Features Archive: 2005
Introduction to RSS
— Published December 16th, 2005 | by David Moore | 2 Comments
You’ve no doubt seen the orange ‘RSS’ or ‘XML’ labels on the sidebar of a range of websites. But perhaps you’re not entirely sure what RSS is, and what it could do for your organisation’s site. We can help.
What we'd like for Christmas
— Published December 16th, 2005 | by David Moore
Here at iQ Content, we’re not an acquisitive bunch, but who doesn’t like getting something cool and vaguely tech-related under the tree on Christmas Day?
Google Analytics - This is a big deal
— Published November 21st, 2005 | by Brian Donohue | 1 Comments
Google has just grabbed the world of web analytics and given it a good shake. A really vigorous, dizzying shake.
Review of Movies @ Dundrum website
— Published November 21st, 2005 | by David Moore | 20 Comments
Possibly the (new) worst commercial site in Ireland?
Web 2.0 – Good vibe, bad name
— Published October 28th, 2005 | by Brian Donohue
It's reached the point where it's hard to avoid seeing some mention of "Web 2.0" these days. It's all over the tech community – everyone is blogging about it – and it's in the mainstream press, too. There's buzz, there's hype, and it's even now had its second conference. So then, what's it all about?
Wearing badges is not enough
— Published September 29th, 2005 | by Paul Fitzsimons | 4 Comments
Although industry awareness of standards compliance is increasing, the motivation is all wrong. There's too much emphasis on compliance, rather than on the people who benefit from compliance. Too much focus on techniques at the expense of the user experience.
The iQ Clinic: Google problems
— Published September 29th, 2005 | by John Wood
The problem:
Rob Brooks, who manages an Intranet site for a large public agency in the UK, has sent in a real conundrum for the first iQ Clinic feature. Rob has noticed some strange user behaviour when checking the weekly log of search terms. Week after week, the top query is "Google".
The problems of measuring eGovernment progress
— Published August 31st, 2005 | by David Moore
'If you can't measure it, you can't manage it' goes the old business school mantra, and in eGovernment issues we've never been short of measurement, but what do all the reports tell us about how useful (or used) our public sector websites are?
Improving Search Usability
— Published May 31st, 2005 | by John Wood | 1 Comments
Searching is a crucial feature in any website, but often developers don't make it as easy to use as it could be. Here we offer guidelines for the three main search components: search controls, the search returns, and metadata.
Return on Investment for Usability
— Published April 28th, 2005 | by David Moore
Website development, especially where it includes a large amount of interactivity (for example, booking flights or managing accounts) has a lot in common with software development. And it shares a lot of its problems, in making things that are easy to use.
Site Audits 3 - Benchmarking and recommendations
— Published March 22nd, 2005 | by David Moore
How to use the knowledge you've gained from a site audit.
Site Audits 2 - How to conduct an audit
— Published March 1st, 2005 | by David Moore
The details on carrying out a site evaluation.
Site Audits 1 - Introduction to site audits
— Published January 27th, 2005 | by David Moore
Reviewing your site is important, but there are many different approaches.
The iQ Clinic: Go Fast Numbers
— Published January 1st, 2005 | by David Moore
The problem:
A web manager from a large semi-state organisation has a question about the “Go Fast Numbers” used on the Irish goverment information portal, Reach Services. He explains, "It seems to be a sort of AERTEL page number. If you know the page you want, type in the number and up it pops. I have not seen this used anywhere else. Is it a good system? Should it be considered for large information spaces?"