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We hear the term “Web app” thrown around a lot in tech circles. We hear about Web apps living in the cloud, mobile Web apps, and Web app development frameworks. However, I suspect that the average web user doesn’t know (and maybe doesn’t care) about the difference between a Web app and a website. Many people think that any URL you type into a browse takes you to a website, resulting in references to things like “that Facebook website.”

There is one key dividing line between a website and a Web app. A web site exists primarily to display information to the user, and a Web app exists primarily to facilitate the storing, sharing, and evaluation of user-supplied information.

dynamIt launches plenty of websites – from Charley’s Grilled Subs to the Central Ohio Down Syndrome Society to the Webby Award-winning Columbus College of Art and Design. These websites act as the official centralized source of information about the business or organization on the Internet. Interaction via a website is a one-way street; the website owner creates valuable and timely information that is then consumed by the website visitor.

Web apps are different in that users themselves bring the value to the application, using it to accomplish some goal. What would Gmail be if you never sent an email and no other email user ever sent one to you? What would Facebook be without your friends writing status updates, wall posts, event invitations, and bugging you to help them tend to their FarmVille? What would eBay be without anyone listing items for auction? These user-driven interactions have existed for decades in the form of online forums, instant messaging, and online shopping.

Some Web apps are even replacing popular desktop applications; Google Documents performs many of the same functions as the popular Microsoft Office suite of desktop applications. One of the biggest advantages of these “cloud-based” (based on the Internet rather than on the user’s local machine) Web apps is that they can be updated at any time by the application developers – and those changes are immediately reflected for every user of the Web app.

At dynamIt, I have spent many hours developing a privately used Web app for the Ohio Operating Engineers to track every aspect of their training process, from applications to interviews to training classes to on-the-job training to discipline. Several record keepers use this Web app full-time every day to track the progress of every trainee in the program as well as evaluate data about the program as a whole. Because this application is Web-based instead of being installed on each user’s local machine, every user has access to the same centralized database that immediately reflects the changes made in the system by every other user. The Web app can be accessed from any Internet-connected computer in the world, and when a bug in the application is discovered or a new feature is requested, the new version can be deployed directly to the server that hosts the application, providing an immediate update to every user without the need to install any updates on their local machines.

Our dynamIt programming framework is actually designed to be used for both website development AND Web app development. In fact, most of our clients choose to use our centralized Content Management System (a Web app built on our framework) to manage and publish content to their public-facing website! This united framework allows us to build custom Web apps that live alongside their parent websites, running on the same framework and performing tasks like event registration, donation processing, dynamic calendar interaction, member/donor management, and more with a look and feel that remains seamless from the parent website. This unity of user experience establishes and maintains the trust the user has in the parent organization by facilitating these interactions right on-site without passing them off to some third-party vendor that the user has no personal connection to.

While your website can (and should) provide a lot of valuable information to your site visitors, Web apps can make your business or organization more efficient by automating some of your core interactions with clients, customers, and target audiences. Take payments online, streamline back-and-forth communication, and enlist your site visitors to do data entry into your internal systems for you via strategic Web apps that meet your company or organization’s needs.

Use your website to talk to your site visitors, and use Web apps to interact with your site visitors.

As the everyday Web user gets more used to interacting with Web apps, how can your business or organization include this kind of direct user-centered interaction for the users of your website? Is there a Web app that could be included alongside your website that might make your interactions with them easier?

Putting together good site architecture is an important and often neglected element of building a website. With so much energy and focus devoted to strategy, design and development, it’s a facet of the web process that is easy to forget.

Good architecture creates an intuitive browsing experience. With good architecture, you’ll know what content a site provides and you’ll have a clear idea of where you “are” within a site. When users complain that a site is confusing, it’s often because the architecture was inappropriate for the content on the site. They might not be able to put their finger on what’s wrong, but they’re likely complaining about the site’s architecture.

I like to frame this topic by comparing site architecture to the Dewey Decimal System. The Dewey system is used in libraries to organize a large amount of information in a way that’s easy for a library patron to browse. Every book exists in a place that is appropriately labeled and grouped. Libraries use this system to overcome the challenges of information organization: website architects can use a similar set of rules when thinking about organizing information for a site.

Over the years, I’ve compiled a list of handy tips to keep in mind when thinking about the site architecture.

• Top-level navigation should provide a structure that houses every page on the website. The Dewey system has ten major categories that characterize all of the nonfiction content of the library. Each category is supplemented by a number of subcategories. Books fall within these categories and subcategories.
• Navigation should be consistent. Do not, under any circumstances, change the site’s main navigation on a page by page basis.
• Navigation labels should be clear, concise, and should not overlap with another label. Be sure that your top-level navigation items have appropriate labels that fairly characterize all of the content in the section.
• Like information belongs together. Group content on your site by the type of information.
• Every piece of unique content should exist in exactly one place in the site’s architecture. A particular book has one place where it logically lives and copies are not repeated in multiple sections.
• Don’t confuse emphasis with architecture. Just because something is an important call-to-action on the site does not mean it belongs in your top-level navigation labels. Make sure that any piece of information that is important enough to reference from a high-impact area on the site can be found through a logical path that starts with the navigation.
• Don’t use your audiences as architecture. Many of your audience segments will have needs from the site which overlap with another audience. Using your audiences as architecture will either trigger the need to duplicate content or promise more information than the section actually provides.

Spring is in the air.  Leaves on the trees.  Birds are chirping.  And the sun stays out until 8pm (or later).

All good things – unless you cherish the darkness.

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Last fall, as a fresh resident to the Short North and lucky enough to live right on Goodale Park, I wrestled with the idea of planning a weekly picnic, BBQ, softball game, book club – something, anything – just to take full advantage of my newly found 32-acre back yard. Then I thought, I’ve always loved the romanticism of drive-in movie theaters. And although I’ve never actually been to one (that previous link being a reason why), I figured it couldn’t be that hard to replicate the experience on at least a small scale.

Thus began the brain-storming sessions.  How could I pull this off in an economical way?

Self contained Outdoor HomeTheater?    Way to expensive.
Inflatable Projection Screen?    Too much of a pain.
Small devices ready to deploy in <10 minutes?    Perfect.

Essentials- A projector.  Speakers of some sort.  A DVD player. A projection screen.
So, how to power these devices?  Maybe a car battery?   That means a decent charger, cables, a DC->AC inverter, etc.  I’m no electrical engineer. Then came an epiphany- buy pieces that were already battery powered.

The PICO pocket projector – $200, Amazon
Altec Lansing Orbit Travel Speaker – $24, Amazon
Portable DVD player – free (already owned one)
Portable Projection screen – free (dad’s office)
Garden Cart to tow everything – free (already owned)

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The result is the following:  A lovely evening out in the park with old friends (and some new random ones), some wine, and a good movie- “Where the Wild Things Are”, in this case. The perfect way to wind down a weekend, and rejuvenate for the week ahead.

So, if you find yourself free some Sunday evening this summer, I invite you to join us.  Just head towards north-central Goodale and follow the joyful sounds of life enjoyed.
All are welcome.

Two years ago, Matt wrote a blog post (before we even had a blog) about our affinity for the Thurman Cafe and its fares. Indeed, it continues to be a “rite of initiation” for all dynamIt team members.

Specifically, to avoid endless ridicule, each dynamIt employee must tackle and conquer the Thurman Burger (fully dressed, in one sitting, without putting it down).

The tradition continued last week when we officially welcomed Bill Condo and Andy Hutter to the dynamIt team.

Luckily, they both passed the test. However, as his enthusiasm waned, Andy learned the valuable lesson that nothing comes easy.

BEFORE

AFTER

(source: CCAD press release)

CCAD Nets Coveted Place Among Webby Honorees

COLUMBUS (Ohio), April 13, 2010,—Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is proud to announce that www.ccad.edu was selected as an official Webby Honoree under the school/university category, distinguishing the site as being in the top 15 percent of all entries.

Established in 1996 and presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, the Webby is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet.

In 2009 CCAD’s Web site underwent an extensive redesign. Working with local digital agency dynamIt Technologies, the college completely overhauled the look and the architecture of the site. The project started in spring of 2009 and the new site was launched at the end of July that same year.

“Rather than just build on the existing site or redesign the look or our site, we decided to step back and really evaluate our audiences and their needs,” said Lacey Luce, director of Web management for CCAD. “dynamIt was able to bring a fresh eye and expertise to the process and guide us through each step from audience research to design and development.”

“We were fortunate that during this time the college was doing a brand refresh with local design and branding agency Ologie. We were able to incorporate some of their research as we reorganized the site and use elements from the brand in the final design.”

With nearly 70 categories, Web site entries make up the majority of Webby Awards winners, nominees and honorees. Of the nearly 10,000 entries submitted, from all 50 states and more than 60 countries, to the 14th Annual Webby Awards, fewer than 15 percent were distinguished as an Official Honoree. This honor signifies an outstanding caliber of work.

Links: http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current_honorees.php?season=14,

www.ccad.edu, www.dynamit.us/, http://www.ologie.com/

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One of the most overlooked components of the Web is content – whether it’s a new site, a redesign or just a new section. While content (news, a new product line, a new service, a better way to explain value, etc.) often drives a decision to create a new site, its often brushed aside as a “given” during design and development unless otherwise directed by the Web firm.

That’s an issue for a few reasons:

• One of the biggest issues with viewing content as a given is that writing for the Web isn’t as easy as slapping together a few one-pagers and brochures from other marketing efforts.
• Most communicators, let alone other business people, aren’t trained to write for the Web
• Good design takes into consideration the amount of content, the intent of the copy and how it leads users down paths (content should be final at latest when a design concept is approved)
• People assume that you write the visible content on your site like offline materials and in a second breath write the meta information using different words, etc. Good copy should (meta and on-page) should work together.
• Sometimes its hard to truly evaluate the effectiveness of a site (as a client and an agency) until it includes real text, instead of the Lorem Ipsum that’s often used during the concept and initial layout if content is missing.
• If you’re site will include curated content and user-created content (definitely not a new trend) you can’t just build the site without a plan and without strategy in mind about how you’ll gather, evaluate and post the content.

So the next big question is how to create great content for the web:

• When creating content, reference the objectives, strategies and goals you’ve identified for the site. Make sure to eliminate pages and text that aren’t necessary for achieving those goals.
• Know your audience – what do they care about, how much do they know about your organization.
• Ensure content is created for all pages outlined in the architecture of the site.
• Write for the user not for the search engine – be careful not to augment your copy too much for search so that it hurts the effectiveness of your content. If its written well for your user and you’ve included all the appropriate meta you’ll be in pretty good shape.
• Create content to help users go down paths to take actions – don’t leave them hanging on a page with no where to go and no direction. (Web Designer Depot calls it writing to a flowchart – allowing users to navigate throughout the site)
• Keep it brief – while we use the web to research, rarely do web users want to read paragraphs upon paragraphs on a page. The web is not the place to add in extra words – we scan on the web to consume.
• Keep it interesting and on-brand.
• Avoid salesy, gimmicky language to sell your product (that includes the all caps, fifteen exclamation marks that typically follow too).

One of the most important tools and strategies we use for launching sites, especially on tight timelines, that are sustainable is our content development framework. We provide tools for our clients to create the right content, keeping all of the above in mind through page planning documents that identify for each page a goal, meta information, other functions included, emphasis for the page, how frequently it will be updated, and who “owns” the page internally on the client side.

Other resources:

Clear and Effective Communication in Web Design

A List Apart- Content Articles

10 Writing Tips for Web Designers