Content Management Systems

Content management systems are key to running an efficient website. Keep the development group out of the loop on updating content, and you will move ever so much faster. 'Content' doesn’t need the same kind of source control that scripts and templates need. Specific design suggestions follow.

Boynton, J.R. Diamond Lane, The (2002). Design>Content Management>Web Design

The New Publishing

We know we can do better than lowest-common-denominator HTML. 'Better' means that it is easier to use, more compelling, 'sexier', and more fun for us to design and produce. But it's very expensive to do bleeding edge for lots of content, and too expensive to do bleeding edge and a version that works in old browsers on slow modems on slow computers with small monitors.

Boynton, J.R. Diamond Lane, The (1998). Design>Web Design

On Development Methodology

Give me the smallest, smartest team possible, with the right tools and infrastructure. Work like fiends for two or three months to get infrastructure and applications started right, then grow slowly to maintain and build additional applications on the core technology.

Boynton, J.R. Diamond Lane, The. Articles>Project Management>Collaboration

Server-Side Scripting and Templating

The web publishing/applications industry (generally) has learned to separate content from user interface, to our great benefit. The next step, separating templates from scripts requires an equally large mental leap, but should yield an even greater reward. Here's how to make our lives easer.

Boynton, J.R. Diamond Lane, The. Design>Web Design>Server Side Includes

Usability for Websites

Web usability covers the organization of the content (structure) of the site and its individual pages, navigation through the site, the text used to label the structure and navigation, user interaction through forms, and the structure, layout, and wording of text content. In most cases, recognizing the structure of the content and minimizing the effort to find and use content are enough to make for good 'usability.'

Boynton, J.R. Diamond Lane, The (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

Web Typography

What stays the same, and what's different when you go from books and magazines to websites? Allow me one digression, and then I'll get to specific implications of the switch to onscreen reading.

Boynton, J.R. Diamond Lane, The. Design>Web Design>Typography