29 Nov
Posted by Raphaele
When I first started in my current position as a Web Administrator, I badly needed a refresher course about actual web design practices. I had spent 4 years managing web projects, away from any source code or Photoshop copy. I was just out of date. I have to say “Web Design in a nutshell” made the trick.
The good thing with Jennifer’s book is that it goes further than basic knowledge. It dives deep in accessibility and multi browser support, with plenty of practical examples. The book encompasses all you need to know to set up a quality web page: XHTML/CSS, JavaScript, graphics, other media such as audio and video. Appendixes are also a precious resource: beside HTML and CSS reference lists, they provide codes for special characters and colours. It even mentions microformats in an Appendix signed by Tantek Çelik himself.
In my daily practice, I will check this book at least one a week. That’s enough to say its subtitle “A Quick Desktop Reference” is not usurped.
14 Oct
Posted by Raphaele
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The Website Manager’s Handbook, by Shane Diffily
Oct 8, 2007 by
Raphaele Lamaze-Beyssac
product
The Website Manager’s Handbook
★★★★☆
This book is the only one I have come across giving a realistic insight in the profession of website management. It gives a clear description of daily tasks as well as ways to manage new projects such as website (re)development. All in all it is a great testimony about the fact that managing a website is a proper job, which takes specific tools and methods to get a professional result.
Among other interesting points, Diffily breaks down website management tasks in several core roles. For instance the publishing process is to be handled by the following roles: editor, contributor, moderator, legal reviewer, designer, developer. He also gives an interesting list of documents to use to ensure website content will meet highest quality standards.
The book also gives a good picture of the web design job, identifying major actors beyond the so well known Graphic Designer. Diffily pays tribute to Information Architects and Interface Designers, and it is good to read.
He repeatedly points out common misconception about supposed easiness of web design and development. The sections about website design demonstrate how an amateurish approach can result in a poor website on graphics, content and functionalities points of view.
A whole chapter focuses on the importance of governance. A website can’t be managed by a poor isolated guy and meet highly strategic goals. Diffily describes entities and documents that may help to make website strategy visible and actually help it to be a global tool for organisation.
Reading The Website Manager’s Handbook is therefore highly recommended for professionals. But they should also recommend it to their managers to help them to get a good overview of what managing a website involves.
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