Links Are a Promise
This short advice I give anyone writing website content turns out to contain a number of important lessons about how people use websites and how we can serve them best.
Writing for the Web
First Reactions to Gutenberg, the Future of WordPress
The future text editor for WordPress is in early stages but ready for a lot of intensive testing. Here are my thoughts on the latest version, written in the new editor, of course.
Common Heading Mistakes
It’s really important not just to use headings when writing for the web but to use them correctly. Here are the most common mistakes I see when people try to use headings.
SEO for Humans Redux [link]
Google has guidelines for webmasters about the technical and content requirements sites must follow to stay in their good graces. You’ll probably be surprised how obvious their recommendations are.
WordPress for All: Formatting Accessible Content
Saturday, October 24, 2015, I was at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center, presenting at WordCamp Seattle: Beginner Edition about web accessibility’s importance for all website users and four specific techniques that beginning WordPress users could implement on their sites.
Tip: CTRL/CMD + F for Find in Page [link]
Do you know what CTRL + F on Windows does (or CMD + F on Macs)? In many programs, it allows you to “Find in Page.” This is immensely useful, particularly in browsers and word processors. If you don’t know it, join the club! Apparently most people don’t: 90 percent of people in their studies don’t … Continue reading “Tip: CTRL/CMD + F for Find in Page [link]”
➡😊🏃 (The emoji are coming!)
Sometimes the stars (?) align and you just have to write (✒) about something. Last week, I was seeing emoji everywhere! Now you will too.
No Justification: Don’t Use Right, Center, and Full Justification on the Web
Last week’s post on formatting in WordPress makes way to this in-depth discussion of a simple topic: text alignment. In nearly every case, don’t do it!
A WordPress Formatting Manifesto
I recently released the MRW Web Design Simple TinyMCE plugin for WordPress. It’s a plugin that came directly out of the work I do to serve clients and make using WordPress as easy as possible. In this post, I want to share how I made the final decisions for what buttons I removed from the default WordPress editor, and provide a framework for what it means to format content well on the web.
Make the Perfect FAQ Page for Nonprofit Websites
Frequently Asked Question pages have a place on modern website when the content and design conform to best practices.
Quick Tip: Use Real Lists When Writing For the Web
Lists are one of the best ways to format text so that a page is easy to read. Unfortunately, it’s common to see “fake” lists that aren’t as attractive or readable. Learn to recognize real and fake lists, diagnose what kind of list you’re using, and fix them!
Writing Tips (Hint: #1 is Start now!) [link]
Here’s a great to-the-point list of tips for writing for the web.
Don’t Delete it. Draft it! [Update: or Archive it!]
In the interest of saving their time and protecting their site, I always recommend that clients avoid permanently deleting content in WordPress. Luckily, there are default features that make this easy to do and plugins that make it even better!
Five Attributes of a Good Label
If you’ve got a website, read through your menu and see if it passes this excellent five-point evaluation.
Post Formats Are Coming! (Post Mortem: Never Released.)
There’s a drastically-improved feature coming in WordPress 3.6 that I honestly believe could change how we blog. Seriously. Take a moment to learn a bit more about post formats and why I think they’re so great..
My Devolution as an Email Author [aside]
A thought on emails, “bad writing,” and expressive punctuation.