Website Owner's Manual: The Secret to Successful Websites 1st Edition

Although it is starting to show its age, Paul Boag's Website Owner's Manual is still an excellent guide for anyone that has input or insight in their organization's website. Where it excels is in the plain language descriptions of the topics that teach you the jargon that all the designers and programmers are throwing around. Tie it in with the podcasts from the author's website and you get a comprehensive overview of all the parts that make your website work - and what core values to apply to each one so you do it right.At 4 years old, however, it could use a second edition. Many of the details are starting to get dated and many current trends such as web browsing on tablets and the need for responsive design were unheard of at the time of its publication. Paul is still actively writing for smashing magazine and other on-line publications, I wish he would incorporate some of those into a nice update.BTW the included e-book version downloaded from the publisher was a nice extra.

Though this isn't the most polished book (more the editor and publisher's fault than the author's), it packs a lot of information into easily-digestible portions. I highly recommend it to anyone working with a web designer to develop a site, or whose job it is to grow and maintain a site. For designers and developers, reading this book can improve your understanding of and communication with clients.

I borrowed this book from the library first, but for months after I returned it I still found myself thinking about it and wishing I had it to reference when strategically overhauling websites for clients. I think the information in this book is great.

In contrast to most web books, this guide takes the perspective of the owner, rather than the developer. As a developer myself, it is worth reading to get that different perspective. I am giving copies of this book to my clients. It will really help them.

This book is helpful for new website owners, but the quality is not great. The author's chatty manner makes it an easy read, but the grammar and style can be distracting.It is best used by small business owners and not necessarily for web designers.

Since the development of HTML there have been innumerable guides to web development aimed at teaching the technical skills to construct an esthetically pleasing website. But little has been said, up until now about constructing and maintaining a website congruent with the individual's or organization's goals whether they be political influence, increased sales, or establishing communication with a user community. This excellent and reasonably compact (260 pages) guide is directed at the individual responsible for establishing and building community around a website that meets the owner's strategic goals, whether they will develop the skills to design that site within the organization itself, or will contract with appropriately skilled individuals. The issues addressed here are definitely strategic and project oriented, not Rich Interaction Tools, AJAX, or CMS-based. The author draws on significant advisory experience in enabling organizations to meet their business goals or strategic intentions for a site, in forming a vision for the site, selecting a design consultant, establishing readership and search metrics, setting cost goals, and most importantly in creating engaging sites that satisfy the organization's need.Each phase of website development is explored from the point of view of the client individual or organization, whether it is establishing strategic goals to be met by the site, preparing a brief for the designer, making design review decisions based upon defined objectives rather than individual taste, interacting with Search Engine Optimization consultants, etc. The aim of this excellent guide is that the individual or group charged with developing an organization's website and establishing a community of users properly meets the business needs or strategic goals for which that website is constructed. Technical experts inside or outside of the organization can meet the goals of the organization once the vision and goals have been established and an appropriate mode of interaction has been established.--Ira LaefskyMSE/MBA IT Consultant Formerly Senior Staff Member of Arthur D. Little, Inc. and DIGITAL