Newsletter issue #24 - 1st March 2006
This issue
Hello and welcome to the March edition of the Webcredible newsletter!
In this issue:
- Feature article: Focus groups - how to run them
- Top tip: Speed up the download time of web pages
- Useful program: RSS Validator
- Top link: Search engine ranking factors
- New articles in February
- Webcredible news in February
Enjoy!
Feature article: Focus groups - how to run them
Focus groups are fundamental as an input into any website design decisions. They do really require a skilled and experienced moderator, but if you want to have a go yourself check out this month's feature article and have a go at running your own focus groups.
Read this article in full at www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/focus-groups.shtml.
Top tip: Speed up the download time of your web pages
More and more web users have made the transition to broadband, but do remember that a number of web users are still using dial-up modems. This is a particularly important consideration if your site is aimed at consumers and/or users from countries outside of the First World. So, follow some of these top tips to ensure a speedy download for everyone:
- Use PDFs with caution. PDFs should only be used to provide information that users will print off and/or e-mail to other people. PDFs are very large in file size compared to information provided on web pages, so don't use PDFs for information that you expect site visitors to read online.
- Don't embed text within images. Using CSS and background images, it's possible to achieve advanced presentation effects (particularly for navigation) without embedding text in an image. The benefit of doing this is that real text displays immediately when web pages load, whereas images, which are far heavier in file size anyway, will display after the web page originally displays.
- Lay out web pages with CSS, not tables. By getting rid of the tables from your web pages, the amount of HTML code can be greatly reduced. The smaller the HTML code, the quicker the download speed. Additionally, browsers read through tables twice before displaying their contents, once to work out their structure and once to determine their content. This again adds to the download speed.
Useful program: RSS Validator
An RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is like a web page designed to be read by computers, and allows other websites to republish your content. Check that your RSS feed is valid with this handy tool.
You can use this program at www.feedvalidator.org.
Top link: Search engine ranking factors
There are so many different factors affecting your website's search engine ranking, but how do you know which ones to focus on? This useful web page lists all the possible factors and how important a number of experts deem each of the factors to be.
Check out this useful site at www.seomoz.org/articles/search-ranking-factors.php.
New articles in February
Read these and many other articles at www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources.
Webcredible news in February
- Usability testing training now publicly available
- Webcredible case study in Revolution Magazine
- New dates for web writing training due to massive demand
- Webcredible presents at Ark Group seminar
Read these news stories in full at www.webcredible.co.uk/about-us/latest-news.shtml.
Training courses
Courses continue to sell out well in advance! Our next training courses will take place in our training centre in Aldgate, London in March and April:
- Usability testing training - Monday 25th April. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our usability testing training page.
- Web writing training - Tuesday 14th March & Tuesday 25th April. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our intermediate web writing training page.
- Web usability training - Wednesday 15th March & Wednesday 26th April. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our web usability training page.
- Web accessibility training - Thursday 16th March & Thursday 27th April. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our web accessibility training page.
- Advanced CSS training - Friday 17th March & Friday 28th April. For more information and to reserve your place before it fills up please consult our advanced CSS training page.
About Webcredible
Based in London, UK, Webcredible is a user experience consultancy. Tailor-made usability, accessibility & design solutions include:
- User research
- User-centered design
- Accessible CSS web design
- Training courses & support
- Website reviews
- Usability lab hire
Please contact us on 020 7423 6320 or info at webcredible.co.uk, or consult www.webcredible.co.uk for further information.
