Alert! Top 5 "No-No's" in Web Design

I feel ashamed of myself.

I completely forgot some of the basic rules of setting up websites. Read: Search engine friendly. As how Homer Simpson says it, "Doh!"

Hence, the boring but absolutely necessary heading of 'Document Design and Publication'. Makes it so much easier for users to find, yeah?

The notion of bad websites gives me ideas of Internet Police going round giving warnings to those who don't adhere to fundamental web design rules. Well, I came across one site which slams websites which they think are just bad. However, please don't click on the link if you can't stand very straightforward language.

I shall only highlight 5 points from Jakob Nielsen's Top Ten Design Mistakes In Weblogs (mostly for reasons that I actually have something to comment on).

1. Forgetting That You Write For Your Future Boss
This is quite freaky. Freedom of Speech ain't really Freedom of Speech. Someone I know was dismissed from his job because he ranted about his colleague on his blog. I can't say whose fault it was because his colleague did make some wrongful allegations about him to make him frustrated enough to rant. However, it pays to not say anything incriminating. After all, if Neil Swidey says you can Google your date, your prospective employer can Google you.

2. Mixing Topics
I agree that it's easier to get a loyal following if you have a tight focus on your blog. Maybe that's why a friend of mine manages a few blogs from one email account. I can't imagine putting up recipes and technology reviews together on one blog. Makes me kinda worried that this blog focuses on too many different aspects...

3. Irregular Publishing Frequency
I never really found this a problem. I usually visit my friends' blogs when I want to. I'll just read whatever posts they have up. This leads to me to visiting their blogs sporadically. Nevertheless, this is a problem if you're serious about blogging. Sporadic visits won't help increase blog readership, will it? Set aside a day just for blogging. It might even be cathartic after a hectic week at work/school.

4. No Author Biographies
Nielsen thinks it's about trust. I just think most of us are nosey. Like how you google or yahoo a certain actor/actress from a movie you've just watched. Most human beings are social creatures. We crave familiarity. Remember, if people love your blog, people love to know more about you.

5. No Author Photo
This is linked to point 4. It's definitely better to see a face on top of the biography. However, anyone can just save your photo and post it up somewhere else. Or even masquerade as you. Over the weekend, The New Paper ran a story about how some domestic helpers used their employers' pictures on an online dating site to find for prospective husbands.

Maybe those helpers were really lonely and hope for a better life. Not everyone's like them. You got to believe that anyone can just malign you. Remember point 1, your prospective employer/date/in-laws can look you up on the Internet and believe what was said.

Besides, it may be more artistic to show a blurred or cropped image of you.