Doorway pages that redirect us without explanation, synthetic pages auto-generated by software, pages like toilet paper containing nothing but links, pages without exits except an ad to click, pages with ads disguised as menus, pages containing long lists of every conceivable search query but no information.

Business does not drive the web, people do.
Most businesses miss this, and in part, what I believe, contributed to the Dot.com implosion. Companies saw the web only as a new marketing opportunity to sell more widgets.

Authority is an “accepted source of expert information and advice”.
On the web, a link to a page is a vote, and its existence is because the site linked to is found to be useful and informative - in a perfect world. So, if more sites link to it, it becomes authoritative.

People seem to go to greater lengths to keep from losing something they have than they would to acquire something they don’t.
The old adage “Fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain” is very true when writing web copy designed to sell.

I wrote a silly article in November about using template pics for a website, and how they can hurt you when it comes to trust on the internet.
Well, I found her again, not my favorite customer service babe, but she’s getting very popular. This one is from a real estate service - this chick […]

The web is as necessary to business today as the telephone was a decade ago, yet so many businesses use it as nothing more than a digital business card.
Ok, your expensive “corporate hello” may be great – if it were still 1998.

Most businesses love “best practices” and manuals. These written standards are orderly, rational and logical. They have been tested and proven. They’re great because they give a team the sense that everyone is “on board”.
In the end – they are justifiers, a book to blame when a goal isn’t realized, a safety […]

Ever notice that websites’ most relevant information is often times a click or two away from the home page? There’s a contact page, an about page, services or product page, etc.
After all these supporting sub-pages are written, businesses seem to be scratching their heads.

Businesses, institutions and governments all use the same tools and broadcast media - the buildings, logos, websites, brochures, press releases and speeches - all to convey their “image”, their “brand”.
Individually and collectively the difficulty begins when we cross the line of believability - when that image we have for these businesses and individuals are not […]

Try it – ask a business “why do you want a brochure?” and they will just stare at you like you just said something you weren’t supposed to bring up.
A brochure is a given – a standard procedure, a marketing cliché. This is why so many websites are failures – they are no more […]

How nice! I go to your website and I’m greeted with a big picture of a pretty lady wearing a headset, enthusiastically typing away while talking with a customer - I suppose.
Now, this foxy mama is popular - I saw her several times just today. You know her, here she is with some […]

There are several ways to make that first inch of your website - your logo, help your overall SEO efforts. Most sites have a logo called, get this - “logo.jpg”! Wow that’s so unique. Here’s a 2 minute way to optimize your logo code to help your rank as well as your users.

You’ve heard it, you wonder what it is, yet you don’t ask. (I understand, you would sound silly)
Web 2.0 is a new animal, a new kind of web build - a new experience. Wikipedia defines Web 2.0 as a “second generation of services available over the World Wide Web that lets people collaborate […]

What a great day! A major competitor of a client of mine has panicked. Don’t get me wrong, I really respect this company, and they’ve been a worthy adversary for a time. They must have thought the same of my client because they have completely rewritten their website. Yes the site […]