Web Site
Do’s
and Don’ts
By Cheryl Bolen
PASIC’s web mistress, Shelley Kay, shared the do’s and
don’ts of web site design at the group’s biannual conference March 31.
In addition to serving as web mistress for PASIC, Kay has built
several other group author sites, including those for authors of
Silhouette Desire, Special Edition, Medical Romances, Love Inspired,
Pocket, and Harlequin and Silhouette Romance authors.
She also has more than 60 author clients, some with simple sites
and others with extensive sites that feature interactiive and
multi-media functions.
When a client initially contacts her, Kay asks them to fill out a
client survey that runs from five to six pages. She also forces the
clients to narrow down their product (books) to three adjectives. In
addition, she asks clients to write down specifics of web sites they
like.
Whether working with a professional like Kay or doing the work
yourself, an author must define the purpose and primary message of the
web site. The author should know her market and be aware of what the
competition is doing and should define the target audience.
Next, the author must identify the tone she wants to convey on the
web site. For example, Christina Dodd, who is one of Kay’s clients,
decided she wants her web site to promote Christina Dodd. Not Dodd’s
titles. Not one of the genres in which she writes.
Once decisions on the tone and scope of the web site have been
established, Kay recommends the following guidelines:
Limit the number of main links. For example, instead of
linking to author and to author’s photos and to author’s favorite
things, lump all things relating to author in one link, which can
then have sublinks.
Keep the site organized and easy to navigate. "It’s a web
site, not a web page," Kay said. She’s not a proponent of a busy
home page.
Keep navigation in the same place on the pages.
Use headers to identify where the user is at all times.
Never lose your main navigation.
Always open external sites in new window so the user never
leaves your site.
A large number of author sites now use a variety of interactivity,
such as subscription lists, contests, games, quizzes, blogs, and polls.
To manage subscription lists, Kay herself uses a free PHP list, which
she recommends for maintaining mailing lists. She said Yahoo and other
lists can be imported into it, too.
One of her authors, Susan Mallery, sends out e-cards rather than
newsletters when she has a book coming out. "Most of my authors don’t
have time to change their own newsletters," Kay said.
On the other hand, Kay has designed templates for authors such as
Deeanne Gist, who prefer to update their sites themselves.
As far as blogging goes, Kay recommends not starting a blog if it
cannot be maintained on a regular basis. "I’m taking down as many as I
put up," she said.
Another interactive function, the guest book, is becoming a thing
of the past. "It’s a spam magnet," she said.
Multi-media presentations, such as book trailers, are gaining in
popularity. Kay says a lot of these book trailers are being used as an
introduction to web sites. She urges that they feature a skip button —
which she also urges with audio.
Kay touched briefly on copyright as it pertains to photos and
music. If, for example, an author puts up a piece of art to illustrate
her blog, it’s fair usage: not for profit.
Typically, stock photos and music should be used for web sites and
trailers. Seeking these can be time consuming. Some of Kay’s clients
save a lot of money by searching for these themselves.
Once the web site is built, Kay recommends:
Don’t follow every trend.
Don’t assume more content is better.
Change content regularly. Keep up to date and organized. Keep
a schedule of events. Pay someone to maintain it if you can’t.
Register the site with major search engines. This can
sometimes take from four to six weeks before results will be
visible.
Belong to romance communities, reciprocally link to other
sites and to My Space and You Tube.
Use your "brand" in all your marketing.
This article was first published in PASIC Basics, Spring
2007.