aka Ken Smith: Site basics

A friend asked for feedback on the draft of a university website, and I spent a little time reading the front page closely. I noticed the difference between naming something that could be valuable and starting to pin down what its value might be. Lists, then, are one of the oldest and easiest things to build into a website, but that doesn't make them effective. Listing can imply this: "Reader, I'm the authority. If I put it on the list, it's important." #

Informing and persuading is different than listing, even when the information is very brief. The information can imply this: "Reader, you're the one to make the judgment. Here, let us help you get started with some of the basic information you'll need to make your decision." There's a difference in relationship to audience, in respect for the audience's time and judgment, and in the presentation of self. It feels different to the reader than a list often feels.#

A second thing I noticed was that links to other parts of the site should be on a "the more the better" basis. The draft site I was reviewing had a top-of-page tab about health information, so that's good, linking to another area of the site. But in a body paragraph on the front page, health information comes up without a link. Sure, if i've memorized the structure of the web page, I know what to click next, but why not just put the link in right there? Why promise information in a body paragraph and not link to it?#

And third, I couldn't tell if this was going to be a static website or would offer updates, but I couldn't see a mechanism for a return visitor to locate new postings. For that matter, how would I know when I should go back and check for new content in the first place? Life's too brief to be checking static websites on the off-chance that they've added a good paragraph somewhere.#