Notes from the long way round

A hundred witty one-liners are less valuable than one clear voice repeated everywhere. Cleverness gets a moment of attention, but consistency builds…

Search engine optimization is often sold as a trick: a shortcut that will flood your site with visitors overnight. The truth is…

Every extra element on a page competes for the visitor’s attention. A banner here, a popup there, a carousel that never stops…

Too many websites begin with a proud announcement: we are a leading provider, we are excited to offer, we are pleased to…

Most people think a brand is a logo, a color palette, and a clever tagline. Those things matter, but they are only…

White space looks like emptiness, so people rush to fill it. But empty space is doing real work: it gives the eye…

Dashboards full of charts can feel productive, but they are useless if they never change a decision. A visitor count that goes…

Good copy does not start with what you want to say; it starts with what your customer is already thinking. What keeps…

One of the simplest ways to improve a website is to ask a blunt question about every page: what is your job?…

Keywords are only half the story. Two people can type the same phrase with completely different goals, and the page that succeeds…