-defined, so will your website be. Get your logo and image in shape by working with a branding expert first if necessary. A good brand provides the essential foundation needed to create the right website.

Size

A 100-page site based on the exact same template could cost less than a 10-page site where each page has a unique layout. It all depends, but size does matter.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Fact: People are searching online right now for what you have to offer. Will they find you? That depends on how optimized your site is for certain keywords and phrases.

Photography

No amount of brilliant design can compensate for lousy photography. Decent “microstock” photos can be found for cheap, but when quality is critical you should consider higher-end stock photography or custom photography from an actual photographer.

Content creation

Many clients who say they’ll create all of the website content underestimate the effort this truly takes. For quality’s sake – and sanity’s – a professional copy writer can be indispensible.

Content management

You’re going to want to keep your website fresh, right? I hope so, and for that you’ll want a robust content management system that allows you to update the site as needed.

eCommerce

There are lots of ecommerce platforms available that span the entire cost and features spectrum. Make sure the one you pick gives you the features you need at the price that makes sense for your sales volume.

Other bells and whistles

Does your site need to tie into a third-party application? Need a highly refined mobile or print version? These are usually extras, so make sure you discuss any special requirements with your web design firm so they can plan and price accordingly.

Speaking of price, what’s your budget?

Have the financial discussion first because the rest of the discussion needs to be had in that context. There is just no sense is talking with a firm that focuses on $75,000 sites if you only have $5,000 to spend (or vice-versa).

Your budget is like a milkshake, and each of the items noted above wants to put its straw in your milkshake and slurp away your budget. The good news is that you get to choose how big of a straw each items gets, and which get straws at all (try our Website Guesstimator to see what I mean). Also, each web design firm has different levels of expertise and experience working with these different straws (none of us are awesome at EVERYthing). The web design firm that can best work with your size milkshake and has the right experience with the straws you need will be the best web design firm for you.

Tuitive Website Guesstimator

2010-06-10T11:36:23Z

Here's a little tool we're working on to help get the budget discussion started. Is it accurate? No, but it's not NOT accurate either.

Why is technology so hard to use?

2010-06-10T01:46:12Z

SXSW- An Immersion into the Industry

2010-05-25T16:29:02Z

There’s no doubt that being at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference is intimidating – surrounded by experts, standing in endless lines, trying to find seats – but it’s also by far one of the most exciting events I’ve been a part of in my career. I went to loads of wonderful seminars, and learned a lot, but the thing I found most amazing about the whole experience was the level of diversity among session topics. All the major experts were there to speak on what they were most passionate about, which made for a very inspiring 6 days!

One of my favorite session was The History of the Button, presented by Bill DeRouchey. He explained how the evolution of human–machine interaction started with the lever and progressed through to the button, which introduced a concept of interaction here and reaction there. This complex interaction between the action and the result is commonplace to us these days, but its invention was extremely revolutionary and is often overlooked as one of the technological turning points for the human race. It was truly fascinating to see how the human brain has caused the button to evolve from a flashlight switch to a icon on a computer.

Another impressive session was AI 2010: Wall–e or Rise of the Machines, which covered the evolution of artificial intelligence and the role it is able to fill or fall short of in our lives. For example, search engines, as far as they have come, still lack the ability to answer questions such as "Is the space needle taller than the Eiffel tower?" or "Who was president when Obama was born?" Google and Yahoo will return articles about the Space needle or President Obama but are unable to understand the question and return a concise answer. While technology has not yet reached a point where search engines can fully understand us, it has achieved a soccer–playing humanoid robot that can make action decisions based on the position of its teammates and the ball. According to this SXSW session, in our quest to achieve Artificial Intelligence, the gap between humans and computers will blur.

The final lesson I took away from SXSW this year was geo–location. Prior to this conference geo–location was just a buzzword to me; I had encountered it before in the office but never had a real need for it. But in Austin, TX – an extremely diverse city with a rich selection of places to eat, clubs and bars to visit, knick knack shops, and tourism attractions – finding things to do or places to eat can be overwhelming without a personal tour guide and using a yellow pages or travel book to help you … Pphhhssstt! Whatever, that is so 4 years ago. Enter from stage left: AroundMe and Google Places. Both of these programs can zero in on a location, then gives an approximate distance to a point of interest (POI) selected by the user from a list of categories (ie: ATM, Food, Hotel, Bar, Bus stops, Banks). They even offer the choice of travel method (bicycle, bus, car, or foot) as well as providing contact information. Thanks to geo–location, I was able to find places to eat and get back to the conference without missing any seminars…as well as just looking cool by joining the crowds spending hours starting at our phones.

Some parting words of advice for all those who attend conferences such as SXSW, the early bird gets the worm, or in this case a seat, and bring a pedometer because you will be doing a lot of walking. There may be a half hour between each session, but in that time, you will need all that time to walk from Ballroom F to Exhibition Hall B while fighting the masses (all looking at their phones) to arrive early enough to get seated. In addition, the location where you stay during the conference will greatly impact your overall experience of the conference. While you may get to chat with a few people between sessions, the real networking and "interactive" part of the conference comes after the convention center is closed for the day, and the after–parties and social gatherings get started.

Looking ahead to next year, I can’t wait to see what tidbits of technology will bring us closer to the city, the conference, and the experience that makes SXSW so much fun to attend. I am looking forward to next year and the whole new round of topics and new ideas presented to us, hope to see everyone there!

Why Mobile Web Browsing Stinks

2010-04-18T15:40:15Z

Last week Opera Mini was released for the iPhone, and evidently it is going pretty well. For the uninitiated Opera is the grandfather of geeky web browsers. If you have an uber-geek in your life, they have used Opera, and they probably have a definitive opinion of it. This post is not actually about Opera, however, but if you would like to learn more I encourage you to check out their website.

So what is this post about then?
It is about the fact that mobile web browsing is terrible. The screen is too small to effectively use a fully functioning website. Browsing fully functioning websites with your mobile phone browser is one of a handful of desktop computing artifacts still hanging on in the move to the mobile web. Using an Internet-connected mobile device is a completely different experience than sitting at your desk with a 24" monitor (or 2), full keyboard, headphones, mouse, ergonomic desk chair, phone and beverage of your choice.

So why do we continue to try to simply port things that work well on the desktop into the mobile world? There is no clear answer to this question, but I suspect it has to do with companies being comfortable with the normal and familiar as well as with the lack of feedback opportunities mobile users have to tell their favorite website that they would like a mobile version. Through the use of individual applications designed specifically for a mobile device, users can have richer, more satisfying experiences with the mobile Internet without having to squint, pan, zoom, double-tap, and mis-click their way around massive websites.

Users are not looking to see an entire site from their mobile device. They are on-the-go out in the world, and they usually are looking for quick contact and location information. As more users move to mobile devices, companies will be forced to begin creating experiences specifically targeted at this growing market. Creating a version of website that is formatted for mobile devices is a small investment that will allow users to get what they need from a site, when they need it, and continue on with their busy lives.

Until next time, keep it usable Internets

At War with the Soda Machine

2010-04-12T18:10:32Z

Working here has made me infinitely more aware of usability in everyday things. Some days I think my hubby’s ready to throw his shoe at me if I say “that’s just not usable” one more time. We had one such encounter over the weekend when we stopped to get a soda from a conveniently located machine. (I apologize for the bad resolution – there’s only so much you can do with an iPhone in a shadowy hallway.)

Take a close look … if you put your coins in that machine, where would you instinctively want to push to deploy your soda? The big shiny button picturing the actual bottle of soda, right?

But no! There are still old-style buttons on the side that have to be selected for purchase.

It’s a small detail, but considering that soda companies are now using both functionalities, it made me pause before I actually made my purchase – it wasn’t automatic. If I had put my money in, pushed the button and gotten my soda, I would have thought nothing of this interaction. I wouldn’t have growled and said “this is bad usability.” My husband wouldn’t have rolled his eyes. And so on.

But the fact that the machine didn’t do what I thought it should at first glance made me feel like maybe I was doing something wrong, or maybe I was too old to understand these new-fangled machines, or maybe even the machine was broken. But none of those were true. And in the end, it just made feel like I should have bought a Coke.

Lessons from SXSW 2010 - Visual Problem Solving

2010-04-04T12:24:56Z

First I would like to say that I loved SXSW. I learned a lot, met some interesting people, and had a great time with the Tuitive team!

Humans are visual beings. We need to know what is going to try and eat us, we also need to know what food is safe to eat. These are pretty basic problems with very serious consequences. As the world gets more complicated, the problems we all have to try and solve are getting more complicated too. The consequences of these problems might not be as dire, but successfully solving these problems is important for our immediate well-being.

Humans are extremely proficient at processing tangible things. You know something is a chair instantly if it has a place for your back and your butt. Now I want you to try and describe to someone what a chair is.

Go ahead...I'll wait.

Would it have been easier to show an example of a chair, or draw a picture?

For years and years I have tried to collect evidence and present solutions to a problem in typed words. Rarely was this solution easy to understand without reading every word, and sometimes even then the solutions was not immediately obvious to anyone else but me.

So, Dan Roam basically changed my life. I am now trying to be a sketcher first, and writer last. I am trying to outline my ideas visually before firing up my word processor and attempting to write what I mean.

(I know it is all words, I am trying...sheesh!)

There is my blog post. I could muddle it up with more words, and I have, but that is every insightful thing I have to say in this post.

So to summarize... look at this picture!

Keep it usable Internets!

This blog post was inspired by Dan Roam's South By South West session - "Blah, Blah, Blah - When Words Won't Work." You can learn more about Dan on his website - http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/ or his blog http://www.digitalroam.typepad.com/

My SXSW Highlights - coffee, Amy's, @leolaporte, Surface, Macs everywhere, BBQ, Crawfish Boil, The Library, Live Diggnation, So.Many.Lines., Usability jumps the shark, The Train, Monorail!

Lessons From SXSW 2010

2010-03-29T13:26:29Z

The team at Tuitive was fortunate enough to attend the 2010 South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference in Austin, Texas. This was the first time going for each of us, and we learned a lot, had a ton of fun and met with some great people. Here’s a smattering of insights and recommendations from my time there…

Watch Passionate Presenters

One tip I can pass along from attending panels is to seek out people with personality and passion. It almost doesn’t matter what they are talking about but if they are passionate and knowledgeable you are guaranteed to take home something useful. I saw a number of great speakers, my faves from the week being Ze Frank, Gary Vaynerchuk, Mark Cuban, David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried from 37signals, and designer Daniel Burka.

Geolocation is the Next Big Thing

The most noticeable technology trend that people at SXSW were excited about was geolocation, or using a mobile device to announce where you’re at, be it a store, landmark, etc. Think of it as a Twitter or Facebook status update containing information about where you’re at physically.

There are a couple of foreseeable use cases for this, for example to tell your friends what bar you’re at on a Friday night, or to “check in” to a store and receive a discount or free gift.

Two companies have emerged in this space, Foursquare and Gowalla, and both seemed to be used heavily at SXSW. The latest reports show both running neck-and-neck in terms of usage. Expect to hear a lot more from this field in the coming months.

Prototypes vs Wireframes

A noticeable theme from the design panels was the emphasis on building interactive prototypes for web applications rather than spending time building traditional annotated wireframes. A prototype allows you to see a feature “in action” and close to its finished environment. Using HTML and in-browser prototypes is one of my favorite design techniques, so I was pleased to see its usage spreading. Every designer I saw did heartily recommend sketching before anything else, and I believe for a lot of designers this has become their “wireframing” phase.

Usability Has Been Swallowed By UX

Usability wasn’t brought up very often and not once did I hear the term “user-centered design”. I think at this point usability and user research are a foregone conclusion, and people on the forefront of design and technology are assuming that this is an integral part of the process. Now I think designers are concentrating more on how to improve the overall user experience, including motivations users have for wanting to engage with products.

Random Highlights

Live Diggnation, sake bombs, crushins, free t-shirts, long lines, big escalators, varying degrees of comfortable seating, those things that destroy your tires when you drive over them, musical note pillows, trying to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan, pocket guides, and crawfish. See you next year!

I Deleted My Twitter Account!

2010-03-23T12:39:49Z

I accidentally deleted my Twitter account last week. Yes, yes, I know—that’s like accidentally driving one’s car off the road or misplacing one’s pants. So how did I do it? Glad you asked.

Like many folks, I manage more than one Twitter account. For example, I have my personal Twitter account, a business account for Tuitive, and then a couple extra accounts related to some side projects. I mistakenly thought I was logged in as one of these extra accounts when I made my way to Twitter’s account deactivation screen, as shown here:

Notice anything telling in the above screenshot? I didn’t either, and that’s the problem! While this screen does a great job of describing the dire, irreversible nature of deactivating a Twitter account, there is no indication anywhere as to which account I am logged into and about to deactivate. I assumed incorrectly and pushed the button.

I was pretty shocked when I realized I had deactivated my personal Twitter account. To add insult to injury, Twitter would not let me create a new account using my previous username or email address, meaning it wasn’t really deleted. It was just caught in some sort of Twitter purgatory, stuck between the world of the active account and that of the deleted damned.

Fortunately after a few days of pleading-via-email, Twitter support had mercy on me and restored my account. (It came with a polite admonition, however, that this was a one-time favor.)

So, happy ending. Crisis averted. Problem solved. But what a waste of time and energy, both on my part and that of Charles at Twitter support. Here’s a super simple usability tweak to the HTML on the Twitter account deactivation screen that I’m sure would have prevented this issue from happening in the first place:

The best part is, in the time it has taken for you to read this, a Twitter developer could have implemented this and perhaps prevented another careless fool like me from making a similar mistake.

Like many usability tweaks, simple changes have huge impacts that can prevent a lot of heartache. And we all know that an ounce of prevention is worth pounds of tech support.

No seriously, you are not your user

2010-03-08T09:00:47Z

I recently ran across this video again, and there is no clearer example of who you should really be thinking about when you are building a website or web-based software. Watch the video and we will catch-up after.

I know, right! Granted this is a Google Chrome advertisement, but it is a very real look at very real users. These people are not web designers, or developers. However, they are everyday people who use computers all the time and still have a hard time understanding the concept of a browser. When designing a product that is easy to use, you must make design decisions base on more of these types of users than any other kind. So keep these users in your mind, your heart, and keep this video around for inspiration in the future.

Now I need to find that big E to post this to the Internets through my AOL broadband…

The Public Speaker’s User Experience

2010-02-24T13:16:23Z

As those of you on our e-mailing list know, Tuitive is embarking on a campaign to become sought-after public speakers. While presenting in front of a large group scares the daylights out of most people, for some reason our motley crew is really excited by the chance to get out and share our expertise with the world.

So in order to prepare for this adventure, we’ve each been developing presentations on our area of expertise as they relate to Tuitive’s core mission – then giving the presentations to each other. I spoke at my high school graduation and I’ve taught dozens of courses all over this lovely country, but this little group made me more nervous than most. Something about the fact that they all know my strengths and weaknesses, I'm sure.

I'd worked diligently on my presentation (with the thrilling title “Your Client’s User Experience”), including talking extensively to Jon (our boss), digging up relatable stories, writing notes, rewriting notes, rehearsing, and even learning Prezi (new-fangled presentation software for those unfamiliar). I put several weeks into it. But no matter how much thought I put into it, no matter how many hours, I was still bored by the damned thing. And that boredom came across when I presented to the Tuitive team.

We have a policy of being brutally honest with each other about our performances. Not cruel, mind you, but honest. Our philosophy is (1) it’s better to hear it from a teammate than go out in the world looking like an idiot, and (2) what each of us does in the name of Tuitive reflects on us all. So they let me have it: it felt rushed, there wasn’t enough audience involvement, there weren’t enough images, and so on. They were all 100% right. And I could have handed everyone a list before I even turned on the projector telling them exactly the same things.

My disinterest in my presentation came through. It’s not that I didn’t believe what I was saying, but it all seemed so elementary and common sense – like something you could find easily in 20 different business self-help books at Border’s. It didn’t feel useful and therefore I had no passion for it.

A couple months back, however, I had given a presentation to the team that I was passionate about: grammar. No laughing – I love grammar. Perhaps it’s because it’s been hammered into me since I was old enough to talk, but I have a passion for it, and it makes me absolutely insane to hear the English language butchered regularly.

You might assume that a presentation on grammar would be far more boring to the audience than one about creating a positive client experience, right? But no, the team really liked the grammar presentation – we spent well over 2 hours going through it and discussing it, and it’s definitely changed everyone’s writing and speaking styles. Although we still have the same technical skill sets we had before the grammar lesson, we all now sound more intelligent and competent in our writing and speech.

So why did this presentation have more impact than the one about client experience? Because I was able to put myself into it. I'm passionate about educating others on this subject. (I'm passionate about client experience, too, just not about educating everyone on the subject!) My enthusiasm was infectious, the audience got involved, they remembered what they’d been taught.

The irony of the poor user experience I'd created for the attendees of my presentation on improving client user experience was not lost on me. So I'm keeping that client user experience presentation, working on improving its content, getting the audience more involved, slowing down, and finding my passion for educating on that subject as well. But for the moment, the grammar presentation is out front with me, ready to educate the world about the difference between “that” and “who.”

Amanda is available for speaking engagements, and would be thrilled to give her presentation “Grammar: Common Pitfalls and Mistakes (Or ‘How I’s Be Larnin’ to Rite Good’).” Contact her at amanda@tuitivegroup.com for more information.

Counterpoint: It’s All About Search

2010-01-17T22:34:33Z

Disclaimer – Despite the fact that I first learned personal computing as it exists today via an Apple, I have long since drifted away from Mac as my preferred computing format. I switched to Windows OS in college, but tried to return to Mac in 2008. I did not enjoy the experience, finding it too restrictive. That said, I have been an iPhone user for nearly 2 years now (as I patiently await the release of Windows Mobile 7).

Travis, you ignorant slut.

While I do agree with you that the App Store is not working, I believe it’s because of a lack of options, not an overabundance. Specifically, the lack of options and functionality surrounding search. Perhaps I'm spoiled to the search functions of Microsoft products, such as Outlook, that give me options of what to search and how to search, but I find the App Store’s lone search box woefully lacking. I have no opportunity to select options such as “show by rating,” “show by relevance,” “search only last 6 months,” “search only the utilities category” – you get the idea. Granted, under individual categories, I have some options, but that doesn’t really help when I'm searching for a very specific app type.

Recently, I attempted to find a task list program for the iPhone that would allow me to use task lists on my iPhone. (That’s right, non-iPhone users, there’s no native task list functionality on the platform.) I wanted an app that allowed me to schedule recurrence, set a deadlines, use multiple lists, sync with Outlook, categorize, and send me reminders. But all I could enter was one little search box. With those criteria, the search data returned was maddening. A little more than half of the results returned were actually focused on task lists, others included grocery lists, note taking apps, and even a sketching app or two . I tried a variety of search terms such as “business task list,” “outlook task list, “ and “selectable task list.” No dice.

Thusly I began the arduous task of wading through all the options out there. I wanted to read other users’ reviews, but I didn’t want to restrict myself to only checking out the apps that popped up first in the list. But reading reviews after selecting “show me 25 more” multiple times is exasperating. After finishing a reviews for a specific app, the App Store returns the user back to the initial list of 25. Heaven forbid you’ve made it down to app #210 – you’ll wind up selecting “show me 25 more 8 times before getting back to where you left off! Argh! Had I been able to better whittle down my search by specific criteria, I could have saved hours.

Now I know, Travis, that you oppose the free apps, but after my experience, I say thank goodness for the free options. Most quality developers provide a free mini version of their apps, so I was able to try a dozen or so before actually paying for anything. I would have been furious if I'd had to pay even 99 cents for every app I tried. Yes, the iBeer app and others like it are pointless. But remember, this is not a business phone (or it would have a native task list app), but a general purpose phone. That means frat boys are going to want their Virtual Lighter app, teenage girls will want their Hairstyle app, and someone with too much time on their hands will want the More Toast! virtual toast app.

I know it will come as no shock to you, Travis, that I can’t stand the Apple “we know best” way of thinking. I totally understand that it makes some people feel safe and comfortable, but the last time I tried owning a Mac, I nearly went out of my mind not being able to customize my computer the way I wanted to use it.

(And for those who are curious, I wound up buying and trying 3 different apps over the course of 2 months before finally giving up altogether. Now I use a combination of Outlook’s task lists and Post-its.)

Point: It’s All About Choice?

2010-01-11T14:37:31Z

Disclaimer- I have been an Apple user since my childhood. I have been using Macs exclusively since 2001, and I don’t plan on ever going back to Windows … ever.

After finally moving to the iPhone, I can now talk intelligently on the iTunes App Store, and more specifically tell your why it is not working.

The App Store is the antithesis of Apple. Apple is providing a platform, the iPhone, and allowing anyone to create software to run on the platform. The App Store represents the “Microsoft-ing” of the iPhone platform. This is exactly how Windows has been operating for decades. Since its inception Apple has been providing a limited product line-up, which they control from creation to retail, with a “we know how to innovate” attitude. This attitude is highlighted in this article where Steve Jobs admits that Apple doesn’t do market research, and essentially they could care less what their customers have to say. This attitude might not be the best, but many people are excited about the innovative products Apple creates. With the App Store, the control to innovate is being taken away from Apple and given to the masses.

There are many reasons why I enjoy living in Apple’s world, not least of which is I am tired of having to make so many decisions about electronics. People have too many important daily decisions to make about food, shelter, and transportation that they really don’t need to be deciding on which of 12 video cards they should buy. For example, I have been looking to buy an HDTV for the better part of 2 years. I know the specs, I have the cash, but there are too many choices, and the choices keep changing. It is too much for me to take. People say they want as many choices as possible, that they don’t want to be fenced in, and they want options. This, friends, is simply not true. People only say they want options so they can shift blame to the choices, and away from their ability to choose correctly. “I thought this was going to be the best HDTV, but there are too many choices; how was I supposed to know?” This mindset is more of a defense mechanism than a true ideological stance.

The Apps Store brings too many choices to the iPhone. To make matters worse, gathering information on all these apps to make an informed decision is practically impossible. Let’s try an experiment. Please search for a utilitarian app, something that serves a purpose and the iPhone is perfect for: a grocery list app. I’ll wait … for those of you without iPhones here is a screenshot of what you get.

In total there are 112 apps that come up when you search for “grocery list.” Admittedly, some of the apps are not relevant, but the majority of they are. How do I know which one is the best? Apple used to tell me what was the best, or at least there were only one or two options. Now Apple makes me wade through dozens of apps and go through a clunky download process to see if I will like the app. And because there are so many apps, I am always wondering, “Well is there another app that is a little better out there?” Now I have to think about which grocery store app to use, and not something more important, like feeding my dog – which I am sure there is an app for, but how do I know it is the best one for my dog and me? Will I ever know?

Now some of you might be thinking about the App Store approval process, where each app is carefully screened, and only the good ones make it. (Warning, from here on all links will open in iTunes) To that I would say, “Raspberries!” There is an app in the App Store called “Hold On.” It is an app that records how long you can hold down a button, and it now has multiplayer functionality via Bluetooth (no, seriously).

Really? This was rigorously approved? Come on … and let’s not even talk about all the flatulence apps. So in the spirit of offering solutions with my complaints, here is what I think should happen:

1) Apple should create more apps in-house. This will allow them to continue to innovate, and create better apps for their platform.

2) All apps should be $.99 or more. The free apps are the heaviest weight pulling Apple into the mud. If the application is good enough, people will buy it.

3) Focus apps to match the strengths of the iPhone, portability, multi-touch, accelerometer, geo-location, and the Internet. The iBeer app does not really leverage any of these strengths well.

In conclusion, Apple – please stop pandering to the masses. I know the revenue is nice, but you were already a successful company and the iPhone already has a HUGE profit margin. The iPhone has gotten you into more houses than ever, but is this really the company you want to be keeping? You are who you associate with, and I can’t see this going anywhere good. You have been warned …

The Perils of DIY Content

2009-11-18T14:47:34Z

Content. Such a pleasant little noun – sitting there all passive and non-threatening, right? Just try to create all the content for your web-based project, and see how non-threatening it is. I’ve seen grown men in the throes of a website re-development project weep at the mention of content delivery.

Content delivery has got to be the number 1 stumbling block for web projects. It seems easy – you know your product, your company, your service. The user testing and information architecture have already told you how it needs to be organized – you just need to write it down. Why not save on your budget by doing it yourself? Simple.

Two weeks later, you’re knee-deep in re-written drafts, chasing 12 other team members who owe you information, and pulling your hair out by the roots. Not fun.

Content creation is tough. It’s time-consuming, detail-focused, and research-heavy. Just because someone runs a fantastic business and knows every in and out of that business doesn’t mean that that person is qualified to put all their knowledge into words.

If you’re thinking of writing content for your web-based project, consider these issues first:

Time – How much free time do you have right now? Do you want to start spending that free time writing web copy? For every page of text on a website, you can assume about 2-4 hours of a professional web copywriter’s time went into research, writing, and editing. Non-professionals can easily double that. Take a moment and put a price tag on your time and your team’s time before you decide to write it all internally.
Objectivity – It’s tough to write about yourself. It’s the same when trying to write about your business. You know everything about it, so naturally, when you start writing, you start communicating everything. Your target audience doesn’t want to know everything. They want to know enough, not be inundated by information. Can you be objective enough to know what to cut and what to keep?
Tightening your writing – Tuitive’s benchmark statement on writing for the web is “write down what you think needs to be said, then cut it in half, then cut it in half again.” The copy for your web project needs to be simple and informative. Readers should be able to scan for the information they want and move through the site quickly and intuitively. Do you know what keywords your readers are really seeking?
Search engine optimization (SEO) – Do you know how to optimize your content to be maximally enticing to search engines? How about writing header tags? Entering alt text? Setting up 301 redirects? Are you sure you’re not doing something that will get your blacklisted? Google pays mathematicians truckloads of money to create search algorithms, and SEO companies spend truckloads of money figuring ways to manipulate those algorithms. Take advantage of their knowledge. We do.

Knowing what information is appropriate for a project and the most effective way to present that information is an art form, not something that can be dashed off in a few hours. Anyone considering a new web-based project should carefully consider the short-term expense of paying a professional copywriter vs. the long-term costs of “doing it yourself.” Leave it to the professionals.

Indiana World Usability Day 2009 Event

2009-11-09T14:34:47Z

Tuitive will be at the Fifth Annual World Usability Day this Thursday, 11/12/09, at the IUPUI Student Center (map). Online registration is now closed, but walk-in registrations are welcome.

The schedule for the day:

8 – 9 a.m.: Registration and posters set up
9 – 9:50 a.m.: “Usability challenges for a ‘paperless’ office” By Ken Schockman
10 – 10:50 a.m.: Two parallel sessions
- Session A: “Ecological psychology: How to persuade people to act sustainably” by Suzi Shapiro, PhD
- Session B: “Introduction to Usability” by Richard Bellaver
11 – 11:50 a.m.: “Usability Tools” by Mike Miserendino
Noon: Lunch and drawings for prizes (including usability books donated by Pearson Publishing)
12:30 – 1:20 p.m.: Keynote address “Sustainability & Usability in Indiana Architecture” by Rod Collier
1:30 – 2:20 p.m.: “State of the State: Usability in Indiana” panel discussion including Tony Faiola, PhD, Travis Smith, and Mark Larew, PhD
2:30 – 3:20 p.m.: Indiana UPA Chapter Forum

Hope to see you there!

More information is available at the Indiana Usability Professionals Association website: http://indiana-upa.org/ind_wud2009.html.