Maintaining Site Consistency
A key aspect of any high-quality website is consistently designed and structured information across every page of a site. Here’s a framework for thinking about how to get that.
Writing for the Web
Writing Alt Text for Headshots on your Nonprofit’s Website
Lots of nonprofits have headshots on their websites and those images need alternative text! Here are the considerations I take when writing alt text for this specific purpose.
How to make your website accessible (and not use an accessibility overlay)
There is no such thing as a cheap and easy “fix” to supporting and communicating with people with disabilities. Every single person who reads this post has a role in making websites more accessible. Yes, even you!
Why I won’t install an accessibility overlay on your website
Anyone who knows me knows that I care a lot about making websites accessible. So it may surprise you that I won’t install a certain kind of web accessibility tool. Here’s why.
Writing Excellent Client Emails
As someone who provide services online, it’s no surprise that I write a tremendous number of emails. I’ve spent years thinking about the keys to good client emails. Here’s my list.
The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Nonprofit FAQ Pages
FAQs are underrated and usually terrible. How can those two contradictory things both be true? I have thoughts.
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.
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.