2010

You’d never throw a party without sending invitations. Who wants to sit alone with four dozen spinach triangles and a couple cases of beer? (If you just answered, “I do!” then you might want to get out a little.) That’s effectively what you’re doing if you’re like one of the many people I talk who […]

It’s true that your website should be a reflection of your organization’s goals and audience, but there are a few proven tools that we suggest again and again because they simply work. They make a more interactive website. They drive more support. They deliver information most efficiently. I happen to be right, but you don’t

Thou shalt break up long pieces of text with bullets, for it is easier to scan that way. Thou shalt use short sentences, even if it feels thou art using more periods than commas. Punchy maketh for better reading. Thou shalt bow down and worship thine spell checker. Honor the inverted pyramid style of writing.

If you’ve never seen the words “how to” followed by “design by committee” without words like “throw yourself out a window because you were involved in this horror show known as” in between, you may be shocked to read on. You may be one of those people who’s been trapped on a committee and all

Simply launching a website is a success in itself, but how do you know if it’s hitting the mark with your audience? It’s a crucial question to ask so you know that the time, effort and money you put into your investment is paying off. The key is to set goals before you even begin

[This little gem is the e-mail newsletter our subscribers just received. Want a slice for yourself? Sign up now.] The best websites are organized websites. Plan your pages with a content analysis before you write one word. Here’s how to start: Define your writing style. You might appear in some of the most distinguished academic

Let everyone on your staff and board give feedback on your design, and apply everyone’s preferences. Put someone in charge who doesn’t care about the website. Replace pages or menu items with PDFs. Make your mission statement about six paragraphs long and put it front and center of the homepage. Hide the donation forms. It

[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_large”,”fid”:”732″,”attributes”:{“class”:”media-image”,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”style”:””,”width”:”500″,”height”:”375″,”alt”:”Zen Garden”}}]] Zen Garden by euart, on Flickr It’s 9 a.m., Monday morning. The phone is already ringing as you download the dozen or more e-mail messages that came in over the weekend. Someone pops their head into your office and tells you that the main printer has gone down and no one is there