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Why Web Development Skills are Becoming as Important as Online Content

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hands-coffee-cup-apple

There’s an interesting trend right now in online activities. Ever since the Internet came into its own, people have constantly declared that content is king.

But more and more, the web development framework around the content is playing a vital role as well. In fact, at some point, how well the web development is executed may come to mean more than the content. In other words, we have nearly achieved “the medium is the message” status on the web.

What does that mean to you as a web developer or content generator? The answer lies in the notion of a blog itself, inside premium WordPress plugins, and bundled up with the essence of new SEO methods.

We must also take into account the degree of specialization that some of this knowledge requires. That means you have to work in teams with people who have different skill sets from yours. This is forcing developers and generators to — gasp! — learn to communicate better.

Begin with the Idea of a Blog

When you’re setting out to create a blog, what mental steps do you go through? You have an idea, and you convert it to text, perhaps with some images inserted, and then post it.

But then what? How and where do you share it? Through social media channels? By individual messages to people? Through a subscription list?

Every question you ask about how to spread of the message relates directly to the concepts of web development. As a content generator, you have to know how to set of a framework of sharing and publicizing, or your idea will go exactly nowhere.

The simple blogging skill set is no longer enough for even a mild level of success.

Check Out Premium Plugins

Further into the idea of web development, consider how much you can accomplish with free tools associated with the WordPress blog format. It’s amazing, really.

You can have a full-featured presence without spending any money. But … if you want to tweak the format; if you want to express yourself more professionally, more succinctly, in a more streamlined way; then that’s where further web development skills are going to come into play.
Because buying plugin licenses and learning to use them effectively is your fast track to standing out visually and technically.

Think About the Importance of SEO

To be a successful content generator of any sort, you now have to know the web development aspects of SEO. You can’t write the way you used to.

Certain stylistic changes are now required, both in terms of raw content and understanding how to put together headlines, titles, subheadings, and image captions.

Teamwork Becomes More Integral

Another thing you’ll quickly realize is that you can’t create a successful online presence on your own anymore. There’s a good chance you’ll need a graphic designer, a photographer, a web developer, a social media guru …  all of these positions are necessary!

And though any person can double or triple up on these tasks, it’s nearly impossible to do them all yourself. Get a team, or get left in the digital dust.

Communication Skills Become More Important

Accompanying that team effort is going to come some communication frustration. Especially when you try to mix the creative and the technical together, serious cultural and language barriers exist.

A web designer won’t likely understand the drive of a blogger to use poetic words and phrases any more than a fiction writer understands why tiny adjustments in color scheme can any difference at all. But together, web development and content generation will create the perfect marriage of skills for online success.

 

Friday Focus 10/01/10: Old Style Illustrations

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Happy October and Friday Focus! This week we’re looking at designs that incorporate illustrations you see in old books, which give a quirky yet nostalgic effect.

Designs of the Week

Spring: Supporting Local Biodiversity

I like how even the logo is distressed; a nice confined design.

Simon Collison

In embracing an old style look you’ll probably adopt an old style manner of copywriting as well, or at least a quirky one that contrasts against the serious black and white pictures.

Creativepayne

With all the interest in poster-style web typography these days, I can only wish the introductory text on this page weren’t an just image.

Great Bible Tales

The site hasn’t launched yet but you can glean from this screen that the design is mostly modern and the illustration stays in the background. I hope that’s not the case when it launches because there’s much potential there.

LivingDesign by Asif R Naqvi

This is a fascinatingly ornate design. I’m most delighted by the search, subscribe, Twitter, and Facebook graphics on the sidebar. Makes you want everything else, like the archives list, to have the same touch. The use of sans serif for the post text also kind of breaks that feel a bit.

Roost

There are a couple ofrules that this design seems to break: no descriptions for the menu icons (not even tooltip text) and center aligned body text. Perhaps the site owner actually wanted it that way, but still.

Icelab

Not many illustrations here, so they don’t feel that well-integrated. But the animation on the logo, both in the header and footer, is a nifty touch.

10K Apart

Sometimes you wonder why a design uses a particular illustration. In this case, you’ll get it once you reach the footer. What I really like here is the almost-missable effect below the buttons and images.

Bean Exchange

The border below the header is as refined as the designs on dollar bills. The patterns are not what you see everyday or on stock image sites. The bottom border of beans, however, isn’t as well done; I think it could be a little taller and denser so it looks more appetizing.

Parish Atlanta

No illustration spared here. It’s not too clear which ones you can click on, a usual problem with this look, and some areas can be styled even further, but the site makes you want to keep scrolling.

Social Media Weekly

UI – UI Pattern Ideas: List with Functions
“Last week I asked people to participate in a group design project on a specific design pattern: a list with functions.”

CSS – An (Almost) Complete Guide to CSS3 Multi-column Layouts
“One of the defining features of print design is the ubiquity of multi-column layouts. And there are a couple of good reasons why this is the case.”

HTML – HTML5: The Facts And The Myths
“…A lot of what people call HTML5 is actually just old-fashioned DHTML or AJAX. Mixed in with all the information is a lot of misinformation, so here, JavaScript expert Remy Sharp and Opera’s Bruce Lawson look at some of the myths and sort the truth from the common misconceptions.”

CSS – clearfix Reloaded + overflow:hidden Demystified
“This short article is about enhancing the first method and shedding some light on the real meaning of the second.”

CSS – Keeping code clean with content

Outsourcing Development

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You might be working developing the best idea ever. You code days and nights until you get your app working like it’ocial media supposed to. But suddenly you hit a roadblock. You want it to have the best look and feel possible, but you’re not really a designer.

Or perhaps you might be designing the best WordPress theme, but you have no idea how to market it. Will it gain traction just for its inherent qualities? Maybe. Maybe not. If you were an expert at social media marketing, too, then maybe you stand a chance at competing with the already-established premium themes out there.

If you’re working alone, then chances are you might not always be able to take care of all aspects of development. I know some crack developers who, time and again, have sourced out part of their projects to other developers and designers. Some would assign projects on a per-module basis, and then assemble these into a bigger project once complete. And since I opened my own SEO company with a few partners, I’ve handled a few inquiries for various jobs, like back-end development, theme design, marketing or content. It’s a matter of filling in for expertise that other people might need.

In some cases, it would cost you a lot of money to have experts do the work for you. I know designers who charge thousands of dollars just for a WordPress theme. But then again, I know some who would be happy to do a theme for $500 or less. The lower end of the pricing scheme is usually a result of being situated in places with lower costs of living. I know this for a fact, because I enjoy this situation myself. Compare Tokyo, New York and Manila. $500 goes a long way in Manila, but would only get you a few lattes and sandwiches in New York, and probably an order of sushi and sake in Tokyo. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating here, but my point is that cost of living is relatively cheaper in some places.

Sometimes it’s a question of quality. Would you entrust programming and design work to people overseas? More importantly, would you entrust these to people who are complete strangers? And sometimes there are quirks and nuances that you have to consider. Is someone living in Mumbai familiar with the colloquialisms used by someone living in the west coast USA? This might not be an issue when you’re paying someone to convert your PSD graphic into CSS. But if you’re ordering articles, blog posts or other content, this would play a big part, especially if you’re building content meant to be read by humans (rather than, say, search engines).

Have you considered outsourcing development? It might be a good business move, but only if you can do it right. Outsourcing does not mean you can just pass on a task to someone else in its entirety, without much monitoring and interaction. Similarly, micromanaging outsourced work would be too much work for you, that you would probably be better off doing it yourself. Strike a balance. Build trust and keep communication lines open.

Have you outsourced development work before? Share your experiences.

Friday Focus 03/27/09: Twitter Mania

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Twitter has just turned three but it it’s still the most talked about webapp in ages. That’s because people are constantly coming up with ways to extract, arrange, and present its data. Let’s take a look at some nicely designed 3rd-party websites that harness its power.

Designs of the Week

Qapture

Elegant, clean, and easy to use, despite a relatively large amount of information you’ll find on this site. It’s great that there’s a summary of the most popular items on the page right at the top. Scrolling downwards you can switch between grid and list views—again, to control information overload. Third, I like that the actual titles of the webpages being linked to are displayed instead of the tweets themselves, which show up only when you hover over the links.

TWEEEEET Design

The site’s modern touches match its theme (“design”) but I have several concerns. One, I’m not fond of the marquee scrolling: it’s very choppy and whether it’s a JavaScript effect or an HTML <marquee> tag, it has fallen out of favor a long time ago. Two, the tiny pixel fonts: it would’ve been better if it were used in more elements other than the header and footer. Three, the left-aligned layout: I really don’t see a reason why it can’t be centered.

WeFollow

Despite very muted hues, the logo, avatars, and call to action button on the right are colorful and break the monotony. And even though the design elements are clearly Mac-inspired, they’re very subtle and not overpowering. This is a Twitter-related site after all, and not an Apple one.

Which leads me wonder: why are there no bird graphics, gratuitous use of light blue, and cutesy rounded typefaces in the above websites? Have people gotten tired of carrying over Twitter’s branding to their projects?

Social Media Weekly

Design – Designing from the inside out: Part 1 – Content Before Design

Programming – Discover the “Cool” of CSS: 25 Advanced CSS Techniques

Friday Focus 02/06/09: Boxed In

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Let’s have websites with boxed-in content this week. How were these designed to produce such neatly-arranged yet still visually interesting content?

Designs of the Week

Shelly Dennison website screenshot

You know how boxy designs tend to feel cold and industrial? It doesn’t feel that way here. Perhaps because of the lighter background, the surrounding typography, and the actual content in this designer’s portfolio.

Power to the Poster

The grungy feel and the bold letters reinforce the activist nature of this website. The heavy borders go well with a lot of their posters, too, as each one is calling your attention to take action.

Grid-A-Licious

The beauty of this layout is that the content dictates the shape and arrangement of the boxes, instead of shoehorning each item into equal widths and heights. What’s even more interesting is this is a WordPress theme, so if you’re running a WP blog out there you can use this design on it.

Social Media Weekly

Design – 50+ Most Useful Valentine’s Day Designer Resources
It’s just a week away.

Programming – Use CSS Diagnostics with Stylish to find bad HTML
Links to several CSS diagnostic techniques including the Firefox extension Stylish.

Design – 10 things a web designer would never tell you
Tongue in cheek!

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