Tryangled Solutions web designing tips tricks

Columns with identical information in different tables should be declared to have identical data types so that joins based on the corresponding columns will be faster.

Maybe some of you smart designer/developer folks can help out a young naive beginner by helping me understand why I’m using only divs, why I spend so much time getting everything to validate, etc.

Answer:

You shouldn’t be using only divs, there are lots of other HTML tags out there that have a purpose and are useful. Check out my Divitis article for more information.

As for why you’re spending so much time getting everything to validate, well my first (yes, somewhat sarcastic) answer that comes to mind is “because you are a young, naive beginner.”

Seriously, validating is important to make sure that your code works now and in the future. I’ve got an article on this subject too: Why Validate Your HTML.

As you get more experienced you’ll spend less time working on code to get it to validate. But if you don’t spend the time now, you’ll never learn it.

If your printer isn’t printing and it’s a new printer you’ve just taken it out of the box, first of all, look if it’s plugged into the computer. If the printer is plugged into the computer, the next thing to check is if it’s got power - is it plugged into a power outlet? If those things are plugged in, check if the software is loaded so that your computer can recognize the printer. If the printer still doesn’t work, call the manufacturer or take it back to the store and switch it out. If it’s an old printer, look to see if there’s still ink in there. If the lights are flashing and it’s telling you to replace the ink, that’s what you have to do. If there’s still ink left in the printer and it’s not printing, chances are it’s time to get a new printer.

Mobile devices are so popular nowadays that the traffic that mobile search brings can no longer be discounted. Because of this plenty of websites now offer mobile versions of their website. If you already have a mobile site though you should make sure that you stay informed about the changes/improvements done by search engines in relation to mobile search to ensure that your mobile site is optimised for mobile search.

One of the improvements in mobile search that you can expect Google to focus on in predictive search. We know this because of a paper published by two Google employees, Maryam Kamvar and Shumeet Baluja, titled Query Suggestions for Mobile Search: Understanding Usage Patterns. The paper revealed that:

* users rely heavily on query suggestions, and that;
* users will accept a correct suggestion quickly

Because of these findings Kamvar and Baluja concluded that:

1. Mobile search results should show as many suggestions in a small list as possible
2. Suggestion lists should show a constant number of suggestions (thus maximise space usage compared to instances wherein only a couple of results are suggested)
3. Suggestions viewed 3 times should NOT be displayed as a suggestion again and should instead be replaced with another suggestion
4. Suggestions that result in lots of key presses should be replaced

While these findings and conclusions mostly are the concern of search engines (since they’re the ones who have to figure out a way to implement the changes) web designers and SEO will do well to prepare for the upcoming changes.

For web designers what this means is that they should ensure that the mobile site is designed for efficient navigation so that the number of key presses are reduced once the user arrives on the website. This means concise content and an efficient information architecture.

For SEOs what this means is that they should ensure that mobile pages are optimised for really relevant keywords. You wouldn’t want to be listed for not so relevant keywords because if you get listed 3 times without being clicked on by users if Google listens to this paper’s conclusion it would mean that your site would be replaced by another suggestion. Another reason why you should be more careful in keyword selection is that you would want users to be directed to the exact page they want to be in or at least just be a couple of clicks away. Again as the research suggests links that lead to an increase in key presses will be replaced by a link that does not lead to as much key presses.

Clean is better. Eye-tracking studies say so. Web copy should be bulleted, concise, easy. Photos should be informative, not decorative. White space is good. And guys like looking at George Brett’s protective cup.

You weren’t expecting that last part were you?

I wasn’t either. But this post on effective news article design proves it.

Newspapers have had trouble transitioning from print to the Web. They’re used to doing things differently.

Me, too. I still write difficult, dense copy. See. I still like serif fonts better, too. I also have a pen collection and a wall map fetish. Because I’m old school sometimes.

Well, most of the time.

Laura Ruel and Nora Paul (link above) interviewed people from Nielsen/Norman group about readability and user satisfaction and comprehension.

They said users spent more time reading wordy content, but remembered 34 percent less than when they read really tight copy.

That’s because of the way people read on the Internet. It’s the same reason designers on the Internet use sans serif fonts –so you can read faster.

“If a user is comfortable,” said Nielsen researcher Tara Coyne, “not hindered by clutter and superfluous words, and can scan the main points, he will get the summary of the article quickly and easily.”

Superfluous is superfluous, but it’s not her fault, she’s an academic type. It’s also otiose, but we’ll just call it ‘excessive,’ because it’s easier.

Ruel and Paul said people don’t really look at pictures, either, unless they’re pictures of real people and not models. People like pictures that give them information. They skip pictures that are just there to be pretty.

Also, women might be telling the truth when they say size doesn’t matter. All the men in the eye-tracking study fixated on George Brett’s…strike zone. But women didn’t. Not at all.

So, add this to the other things we know about Web copy and design. Here’s a short list to help you remember, bulleted and subtitled like it’s supposed to be.

20 Things To Remember For Good Web Copy

1.    Tight writing. That doesn’t mean bad or easy writing.

2.    Copy of about 600-800 words is better for SEO and catching the long tail of search.

3.    Title – Subject – Support, in that order, like subject, verb, object.

4.    Titles should be snappy and informative – clickable, but clear.

5.    Leads (first sentence or paragraph) should get to the point. Tell the reader what the article’s about first thing.

6.    No fancy, wordy intros where it’s not clear what you’re talking about.

7.    Information beats fluff every time. Pretty is for books and newspapers (and only sometimes).

8.    Information does not beat style every time. Style keeps people awake.

9.    Sans serif fonts are easier and faster to read on computer screens.

10.    White space is awesome – even better than big, pretty pictures.

11.    Content should be scannable.

12.    Think in bullets and subtitles.

13.    People like lists.

14.    Pictures should be specific and informative, not generic, decorative and ad-like.

15.    Photos should be relevant to content.

16.    People in pictures should look friendly and approachable (and have their whole head).

17.    Photos should be full body if possible (so guys can check out packages and stuff).

18.    Spell stuff right. It makes you look smarter.

19.    Grammar IS important. Unless you’re not really a professional.

20.    Online press releases should be even tighter than Web copy.