Meryl K. Evans

Someone asked how to improve search engine rankings for a Web site. Apparently, someone she knows started a Web site and talked about it with her.
She and Paul (SO) looked at me asking how did I get my site to rank well. Honestly, I don’t think about search engines when I work on my [...]

Full-time freelancing: 10 more things provides a useful list of things he learned in his first year of freelancing full-time as a Web designer. Though it focuses on Web design, much of the advice if useful for other business. Here’s my commentary from a freelance writer’s perspective.
Speed: I try to work fast when doing freelance [...]

Your About Page Is a Robot caught my attention especially since I’ve been reviewing over 100 sites in a specific industry. Some don’t have About pages, some had them — but they were not helpful, and a select few succeeded.
The About page also gives your company a human touch. What your About page should contain [...]

Little has changed in what works in writing for the Web as experts have recommended most of these tips for good writing for years. I apply the following when writing for the Web:

Insert bolded sub-heads every few paragraphs for scanning.
Keep paragraphs about four to six lines long otherwise when the reader loses his place, the [...]

I’ve noticed a nasty trend for the past two years… so it sounds like it’s not a fad: Gray text on white. This isn’t a cool trend as it’s harder to read text. On top of that, on many sites you can’t change the size of the text unless you’re using a browser like Firefox. [...]

Have you ever abandoned a shopping cart during the checkout stage — other than to find out the price (like Amazon says to add to basket to find out price)? I’m sure I have, but the reasons why are not coming to me at the moment (call it human virus-infected memory syndrome — no worries, [...]

I survived a weekend-long family celebration. Afterward, I learned that some people didn’t make it to the party because MapQuest didn’t have the right information or street for the location of the party. I was horrified. I used Google Maps and it was perfect in giving directions and showing the location of the event.
This is [...]

Someone interested in breaking into information design contacted me to ask about the field, whether a degree or certificate would help, and the tools and skills used. It’s a very broad question as information design covers everything including print. But I answered the question from the online perspective and thought others may benefit from this [...]

Designing Web sites for events requires a different thought process and approach than a regular Web site. Of course, every design project should be unique, but events have features in common that should be discussed in every project. Such common features include:

Home page: Event name, date, location and quick explanation of what it’s about and [...]

I must be in a mobile frame of mind this week as yesterday, I spent the most of my afternoon and evening looking at what are supposed to be the best mobile web sites. Instead, I was disappointed and didn’t even want to select the amount we’re required to vote on. Then I saw this [...]

With Web 2.0-style design and RIA (rich Internet applications) becoming prevalent on web sites, is there any point in creating a Web site if it doesn’t have interactivity features or fancy back-end programming? Of course! There are loads of reasons to have a web site and they don’t all require programming beyond basic JavaScript or [...]

I have a confession. I haven’t read enough books from the Web design category to justify creating a top 10 list for books. But I’ve read or heard about a few good ones that are worth mentioning:
Designing the Obvious: A Common Sense Approach to Web Application Design: The author of this one has a feature [...]

Arriving at a Web site only to get it in a pop up window with Flash. Takes control away from user. I want to decide how many windows I have open.
Forms that don’t make it easier for the user to fix when making an error especially those that erase the form when you return to [...]

Forgot password should be instant, request email address and immediately let you know if your email address is in the system or not. Otherwise, you lose out on ordering opportunities. We tried to order dinner online and Paul forgot his password. He entered the email address and the response page said it was mailed. Nothing [...]

Many designers won’t give Microsoft’s new (and FrontPage replacement) web designer application a look because of the biases that come with FrontPage. But I tell ya… Microsoft totally started from scratch and created a strong application that designers will respect.

Digital Web Magazine seeks a volunteer with mighty fortitude, a fearless heart, and a sense of humor to take on the role of Managing Editor. Developing and executing a content strategy for DWM is central to the role. If you’ve got a love for the Web, a visionary mind and a facility for language, we [...]

The campaigns to promote Firefox and demote Internet Explorer keep coming and Google tops them all by promoting Firefox on its home page - prime ad estate - along with the its Toolbar. For a limited time on Wednesday, April 26, users in the U.S. surfing with Internet Explorer saw a one-liner that read, “Firefox [...]

These articles from MSNBC point out the lack of captions or transcripts on online videos. It’s a fast-growing frustration especially with video in iPods, PDAs, and another portable players. I can’t download TV shows and enjoy them like most of the public.
The Red Tape Chronicles
Subtitles: Deaf to the Problem
iPod screens too small for captions? Please. [...]

While reviewing many Web sites, I was appalled at how many scared you with music or freaky sounds and that’s with the audio on a little lower than normal volume. For some sites, music works well and blends in. For others, “WHY?”
One tip: If you get nothing else from this, always… always give the user [...]

Joel on Software’s latest (and well said) rant provides an analogy of how usability is different based on the user’s experiences. When a Mac user users a PC and a PC user uses a Mac, they’re going to find it uncomfortable because they’re set in their ways. I know someone who is currently in Europe [...]