[thelist] website web site & Style Guides

[Lee Fleming]

> From: "Kevin" <p+evolt at redbrick.dcu.ie>
> To: <thelist at lists.evolt.org>
> Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 2:09 PM
> Subject: Re: [thelist] website web site

> I think we should be really worried when we start using Gerry McGovern as
a
> reference.

Do you have a reason for your opinion? Why should we be worried? It's a
cheap shot to make a comment like that without explaining why.

I may not agree with everything Gerry McGovern writes, or his opinions, or
whatever. Sometimes I think he's just plain wrong, or sometimes I draw
entirely different conculsions from the same observations. Nonetheless,
there was a definite need of a style guide for the web, oops, I mean Web.
(Beyond that mess Wired offered a number of years ago. )

Why is there a need for a style guide? Because it's astonishing how much
time gets wasted without one. Speaking from my current experience of working
on the UI for a web-based application for a largish company, when there's
more than one "content provider" (be it content for a user manual, technical
specs, instructions, screens, markerting material, etc.), working without
some kind of guide (whether imposed by fiat or agreed upon) causes time to
be wasted on minute details such as the correct usage of "website." Usage
needs to be consistent or usability (either on the site or in training)
plummets and costs can begin to creep up as people champion their own usage
preferences.

When I write a style guide for a site I'm building, word usage is just as
important as navigation, screen flow, and layout. McGovern et al filled a
vacuum that needed to be filled and, until something better comes along, his
guide is the one I'll use -- saves me a lot of time (since I don't have to
write a custom guide for each client - I can just cite the book) and saves
my clients a lot of money.

Lee
www.infopulsellc.com