Archive | Usability
Creating effective user personas
Last week I was in the Mango Languages office for a Refresh Detroit meeting and I noticed something interesting, two manikins in the middle of their space. The wall next to them was titled “Tom” and filled with all the aspects of their target user. I promised I would not reveal their secrets but it [...]
Continue reading...What Is Web Communication?
Increasingly, web professionals in higher ed are debating their titles. What does it mean to be in ‘Web Communication’? Is it more professional suicide or clout to have ‘Social Media’ in your title? Could it be more beneficial to be in a different department?
Continue reading...Redesign Your University Website According to xkcd
I’m sure most of you saw the University Website xkcd comic last week and shook your fists in the air. The front page of a university website is a battleground, no doubt. Dylan Wilbanks posted a good reaction to the comic on his blog and Steve Kolowich covered it extensively in Inside Higher Ed.
Continue reading...Website Optimization: The Why and How (Part II)
In my post yesterday I talked about why it is important to optimize your website. This post will focus on how to do that.
Continue reading...Website Optimization: The Why and How (Part I)
When I talk about web optimization I’m specifically talking about all the technical things that you can do to speed up the load time of your web pages. Let’s be honest, there are A LOT of things that you can do to improve this as we will cover over this two part article. The first [...]
Continue reading...QA on Higher Education Web sites. How to do it and what to look for.
Running a web office I see a lot of sites, quality assurance is part of every minute of my day. Everything I see goes through the same quality checks otherwise we don’t launch it. Tools and people will come and go, quality on the other hand is the one thing in a web office that [...]
Continue reading...Where is the fold? Google browser size vs. actual heatmap
Google released a tool yesterday called Google Browser Size in effort to show how users with various screen sizes see your site. They also wrote up a blog post about it.
Continue reading...Don’t lose your identity - Create an effective print style sheet
Making a Web site flexible is an art. Not only does your site have to look good cross browser on screen but also scale down gracefully for a mobile phone or print.
Continue reading...Save your sanity and use a grid
University web designers have a tough enough job as it is, juggling users needs while pleasing committees and numerous other stakeholders. Doesn’t matter if your web office has complete control or just influence, using a grid can make completely unrelated sites look uniform.
Continue reading...Are you human? is CAPTCHA needed? Some Alternatives.
If you have ever filled out a form online you have probably encountered a CAPTCHA. They come in many shapes and sizes. I am going to detail methods I’ve used to block bots from taking advantage of forms and their pros and cons. If you use a technique that’s not below just comment, the more [...]
Continue reading...
5 Comments