TWU Web News

Maybe you're asking for too much: Keep online forms as brief as possible

2010-03-02T14:01:00.003-06:00

Whether it's because people always seem to be in a hurry on the Web, or because they're reluctant to give personal information when they think it might generate spam, it is generally true that the longer the web form you ask people to fill out, the fewer the people who will fill it out. Bob Johnson elaborates on this topic in his blog post Online inquiry forms... a special place for brevity.

Firefox 3.5: The World's Most Popular Browser

2009-12-21T11:53:00.004-06:00

The good news here is that Firefox, an open source project, is gaining ground on the proprietary behemoth, Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Why does that matter? Because the whole idea behind the World Wide Web was the creation of a platform that would allow the open exchange of information, regardless of the brand of the users' software. This open exchange of information relies on open standards developed by a large community of people without proprietary interests. Microsoft has often flouted open standards or twisted them to fit their own proprietary interests. Increasing market share from an open source project like Firefox applies pressure to Microsoft to keep its browser development in line with open standards. Read the article on Mashable.

How did Google beat Yahoo! in the Great Search Engine Race?

2009-08-17T14:10:00.005-05:00

Gerry McGovern, a web marketing specialist often quoted here, thinks that Google beat Yahoo! in the competition for top search engine by focusing more on the needs of its users. Yahoo!, he argues, focused more on the needs of its advertisers.

See Gerry's newsletter "The real difference between Google and Yahoo ."

How can we relate this focus to the TWU website?

For most TWU websites, the primary goal* is recruiting new students. To accomplish that goal, your department's website should focus on what potential students want to know or what they want to do when they come to your website. This may differ from what you want to tell them or what you want them to do when they come to your site. But if Gerry's right, we'll be more successful recruiting new students when we focus on what they want.

*not the only goal, but the most important one

Simpler is better

2009-07-21T17:26:00.004-05:00

I would not have made this so long except that I do not have the leisure to make it shorter.
-- Blaise Pascal, from a letter

Editing copy to make it shorter and easier to read, or designing web pages to make them simpler and easier to use are difficult tasks. It's one of the ironies of the human mind: making something complex is easier than making something simple. But simpler is nearly always better.

So I hope that Rosabeth Moss Kanter is right that simplicity is the next big thing.

How Users Read on the Web Redux

2009-07-03T16:43:00.001-05:00

by Leen Jones

They DO.

I feel the need to say what should be the obvious. Why? Because recently, while catching up on my Twitter feed, the following statement smacked me like a gauntlet:

It’s a fact that users don’t read, and we have to design for it. *

I was too late to join the conversation, but the statement has concerned me ever since. In the user experience and design communities, has an assumption locked our thought about reading so tight that we refer to it as a “fact?”

Read the whole "How Users Read on the Web Redux" piece...

Does your organization suffer from organaritis?

2009-06-12T15:56:00.002-05:00

Does your organization have organaritis? If you answer yes to one or more of the following questions you probably need to seek medical help:

Do you have pictures of very important people within your organization (your needy children) on your webpages?
Do these needy children require messages from them to be published prominently on the site?
Do you have big pictures of smiling actors pretending to be customers? (Shiny, happy people.)

See more organaritis questions in the full article...

You're so not welcome

2009-06-04T16:58:00.004-05:00

Just read a terrific little piece on doing away with "happy text" on websites. We all want to be polite and welcome visitors to our site, but the best way to do that is to build a better site, a site that gets to the point.

Read "You're so not welcome" on Brain Traffic's blog.

Writing Killer Web Headings and Links

2009-04-14T09:11:00.006-05:00

by Gerry McGovern

It's vital to get the first couple of words exactly right when writing effective web headings and links.

The first two words have a huge impact on whether or not people will click on a link according to a new study by Jakob Nielsen. This basically confirms the findings of a 2004 Eyetrack study from the Poynter Institute that found that, "Most people just look at the first couple of words-and only read on if they are engaged by those words. For headings-especially longer ones-it would appear that the first couple of words need to be real attention-grabbers if you want to capture eyes."

The Jakob Nielsen study tested 80 people and found that they typically see the first two words in a link. The study tested links from websites such as AT&T, Intel, Dell and UK Directgov.

The best links in the study:

* Used plain language
* Were specific and clear
* Used common words
* Started with the essence of the message
* Were action-oriented

The worst links in the study:

* Used bland, generic words
* Used made-up words or terms
* Started with after-dinner-speech-introduction language

Read the full article on Gerry McGovern's site...

Don't "Click Here"!

2009-02-24T14:46:00.008-06:00

We've all seen them and most of us have made them. Links that say "click here," that is. Some would call these kinds of links "crimes against hyptertext," but we would simply say, "There is a better way."

Instead of "click here" or "more," why not include words in the link text that help explain to site visitors what they can expect when they click on the link. So instead of...

Click here to learn more about our undergraduate program in Incredibology.

how about simply...

Learn more about our undergraduate program in Incredibology.

It's clear from the color of the text (and often an underline) that the text is a link, so people who've used the Web at all know to click on the link if they want more information on Incredibology.

And by including the relevant words in the link text itself, we can also help boost the "findability" of the content about the undergraduate program in Incredibology on our site. Search engines use links and link text as signs of relevance in search results.

PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption

2009-02-09T17:25:00.001-06:00

"Users get lost inside PDF files, which are typically big, linear text blobs that are optimized for print and unpleasant to read and navigate online. PDF is good for printing, but that's it. Don't use it for online presentation."

--Jakob Nielsen, well-know web usability expert, from his Alertbox newsletter

How Do People Find My Website?

2008-12-17T09:50:00.004-06:00

"When your target audience uses a Web search engine to find the products and services you offer, they type a set of words or phrases into the search box. These words are commonly called your site's keywords or keyword phrases."

"In order for your target audience to find your site on the search engines, your site's most important pages must contain keyword phrases that match the phrases your target audience is typing into search queries."

"The most important places to put keywords are:

The HTML title tag
Visible body text that can be copied and pasted directly from a Web browser into a text editor (such as Notepad or SimpleText)
Text in and around hypertext links
Visible body text that is above the fold (text that can be seen on a standard Web browser before you scroll down)."

— Shari Thurow, Search Engine Visibility

The Case for Deleting Content

2008-11-18T15:14:00.004-06:00

"Most customers come to your website to complete top tasks. The more irrelevant and out of date pages of content you have, the greater the chances they will arrive on these pages. There is simply nothing worse than presenting a customer with useless content. It infuriates them, wastes their time, and drives them away from your website like a plague."
--Gerry McGovern, from Business case for deleting content, New Thinking, gerrrymcgovern.com

Center Alignment: Rethink It!

2008-08-07T15:47:00.002-05:00

"Do you tend to automatically center everything? A centered alignment is the most common alignment that beginners use--it's very safe, it feels comfortable. A centered alignment creates a more formal look, a more sedate look, a more ordinary and oftentimes downright dull look. Take notice of the designs you like. I guarantee most designs that have a sophisticated look are not centered. I know it's difficult, as a beginner, to break away from centered alignment; you'll have to force yourself to do it at first. But combine a strong flush right or left alignment with good use of proximity and you will be amazed at the change in your work."
--Robin Williams, The Non-designers Design Book

Nobody Cares

2008-06-27T11:24:00.007-05:00

"Nobody cares about the vision and the mission statement. The Web is about putting a vision into action, not talking about it. Nobody cares about how much money is being invested in health care. They're at a health website to solve a health problem, not to eulogize the Department of Health."

-- Gerry McGovern, from "What is the Role of Government on the Web" Part 3 of 3

Like any other blanket statement that tries to define the one thing the Web is about, this one is an exaggeration made for effect. (Blogs, after all, are very much about "talking about it.") Still, the point Gerry is trying to make is a good one.

What do people who visit your website want to do? Did they come to your site to read about how great you think your department is, or did they come for answers to THEIR questions or solutions to THEIR problems?

Web Sites Can't Replace All Human Contact

2008-03-10T09:20:00.003-05:00

Somewhere along the way we realized that a good Web site (a site that gives visitors what they want) can help reduce the number of phone calls or emails we receive. That's a good thing, of course, but we need to keep in mind that trying to use a Web site to replace all human contact with our clients (students, faculty, staff, etc.) is not a good idea.

For more on this subject, check out Web content expert Gerry McGovern's column, Finding People: Top Task on the Web.

Updated Webspinner Guide

2008-02-12T14:15:00.000-06:00

The Webspinner Guide has been updated to reflect the changes in the new look and feel of the TWU Web management system. Here you will find screenshots of the new templates along with accessibility guidelines and other Webspinner resources.

New Web Management System

2008-02-01T11:04:00.000-06:00

Many of you have heard that a new system for publishing to the Web is coming to TWU. The RedDot Web Management System (WMS) will replace the current process that requires the use of FrontPage or Dreamweaver. Instead, the new WMS will allow you to change your Web pages using only a Web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc.).

Starting the first week of February, we will hold orientation sessions on preparing your site for the move into the new design using the WMS. Webspinner training on the new system will begin in the first weeks of April.

We look forward to working with you to prepare your Web sites for the new WMS.

What Is a Web Management System (WMS)?

2008-02-01T10:00:00.001-06:00

A Web Management System (WMS) is a software application designed to simplify many of the tasks involved in publishing and maintaining a Web site. Web Management Systems are also often called "Content Management Systems (CMS)" or "Web Content Management Systems (WCMS)."

TWU has chosen the RedDot CMS as our Web Management System. The RedDot system is used by a number of higher education institutions, as well as many other public and private sector organizations.

The new TWU WMS will simplify the Web publishing process by allowing Webspinners to publish and maintain their Web sites using only a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Netscape, Opera, etc.). It will eliminate the need for FrontPage or Dreamweaver.

Although the new WMS will be easier to use than our current system, as with any new system it will require some training. The web team will develop training classes and materials for the new WMS that will be available when the move to the new WMS begins . We will work with you so that you have the opportunity to attend a training class before your Web site is moved to the WMS.

What's This Web Team Thing All About?

2008-02-01T10:00:00.000-06:00

The TWU Web Team was formed to

manage the day-to-day issues of the TWU Web site,
select, implement, and manage a Web Management System (WMS),
redesign the look and feel of twu.edu,
train and support Webspinners in their Web publishing duties,
determine and enforce standards for Web publication.

The team is a cooperative group consisting of four people from three departments:

Nancy Gotcher, Web Designer, Academic Affairs: Duties: webspinner support for College of Professional Education, College of Health Sciences, Academic Affairs, Academics, Faculty Senate, Research and Sponsored Programs, Staff Council, Undergraduate Studies
Gavin DeCuir, Web Designer, Academic Affairs: Duties: webspinner support for College of Nursing, College of Arts and Sciences, Academic Financial Services, Graduate School, Institutional Effectiveness, Institutional Research and Planning, Lifelong Learning
Van Nguyen, Web Administrator, ITS: Duties: General Web server administration, Web site security, webspinner support for Human Resources, Finance and Administration
Scott Bynum, Mgr of Web Marketing, Marketing & Communication: Duties: General Web marketing, TWU home page and related pages, webspinner support for Admissions, Institutional Development

If you're not sure who to contact, send us an email at webteam@twu.edu and we'll figure it out.