Author: Joe Dolson

Best Practices in Web Development: Part 2

August 27, 2008

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Topics: Web Development.

Part 1 (Contracts, Site Requirements,Information Architecture) Part 2 (Hosting and Security) Part 3 (Navigation, Scent) Part 4 (Semantics, Structure vs. Design, Universal design) Part 5 (Interaction, Errors, and Administration) Once you’ve established your needs document, you should take the time to pick the right server set-up. Different sites need different services — but the right hosting package should always offer certain key elements. Hosting is an integral part of good web site performance, so you should pay close attention to […]

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Best Practices in Web Development: Part 1

August 25, 2008

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Topics: Web Development.

Part 1 (Contracts, Site Requirements, Information Architecture) Part 2 (Hosting and Security) Part 3 (Navigation, Scent) Part 4 (Semantics, Structure vs. Design, Universal design) Part 5 (Interaction, Errors, and Administration) This is the beginning of a five-part series highlighting the entire process of developing web sites for clients. Best practices don’t just start with construction: for a small business or independent contractor, they start long before that. Through the course of these articles, I’m going to cover issues including: Preparing […]

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How to Plan your new Web site

August 23, 2008

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Topics: Web Development.

There comes a point when you’ve decided you want a web site that you will need to actually begin the project. This is the same point where a developer may find it necessary to begin pulling his or her hair out – if you haven’t both planned ahead. It’s a very simple fact. I don’t know what you want, until you tell me. You don’t know what I can do, until I tell you. Communication — that’s the secret. I […]

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What to look for in a web Developer

August 22, 2008

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Topics: Web Development.

It can be difficult to select the right web developer. Regardless of your project and your budget, there are a lot of people with wide ranging degrees of skill at web development. How can you have any idea of their level of expertise and professionalism? How do you determine what you want or need? There is no absolute answer to this question, unfortunately. As much as I’d love to say "Well, obviously, you should hire me!", I may not actually […]

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What is Web Usability?

August 4, 2008

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Topics: Usability, Web Development.

Usability The extent to which an item is capable of being used, or is convenient and practical in use. (Wikipedia) Recommended Books: Don’t Make Me Think: 2nd Edition Designing Web Navigation: Optimizing the User Experience Web Site Usability Handbook Usability is one of those areas of web development which is extremely important, extremely obvious when you look at it; and easily overlooked if you’re not actively looking for it. It’s simply the question of whether the site is easy to […]

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