We’ve all received them—heck, perhaps we’ve even had to (shudder) distribute them. You know what I’m talking about: PDF newsletters, sent as an email attachment to a distribution list or linked on a webpage. In some corners, they still lurk. I’m just going to say it: People use PDFs for a hundred different reasons, and about 97 of them are wrong. (Rick blogged about some of … [Read more...] about Liberate Your PDF Newsletter Content
user experience
Web User Experience Starts Here (And So Does Your Content)
There's more than one doorway to our websites. People come in through the garage, basement, window, chimney — well, you get the picture. Colleges are learning that their website user experience doesn't always start on their homepage. Sometimes the first web content people see is a blog post or a student handbook PDF or an inquiry form. Or is it? Actually, the user … [Read more...] about Web User Experience Starts Here (And So Does Your Content)
Web Content Insights Through ‘Understanding Comics’
I am not a comics nerd (I don’t think my Archie obsession as a kid holds muster), though I have befriended many — and married one. So while I’ve never sniffed at comics and graphic novels as child's play, I didn’t fully realize the complexity of the form until I picked up a copy of Scott McCloud’s seminal text, Understanding Comics, in which he explains many principles of … [Read more...] about Web Content Insights Through ‘Understanding Comics’
User Feedback, Where? Right There!
Understanding our users’ needs and evaluating the efficacy of our web content is an ongoing challenge. But sometimes the most relevant, valuable insights are right in front of us. In her post, "Revisiting the cliché, 'the customer is always right,'" Tara DeMarco reminds us to make use of everyday user feedback. Just like customers, our web users are always … [Read more...] about User Feedback, Where? Right There!
It’s the Little Things: Why Microcopy Matters
Our digital experiences -- whether they involve updating Twitter, reading a web page, using an app or filling out a form -- do not typically take place in single bursts. Rather, they take place incrementally, with each step gradually (hopefully) moving us toward our goal. Some of the most important signposts along that incremental journey are the words that guide our way. … [Read more...] about It’s the Little Things: Why Microcopy Matters