Organizing a Dual-Language Site
Question: I am an avid reader of Website Notes newsletter. We have a very heavily visited website of Pakistan’s national daily. The design of the web site is very lifeless and disorganized (please have a look at http://www.jang.com.pk). The problem is that this page is gateway to two newspapers websites one out of them is in English while the other in Urdu (local) language.
Could you give your suggestions (some URLs or your own comments) on how can we make this home page more attractive, user-friendly, comprehensive yet compact; and meaningful. We also need to have latest news update ticker in both languages (it’s a demand) and a lot of stuff that’s available on the website but is not presented on the home page.
– Asif Lateef
Damashi Peer Review – Use Graphics Wisely
As an owner of 2 martial arts web sites and a web designer, I have spent a lot of time on the web looking at martial arts related sites. This site’s general look is rather amateurish and not atmosphere producing. It does not make me want to buy the products.
Metadata Is Essential Web Writing Skill
Metadata is one of the most misunderstood aspects of content management and website design. Editors and writers tend to look at it as a technical issue. Technical people look for a software solution. Both are wrong. Metadata is a fundamental skill that web writers and editors must acquire.
Three Skills for Effective Multi-Tasking
Whether you like it or not, multi-tasking is a way of life these days. The ability to deal with multiple tasks going on at the same time is a needed skill for getting through your workday and personal/family demands.
Damashi Peer Review – Develop A Theme And Stick With It
The site has an inconsistent and incomplete feel. Individual elements are attractive such as the ideogram and script at the top of the initial page. But the navigation links at the bottom of the page clash with their red and blue fonts. Moving forward to the shopping cart and the page scheme changes from a yellow theme to a pale green. There’s merit in having sections of the website that differ in function also differ slightly in color yet remain unified in design. This site didn’t apply that throughout all pages though. One expects a site related to Oriental subjects to display a sense of Zen. Develop the style of the initial page banner and apply it throughout the site. And use CSS to make it easier to maintain.
Beware Of Search Engine Vanity
Just a few years ago, when asked “How do you drive traffic to your website”, many companies would name banner ads as their main marketing medium for increasing online revenues. In an effort to increase brand awareness, companies spent thousands of dollars on obnoxious banner advertisements on high profile websites in an effort to cement their reputation as the number one company or product in their industry.
Boomerang, Don’t Ricochet your Web Site Visitors
You don’t win your Web site visitors’ trust right away. It may take from 4-7 visits before they buy. You must always give them a reason to buy, and not offend them in any way because they will ricochet to other sites. Here’s some ways to get people to keep coming back to your site:
Damashi Peer Review – Lack of Information Is Uncompelling
When I first entered the Damashi website, I was rather impressed with the clarity and simplicity of the home page. The links are in plain English, and self explanatory. It loaded fast, and though rather plain by some standards, is not unattractive.
The Importance of Links
Link: {(noun) – lin[ng]k} 1 : a connecting structure: 2 : something analogous to a link of chain: as a : a connecting element or factor b : a unit in a communication system c : an identifier attached to an element (as an index term) in a system in order to indicate or permit connection with other similarly identified elements (as defined by Merriam-Webster Online – http://www.m-w.com/)
Take A Visual Trip To Your Golden Place
Ah, traveling to the Golden Place. A veritable visual voyage. How lovely it is going to this beautiful, magical place where you can just relax and forget about your cares…