I'm going to show you how to optimize your images in WordPress for SEO and accessibility. Optimizing images for SEO (search engine optimization) contributes towards the SEO of your page and site. Optimizing images for accessibility makes it easier for the visually impaired to understand the images you're using even though they can't see them. […]
Book review and summary of "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald A. Norman.
Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems by Steve Krug My rating: 3 of 5 stars An easy-to-read guide to doing your own inexpensive usability testing. I liked Krug’s humorous writing and entertaining use of quotations, and the book's cartoons make it even easier to understand. I didn't find it as […]
I gave this presentation, Website Mistakes Small Businesses Make, and How to Fix Them, at WordCamp Grand Rapids 2014. I’ve seen many small businesses make website mistakes that hurt their results. My presentation was about how to fix these mistakes so your site delivers business results. Below are the video, slides, and detailed notes. Not optimizing to sell How […]
Sliders (AKA carousels or rotators) have become incredibly popular on WordPress websites, and websites in general. Sliders commonly display images, but can also display text and video. They are frequently used on home pages, but can appear on any page. More often than not, clients ask us to put them on their sites. The problem […]
"What website mistakes do small businesses make?" This was one of the many questions asked at the Small Business Tech Panel at the Warehaüs, a coworking space in Holland, Michigan in March 2014. Here's an expanded version of the answer I gave. The items (in no particular order) are as follows: Not optimized for sales Business websites exist to […]
These are my favorite audio podcasts about web design and development, both the technical and business sides. They also feature topics such as marketing and freelancing. My last post on the best web design podcasts was from June 2012, so it was time to update the list. I’ve listed them roughly in order of preference, […]
These are my favorite audio podcasts covering web design and related topics such as web development, usability, and freelancing. Maybe some day I'll write a review for each one, but for now, I just pasted the description from each podcast's site or iTunes page. I've listed them roughly in the order I like them. For […]
Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug My rating: 4 of 5 stars An excellent introduction to creating usable websites. As the title states, every website’s design and functionality should be so simple that people barely need to think to use it. The book’s 2nd edition is from […]
Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is one of the most popular web design books, and for good reason. Zeldman has been around the Web for a long time, and his experience shows. This book teaches the concepts, history, and technologies behind web design for beginning and […]
WordPress Theme Design by Tessa Blakeley Silver My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book does a decent job teaching WordPress theme design. It walks you through wireframing, writing the HTML and CSS, and creating graphics, then building a WordPress theme from those pieces. It’s mostly WordPress-specific, addressing the WordPress Loop, template files, template tags, […]
WordPress For Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the best WordPress book I’ve read so far; it’s great for beginners and intermediate WordPress designers. Lisa Sabin-Wilson, a well-known WordPress authority with firsthand experience, starts with the basics and builds up in each chapter. Beyond the essentials, there’s an appropriate […]
