When Amazon launched the Kindle they missed a great opportunity. It’s not like they need it, but they should have made the Kindle FREE. The e-book reader market is still a developing market, but we’ve seen that whoever is king early on is often hard to knock down once they are on top. Amazon could […]
Archives for 2009
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-19
Knees out from running gonna only try for 4 miles tommorow # Is it One more nail in traditional prints coffin with the FLEPia # I’ve witnessed the right tweet at the right time is like a butterflies wings flapping # it’s a good day to do some yard work! # @dleroux why is it […]
What Number is the Most Important? – Web Metrics (Part 2)
Last article we started to look at metrics and what metrics to report to your business or to help decide if your business is succeeding online. This go around I’ll be looking at metrics for your web team. There are some things you will want to measure to help you maintain your site health. These […]
What Number is the Most Important? – Web Metrics (Part 1)
One reason the internet has become one of the most vital tools for marketers is that it allows them track to a level they were never capable of before. One of the problems I’ve had with this is that now we are almost inundated with data. More data at times than we could ever process, […]
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-12
Sick with a cold does not help traing for a ten km run. # Why can’t I get the kindle in Canada? Come on amazon!! # @dleroux exactly how I’m feeling and thinking today in reply to dleroux # Somehow I am not feeling any better drop the lady friend at the airport then watch […]
Content as Navigation Steering the Course
Picking up on the last posting, what exactly is content as navigation? To me it’s something we’re already seeing on sites like Amazon, but as more services open up that offer content streams and feeds, we need to start to think of ways to use this content. It’s not enough to simply get an RSS […]
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-04-05
Is navigation more important? Or is content more importnat as the primary element on a web page? # What is the most important number? # What website could you not live with out? # @dleroux I’ll make that an article on my blog why prettiness matters in reply to dleroux # Is it bad that […]
Which Came First Content or Navigation?
Actually this post should probably be titled “Which is More Important Content or Navigation?” The term “content is king” has been around for at least as long as I have been involved in web design which is quite some time. I have heard this saying repeated over and over. However in the other corner you have the usability group usually lead by Jakob Nielsen which leads me to the question; after your sites aesthetics which is more important to a users experience content or navigation?
All The Pretty Websites Get Picked First
It was once famously said
“Prettiness, that’s what’s important. Followed by Navigation then content.”
… OK maybe not that famous but it was said, and it was in response to the question: Which is more important content or navigation? The response in it’s own right has it’s points. People will argue that a site like Google isn’t very pretty, nor is Amazon. What they do offer is function and service, but I would actually argue that Google is full of “prettiness”. Google may not be pretty everyday but she certainly does like to dress up every now and than as seen on the Holiday Logos archive, and there is something else, Google has a certain kind of symmetry.
Why Good HTML is Like a Magic Show
In the movie the Prestige Michael Cain’s character says:
“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.”
So what does this have to do with good web design?