Common to northern climes, The Web Expert (TWE) often makes his appearance towards the middle of a web project.  Like a Ninja, he appears out of nowhere.  Often unassuming, he may even be likeable; but be warned: he waits in the wings, waiting to strike.

Usually the son, nephew, or friend-of-a friend’s second cousin, The Web Expert may be called upon to ensure that the web project is going according to plan; albeit with little clue of what the actual plan is.  Upon learning of the project, he’ll offer up his services.  After all, he has a wealth of experience, having developed and authored numerous other family members’ websites.  In fact, he just completed a site about scrap-booking for his mother.  He’s accomplished and quite proficient with FrontPage.

He may not know what you’re paying these so called Professional Web Designers and Web Writers, but intuitively knows that you’re paying too high of a price for all that professional advice.  In fact, he can do the job for far less, or free!  It’ll take a while though, as he’s only available during the summer months: school starts in September. And what’s the rush, anyways?  It’s not like you’re paying for it.

Omnipotent about all things Web, the expert knows about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and how to get your website to the top of Google:  He informs you that it’s a simple matter of stuffing keywords on a web page, sitting back and watching the magic happen.  And if that doesn’t work, spam the search engines – they love that!

He asks you why you’re paying for web content when the Internet’s littered with it – and it’s free!  “It’s all about cutting and pasting,” he says.  It’s not really copyright infringement, it’s the Internet.  And besides, nobody reads online.

He knows that in order to keep customers on your website, you MUST entertain them using Animation, Music and Video; preferably all at the same time.  That’s why everybody loves the Circus.

As for professional hosting, why pay extra?  He goes on to inform you that you already have web space available courtesy of your ISP.  As well,  you can save on the purchase of a domain name by piggy-backing on your ISP’s domain.

So what if your Web address appears as www.myisp.com/mybusinessname - it’s free!

You ask him about developing your database, letting him know that you’ll need the ability to make monthly product and service description changes.  He informs you that he hasn’t taken that course yet…

For all you do Web Expert, This Bud’s for You.

Ray Litvak
Toronto Web Writer

Google’s latest addition to the popular ‘Google Maps’(aka ‘Google Local’) is the One place, one page feature which Google rolled out on September 24th, 2009.  In a nutshell, it combines   information about local businesses in – you guessed it – One place, one page.

Google designed the tool with the idea of profiling every place on Earth including every country, city, town, business, attraction, restaurant, etc.

An improvement on the amount of data formerly made available on the ‘more info’ link of a Google Maps listing, One Place, one page offers almost everything one would want to know about a particular place; from how to get there to what it is, reviews, pictures, street-level views, video, price levels, interesting facts, website links and more – all on one page. Google feels this will improve the user experience and have a positive impact on businesses, making it easier for people find what they want, when they want.

Not knowing if it was available in Toronto, I went to http://maps.google.ca/ to find out.

I chose a well known entity, the Royal Ontario Museum.  The results page offered what one would expect, a large volume of links.  I choose the first one, and clicked on the ‘more info’ link in the map bubble, and found a full page of information, from the standard street address and URL to related images, a ‘more details’ link featuring related websites, user-generated reviews of the ROM and more:  in short, an overview of the ROM from a variety of sources as well as a Web Pages section that showcased ROM events, articles and items from varied sources.

One Place, one page has only been up and running for a few weeks, but seems well positioned to continue to make Google the most relevant search engine on the web.

Ray Litvak
Toronto Web Writer
www.writingwebwords.com

I spoke with a web designer the other day – also a friend and colleague.  After some idle chit chat, it turns out he needed help with a client: as the story goes, the client’s site design was finished and almost ready to launch, replete with Flash and other bells & whistles; the only thing missing?  Web Content…

As is the case with many web design projects, my friend had been waiting for the client’s content for weeks.  The design looked great, but with no content, resembled a Lamborghini missing Pirelli’s. If the site was to be launched, it would fall on my web design pal to develop the content; hence, the call.

The web content conundrum
Having worked with a number of web designers, I can comfortably say that many would prefer root canal to web content development, and understandably so. They are graphically inclined; pixel and picture people. 

It is only within the last few years that more stress has been placed on web content development; most likely due to the growing role it plays in Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  I can still recall a former web design colleague telling me that “no one reads online.” That said, he did tend to spend a lot of time on porn sites.

Conversely, the majority of web writers I know avoid web design and graphics; they are word people, mostly concerned with format, context, word count, and other things content and copy related.

Derek Powazek - web designer - wrote a blog a while ago titled, ”Calling All Designers: Learn to Write!”; essentially, a call to action for web designers to be responsible for creating the look and feel of a website - user interface (UI) - in addition to creating engaging web content. 

I enjoyed the blog and agree on his point that content is and should be seen as part of the user interface and overall user experience, but must disagree with Mr. Powazek on another of his points.  Putting personal interest aside, web designers should design, web writers should write.  In a perfect world, both work together to compliment unique and valuable skill sets to the betterment of the project in question.

As for my web designer friend, Ray to the Rescue.

Ray Litvak

www.writingwebwords.com

Professional web content development in Toronto