By Trey Reeme on March 27, 2006
Ahh, Salt Lake City. Take a look at our photos on Flickr to see how we made the most of our three days there.
If you’re in SLC, here’s a list of four things that won’t waste your time.
Do this in SLC:
- Ahh Sushi. The atmosphere is almost as good as the Mars Roll.
- Hang out at Park City Mountain Resort. Make your way to one of the back porches (we went to Steeps) and watch the guys and gals in the halfpipe.
- Eat at Crown Burgers. Normal burgers come with onions or pickles. Crown Burgers are topped with pastrami. Yes, pastrami. A pleasure to eat, but remember your Rolaids.
- Climb the hills just above the University of Utah for a spectacular view of the Valley. It’s worth the shin splints.
By Trey Reeme on March 21, 2006
In 1997 John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen wrote Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective: How to Write for the Web. They concluded that users primarily scan web pages instead of reading them, prefer short text, and “detest anything that seems like marketing fluff or overly hyped language (‘marketese’).”
Ten years later and bad web copy still abounds. Want an example? Let’s look at some content written by a slightly younger and much more verbose me.
It was once the content for the “About Us” section of our site:
We’re not a computer company. We’re a productivity company.
Trabian Technology is a business application development and consulting company whose commitment is to help you revolutionize every aspect of your business operations. Trabian isn‚Äôt a computer company; we’re a productivity company.
Our goal isn’t to convince you to use the latest (or most expensive) technology. Instead, we help you locate the solutions and define the operating procedures that increase your overall efficiency and productivity of your business.
Trabian-powered applications and websites feature breathtaking design, solid architecture, and unexpected affordability, making our solutions ideal for businesses of all sizes. In addition to web design and development, our services include web hosting, custom software development, and consulting.
I doubt you read every word of that; it makes me snore and I wrote it. Good thing we shortened it to:
We help credit unions generate growth and connect with their members by building exceptional websites. Our clients trust us for content management, design, application development, hosting, and great conversation.
Somewhere between writing the crappy version and the current version I figured out how to:
- Edit (Turn 116 words into 29)
- Avoid sales-speak (Describing our work as “breathtaking” was a bad call)
- Pay attention to web usability experts
- Write with personality
- Write (and read) often to keep the skillset sharpened
Writing the two sentence version of “About Us” wasn’t easy. But I’m confident it says more than the eight sentence version ever could.
By Brent Dixon on March 16, 2006
We want to thank Shane at Unmatched Style for featuring us on his fantastic behemoth of a CSS showcase site today. His review was probably the nicest thing I’ve ever heard that didn’t come from my own mother’s mouth. It has lead to some incredible feedback and an enormous influx of visitors.
We’re all completely blown away and are really appreciative to him – and all of you for dropping by. Also, I have a question for you all after the jump…
One piece of feedback that we’ve heard through the comments on Unmatched Style involved the amount of content we include on our homepage. Here’s a segment from one:
“It‚Äôs very nice graphically, but seems a little cluttered. My first impression upon visiting was that there was too much packed onto the page, everything seemed to demand my attention at the same time.”
I’d like to hear some thoughts on this from you guys. Our reason for going for the one-page vibe was actually to simplify the amount of jumping around visitors had to do to round up information about us. It’s kind of an interesting balance to try and strike, putting enough information right in front of users, while not cluttering up the message.
This is especially an issue because our target market, credit unions, are generally not the most web-savvy group out there.
Thanks again for dropping by, we’re all looking forward to your comments. We like to get better at this thing however we can.
*Update: We just noticed that we were also added to CSS Mania, another fantastic CSS showcase that currently indexes over 2300 sites. Check them out right this second. And also, we somehow made it to the del.icio.us popular page. Honestly, we’re astounded. Thanks guys.
By Brent Dixon on March 15, 2006
You know what’s flattering? CSS design showcase CSSElite has been kind enough to include us in their growing gallery of sites deemed “visually-well-to-do.” Go check it out, and you’ll quickly see that we are in very good company, which is especially cool.
At around one week old, CSSElite is a very young site. The word must have spread rapidly, however, because we’ve already seen a distinct rise in our site traffic since being added. To those who’ve come to us from their site: Hi there. Welcome. Stay awhile.
Word is they’re going to be rolling out a new design in the future, along with expanded features and a contest to win an iPod nano. So if you’re a fan of webdesign and quality creative inspiration, or want a free iPod, CSSElite is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
By Trey Reeme on March 13, 2006
We can’t hold the good news in any longer – we’re working with the Filene Research Institute to build their new site! We’ll be finishing the redesign in June.
More good news – my laptop’s hard drive failed on Friday. I’m happy because I get a new (well, new to me) Dell on steroids (currently Matt’s laptop). Matt’s happy because Uncle Trabian will be getting him a new MacBook Pro Mac PowerBook. The boy won’t stop smiling.
Plus, the Aggies made it into the men’s tournament, so 75% of Trabianites have a reason to say “Gig ‘em” this week. Looks like my alma mater finished with a 4-23 men’s record. Ouch.
