If you need to print out an entire website, here is a little trick. You’ll need the full version of Acrobat though. I did this using Acrobat X Pro, but I believe this works all the way back to Acrobat 8.x.
Go to File | Create | “PDF from Web Page…”. In the window that pops up, type in the url of the site you wish to traverse. The trick here is to click the odd little button on the left, “Capture Multiple Level”. The window will expand to expose a few more options. Select the “Get entire site” option and click the Create button. There is a warning that you will create gargantuan files that will grind your computer to a halt, but ignore it. I converted an entire 20-page site and the resulting PDF was under 900k.
Now you can open the PDF, email it, or print like any other document.
This week, I have repeated two statements I thought I would never utter. No, I didn’t say “hey, that’s one badass Camry you have there” — but it’s damn close.
Statement 1: HP is perceptive & brilliant. Realizing they had made a fatal decision with their tech platform (webOS tablet), they did not opt for the dumb decision that so many US companies go for. Usually, a company rides a bad tech decision down, like a very slowly sinking ship. Submitted for your approval: Motorola’s RAZR which turned into the ROKR which turned into a failed division which turned into complete patent liquidation. Yikes, failure on an epic scale and it can all be traced back to an awful tech decision. And this is all over the place:
Apple’s attempt at allowing 3rd parties to build Macs (upside: allowed Jobs to buy back into Apple for dirt cheap)
Border’s stupid, junky, and expensive Kobo e-reader and now, bankruptcy
Sirius & XM had great ideas and just couldn’t quite make the tech small or easy enough for anyone (if I can’t use it … then you’ve got a prob)
Could Palm make a cool phone? ever? technological darwinism. Too bad, because their Exchange & Outlook integration is still unparalleled
Lotus Notes, 1-2-3, and everything else they made. Lotus dominated in the DOS era and then just sort of sat on their butts once Windows came along. Phhht!
Anyway, HP decided not to follow that path and dumped their tablets for $100 and scored a massive win. WebOS is kinda ok and also kinda not (big reason is the lack of apps), but it’s just one of many low-resource OS’s out there now … iOS, Chrome OS, Android, Moblin (now MeeGo). App developers can probably only build for 1 or 2. So webOS is probably not one of them. Dying platform webOS was formerly a punchline, but within a week, it’s relevant because of suddenly huge market saturation. A major manufacturer has a $100 tablet? Hell yeah, I’ll buy one, I don’t care what’s on it. It’s cheaper than a baby camera or a GPS.
So HP put on a clinic on how to bail out a slowly sinking ship. The same CEOs that I previously mocked are now acting in an impressive manner … yikes!
Statement 2: Netflix is a dying dinosaur. My favorite company ever made a disastrous choice when they decided to increase & complicate their fees by creating one fee for streaming video and one for physical DVD rentals. Archaic and complex billing is the domain of the most reviled of all industries — phone carriers (AT&T, Sprint, and all those vomitous pigs). Can you decipher your phone bill? Why do you sign up for a contract at $70/month and end up paying $90/month? I hate them, like we all do, and yet I pay them, like we all do. Deep loathing is the natural universal response to complex billing (loans, telephone, cable, etc.).
Netflix has proven that the honeymoon is over by unnecessarily eliminating the simplified billing. Their service may even be worth what they are saying it is … but you can’t pull that shit and not expect an immense and immediate backlash from your client base. If they just would have let existing customers get grandfathered in on the old billing and then apply NEW billing to NEW users, all would have been dandy.
The downward slide began there and now Starz (who provides Netflix with rights to stream new movies from Disney and Sony) is bailing out on Netflix. I bet 30% of streaming video is kid’s stuff and 99% of THAT is Disney. When you are in line at Costco and your 3-year-old begins getting that shifty frown that means “tantrum ahead”, you’re five finger taps away from getting her Cinderella fix from Netflix. You might even deal with that crappy billing system to have a surefire meltdown-stopper at your fingertips. Oh, but not anymore.
Why did Starz do it? It cannot be coincidence that Netflix made a hugely backhanded and crappy maneuver with its userbase. Perhaps, Starz is savvy enough to realize that the unsinkable behemoth has momentarily exposed a weak side. Now is the time to strike or, with all of the recent expensive infrastructure and asset acquisition, Netflix is over-extended. I would never characterize Netflix as a particularly vulnerable company, but due to a series of poor decisions, they might have just given themselves the ultimate smackdown. They can’t afford to battle a large competitor … SOOOOO Starz may be angling to launch their own streaming service, after realizing just what a monster pile of internet gold they are sitting on. Might they be prepping to feast cheaply on the corpse of Netflix’s streaming infrastructure.
As Radiohead sang in “Just”, “You do it to yourself, you do, and that’s what really hurts.”
Yesterday at the Google I/O Conference, the big boys announced that they were giving the finger to the RIAA and building a music download service in the cloud. This is pretty enormous because nobody other than a giant like all-seeing giant like Google has the legal muscle (and tech acumen) to go against the record labels. Google also gets the big picture on these things. They are looking at the music industry in 20 years when published music is extremely cheap or free, instantly available, and tailored to your preferences. Some of this works now, but it is not effortless. Say what you want about iTunes and Genius, but it is neither an effortless nor a pleasant process (for a non-techie, especially) to get the music you like on all your devices. The difference with Google is that they aren’t going to charge for the music … they are starting with user uploads. However, they are capping your uploads at 20,000 songs. This is like 60 gigs. Free.
The beauty of this is that Google doesn’t charge for any aspect of it. They are going to pull the bottom out of the RIAA’s argument that music download services contribute to piracy (and they do, but only because a CD is $14 … if CDs were under $5, and downloaded tracks were 20 cents, nobody would bother with piracy … duh). The RIAA can’t sue Google for much if Google gives it all away and therefore doesn’t generate revenue. I’m sure the RIAA will desperately cling to some argument along the lines of “this service promotes illegal activity”, but seriously, who will buy this? The RIAA is a dinosaur and Google is the meteor in that shall cause the dinosaur’s extinction (bad metaphor, I know, but this is stream of consciousness stuff).
An unintended casualty of this battle will probably be Amazon’s fledgling mp3 service. It’s really solid, but it limits you to 5 Gigs of music. This seemed completely adequate a few weeks ago when that service launched (with RIAA approval), but now it seems a paltry size. Amazon has loads of storage — hard drives are cheap, after all — with their cloud-based S3 storage system. So expect them to up that size, but I still feel that they’ve picked the path of pandering to the RIAA. Perhaps they lack the funds to fight such a massive war. Even Apple is toeing the party line, but iTunes is a little dystopic microcosm of Apple hysteria anyway. Don’t look for innovation from the Cupertino crowd. Their slavelike fanbase doesn’t care. They’ll buy the next little shiny product from them no matter what. Apple makes their money and stays in their sheltered closed-source phony world. Amazon may just walk away rather than take on the entertainment giants. After all, in the lawsuit against Google, the RIAA need only add a line that says something like “and Amazon was a jerk, too” and they’re on the line for billions.
If you are the early adopter type, then check out Google’s new adventure by requesting an invite here. If you have an Android, go download Google Music Beta from the market now . Currently, you only get the ability to play music but I bet in a few weeks, you’ll be able to upload your music collection.
Firefox 4 was released today. It’s pulling a lot of interface elements and cues from Chrome … but then so does IE9. Chrome may very well represent the new standard for application interface and usability. There certainly is elegance in simplicity. App speed is really the new goal, so the less buttons and toolbars and other stuff that your computer is rendering, the lighter the app is on resources, and the snappier it responds (with new tabs, setting bookmarks, etc.). Download here. I’ll let you know in a few days whether it handles Flash in an intelligent manner. That has been the Achilles’ heel of Firefox since version 2.
Netflix optioned the rights to first broadcast (and probably syndication) for a BRAND NEW tv series with Kevin Spacey. Looks badass. And like all things that Netflix does, it seems soooo sensible and timely. Of course their stock jumped up the next day. I’m not a knowledgeable investor, but a 24% increase in value in one day seems outstanding. The Blockbuster down the street closed … good riddance. Next in the Internet Conquests of the Real World, I want Amazon to take out Best Buy. Evolution is decisive.
Speaking of the big bookbeast, I see they have added an app store for Android. You have to tweak a technical switch in your Android settings. Will this be a monster barrier to entry? Amazon’s enticement (and a nice twist on an app store) is that they offer a free paid app every day. Still not enough? Well, if you install, you get a sequel to the hugely addictive Angry Birds for free. That got me to make the leap. I’m sure most others will too. I like Amazon’s mp3 Store a lot. It is really easy to use and not as mind-numbingly possessive as iTunes. Apple’s iTunes is like a horribly possessive hipster friend. Fun at first, and sleek enough to get your geeky butt a ton of attention, but then you realize you are locked into a huge a time commitment … and whenever you try to move on (to another app or mp3 player or friend), iTunes/hipster says, nope, I own your music and videos (and social connections). Messy analogy, but you get the point. Amazon’s mp3 Store is better than iTunes, so I assume that Amazon’s Appstore will blow the Android Marketplace away with superior usability. It already has one or two less clicks for all actions.
Change your address books and check the map because we’ve moved! 575 Anton Blvd. Suite 1150
Costa Mesa, CA 92626 15707 Rockfield Blvd. Suite 105
Irvine, CA 92618
Are you the CEO /CFO / Director of Some Department? Then read on.
Last night, I talked with some bigwigs who had questions about “The Google” and “twittering”. It occurred to me that these were people that were bigshots in business, but absolute Luddites in the world of tech. These individuals are often responsible for making the final call on the web strategy for their corporations. Why? Because nobody dares tell them the truth: (sir) you don’t understand this.
The best advice I had for these guys, especially in dicey economic times, was to stand the *bleep* back. It takes a big man to realize that his opinion, though tremendously powerful in certain scenarios, is damaging in areas in which he is ignorant. Yeah, your dumb ego could put you out of business — hence the picture.
I think I shocked one guy when I told him (a little too enthusiastically) “You don’t HAVE to have an opinion!” Sometimes you just need to put the trust in the developers and marketing people. Hell, you’re paying them to do the job. They live & breathe this stuff. Trust your experts. These are the people that really know how to get the job done and they will.
When project milestones are delivered to your desk, feel free to give direction, but don’t let your opinion be mistaken as an order. LISTEN to the WHY certain decisions were made on the project. If the presenter is too wary to offer you the WHY, then maybe you’ve fostered an environment that is more of an dictatorship than a presidency. So guess what, big man? You need to ask these people WHY they made the decisions they did on the project. Asking questions can even make you seem smarter than delivering orders. Analyze, consider, and then offer your opinion if you think it will help. Otherwise, nod quietly.
The stand back and be amazed at some of these people’s innovative genius.
Aviary has an impressive suite of web-based software that is free to use. They have built scaled-down versions of Photoshop, ImageReady, and Illustrator that run within a web browser in Flash (not Air, for the techies). In addition, they have a multi-track sound editor that has the same core functionality as Apple’s Garage Band. Although Aviary is pushing the limits of what Flash is capable of, their execution is outstanding. This software suite works and works WELL!
Although these apps are lighter in features than their desktop counterparts, they are some of the most advanced web apps I’ve yet used. All are incredible models of how web-based software should work. These are the prefect tools if you have to do a little photo editing on an underpowered laptop or netbook. If you’ve ever had to edit some photos when you’ve been on vacation with your old junky laptop, I’ve got the solution to your pain. Photoshop on a crappy laptop just grinds your productivity to asnail’s pace. But these apps fire up in about 30 seconds and you’re ready to go. Working with large graphics files is nearly instantaneous because all the heavy lifting is being done on Aviary’s servers.
I highly, highly recommended Aviary as both a top-notch tool and an example of how to build web-based software. Check it out here.
It’s no longer cool to have a brown box on your Twitter profile.
Way back in March just HAVING a Twitter account said “savvy”. Now the marketing mavens are branding the holy lights out of all things “Tweet” and Twitter’s gone main stream.
Here’s some examples of what I’m talking about:
Executives, and the publications that target them, are talking non-stop about how Twitter should be leveraged in the enterprise – as in this video of CIO’s from Home Depot, Baxter, and Yahoo, and this CIO Magazine article “Twitter’s Potential for Business Users“, and in newly coined vernacular like “Real Time Monitoring” used by Lenny Mendonca in this Think Big video.
For a great example of how one brand is leveraging Twitter to extend its brand reach, increase goodwill, and improve customer service, check out Whole Foods. (Thanks Denise, @denisess for tweeting this).
How to leverage Twitter for your enterprise is a fundamental strategy question that should be carefully studied by your organization’s executive team.
The take away message is this: Ignoring Twitter is a way to get noticed – only not the way you want.
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P.S. Your mid to large size organization may qualify for a free 60 minute executive workshop customized to your brand. Contact topLingo
It’s April 2009 and most websites don’t support phone browsing very well. So you ask, “should mine”?
For now the answer is still “depends”. The first question you need to ask is who’s your audience?
To clarify what I’m talking about, here are two versions of the Facebook landing page. The one designed for the phone (left) lets you log in with no scrolling and is sans heavy images. The one on the right is being shown on a phone but was designed to display on a PC monitor which is why the user is forced to scroll around just to log in.
If you’re Facebook, where the age demographic skews well below the national average and the balance sheet bling screems louder than three schoolgirls on a roller coaster, designing for the phone is an obvious choice.
But maybe you’re an ecommerce site selling Jitterbug cell phones to the AARP crowd. Then the correct anyswer would be - – - that’s right, “no”. The jitterbug doesn’t support a browser and even if it did, the over 55 crowd isn’t hanging out at the mall updating their LinkedIn profiles on their cells.
But things aren’t always so obvious. Another tech savvy daddy chose not to create an iPhone version of their site. They’re that iconic company in Cupertino, California who owns apple.com. One thing’s for sure – it’s not due to lack of bling or any technical niavity that they skipped a customized phone version.
There’s a lot to consider when weighing the options. Do you need a phony website? Ask us. We’ll help you determine what’s right for your situation.
Collective Soul fans will recognize the lyric from December. In that song, lead singer Ed Roland kinda spits this out: “Don’t scream about, Don’t think aloud, Turn your head now baby, Just spit me out”.
That’s how I feel about site searches. Don’t make me think, don’t make me scream. Just spit it out.
Want a “spit me out” search? Just check out the search functions on cool sites like Academic Earth and Apple.
For example, on Academic Earth, if you type in “Stanford” the search results look like this:
Cool how it’s organized into 3 logical categories without my having to ask. Categories are completely contextual to the search, so different search terms return different numbers of categories. Simple, understated, spit-me-out elegance.
Want to see another example? Check out www.apple.com and type in “OS”, as in “Operating System”. You should get results grouped by 1. Products, 2. The Apple Store, and 3. Support. If there are many links in each category, then the function can be coded to just show the top N in each category.
So the next time a web developer asks you how you want your search box, just smile, look her in the eye, and sing: Don’t Scream About, Don’t think Aloud, Baby… just Spit Me Out.
Rather then obscure, those word clouds actually clarify and speed the communication of the underlying messages. For example, check out the topLingo About Us page as a cloud:
If you’re a visual learner who’s also into language, this is the big nirvana. In another example, below’s a word cloud from the music page of MilesDavis.com:
1. Clearly answer the visitor’s first question, “Am I in the right place?”
Visitors should get this answer in the first couple of seconds.
2. Clearly answer the visitor’s second question, “Am I in the best place?”
This is where copy and design come together to hook the first time visitor.
3. Create an obvious Call to Action
Make the merely obvious completely unmistakable. This was stated earlier and is intentionally redundant because, well, it bares repeating.
4. Hook them with headings.
People only skim web pages. Make the headings concise and enticing to lure the reader deeper.
5. Be personal.
Talk to your visitors not at them.
6. Relentlessly proof read.
Then go away for a while. Then proof read again.
7. Share with fresh sets of eyes.
If you’ve never been embarrassed by an obvious typo in your lifetime, you can skip this tip (and take any stuffed animal of your choice off the top shelf).
8. Talk benefits not features
Features are about you, benefits are about them.
9. NUAAWTIF (Never use an acronym without translating it first)
OMG. Nuff said.
10. Follow the 3 P’s: Preview > Proof > Post
Preview your copy as it will look on the web page, proof the preview, then – if error free – post.
In summary, this three post series covers both strategic and tactical aspects of web copywriting. It’s meant as a primer or jumping off point for a serious analysis of your project’s copywriting needs.
There you have it. The final segment of “10 Tips for Writing Great Web Copy” and another topLingo blog post with web news you can use.
In the kitchen of web design, cookin’ and eatin’ are usually simultaneous processes. Ideally the cookin’ part – the site map, architecture, design mockups, and seo (search engine optimization) keyword lists – are completed before the copywriting starts. Of course life is messy, and rules are meant to be broken, so your process may vary. Just remember, great copy usually happens around a good plan and a logical development flow.
5. Set a budget
Great copy requires a financial commitment. To help you connect ROI to cost, try comparing the copy quality of top websites in your industry with less successful sites. Then get your checkbook out.
6. Determine your style
Whether you intend to outsource or not, you’ll want to think about what style would be most effective for your site. Define your audience. Know what special needs they have – maybe they’re highly technical (law, medicine, technology) or multilingual, or youthful and edgy or all of the above. Speak in their voice.
7. Develop your Keywords and Phrases
The copywriter should understand the fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and write copy that is not only clear, interesting, concise, and persuasive, but that indexes well in Google, Yahoo, MSN, and the other search tools. One caveat here – resist the over-zealous SEO types who think listing all the zip codes in American on your landing page constitutes good copy. In other words, SEO is important but providing clear, relevant, compelling copy to your target audience is your first priority.
8. Sanity check your copy
If you’re reading this and you’re the copywriter, note that this step should definitely get delegated to others. This could be as simple as getting a fresh set of eyeballs to proof the copy, or as complex as a branding consultant can imagine, including executive reviews, department heads, proof readers, compliance departments, and composite focus groups. If budget is an issue, find the “Mary in accounting” in your life – who was a language major in college and writes screenplays on the side- to proof your stuff.
9. Put a call to action (CTA) on every page
Ecommerce sites want you to buy, blogs want you to comment and click on their ads, brochure sites want you to subscribe to newsletters and tell your friends. But the call to action doesn’t stop there. Make sure every page on your site moves the visitor towards the ideal CTA for that page. If a page contains a white paper, the CTA might be, subscribe for “complete access to all white papers”, or “critique this paper”. If it’s a contact us page, the CTA might be the submit button and the resulting thank you page might have a CTA to view the products page.
[Check back Monday, Feb. 16 for the 3rd and final post on this topic - "10 Tips for Writing Great Web Copy"]
Bad website copy can be great – only not for you. Sure, bad copy has entertainment value: “…the LCD TV VJ3212 brings you a finely detailed visual enjoyment and won’t let your tasteful eyes miss any fine details.” Unfortunately, the call to action here might be “laugh and leave”.
Don’t underestimate the challenge of developing good web copy – or the payoff. While the focus of website development is often on technical and design issues, the real payoff is in the words.
How does killer copy get created, you ask?
Just assign the copywriting task to a team of web savvy, SEO knowledgeable people with great writing skills and a great understanding of your company’s products and services, and a great understanding of your corporate branding strategy, and an insanely great understanding of your target audiences, partners and competitors. Then have them write copy during their lunch breaks and email their document – or hand deliver their scribbled bar napkins – to the new intern over in I.T. for uploading to the website.
OK, so that may not work for you. Maybe your company has a no-bar-napkin policy or maybe the intern just says no (they can be snits sometimes). No worries. We’ve put together 10 Tips for Writing Great Web Copy
1. Add copywriting to your project plan
May not seem like an obvious tip, but your Project Manager will love you for it. And putting copywriting in the plan says “es importante”.
2. Decide whether to go it alone or hire experts
All successful enterprises are good at something – probably lots of things – but not always the “writing” thing. Unless your project has ready access to internal resources that excel in writing web copy, work with an outside professional.
3. Pick a copywriter with the right skills and experience
Your list will be unique to your needs. Here’s a jumpstart:
Should have at least 2 years experience as a web copywriter/editor
Should have complete fluency in the target language and an understanding of cultural nuance
Should have a professional portfolio of completed web projects
Should have the right chemistry (like the writer/love the copy)
Should have SEO (Search Engine Optimization) chops
[this is ending up being longer than a single post - check back here tomorrow for the next installment]
Tom Petty wrote that lyric for “Big Weekend”, but he might as well’ve been talking about the web. Lookin’ back, that 2005 website don’t look the same and like Tom said, “If you don’t run you rust.”
Well, actually, not everything ages, like, instantly. Classic styles keep their cool – like this music player we built for MilesDavis.com a few years back:
"Just a brief note to express my satisfaction with topLingo..." ZyXEL interviewed many firms when planning a complete overhaul of its large and outdated website. We've got a great many products that formerly had not been properly categorized, making visitors' searches nearly impossible.
If you need to print out an entire website, here is a little trick. You’ll need the full version of Acrobat though. I did this using Acrobat X Pro, but I believe this works all the way back to Acrobat 8.x.
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