Some Random Dude

Some Random Dude is a blog by P.J. Onori that covers design & technology in the broadest sense possible.

Archive for August, 2006

Click on one of the items below to go to the post

Directing Traffic

I have been a Mint addict for quite some time. I do not go a day without looking at it multiple times. For all that looking however, I have failed to peel beneath the surface of what those numbers mean or start setting goals other than “more traffic”. With each day, I consider this blog increasingly important for both exposure and the learning experience. I am going to start taking my traffic seriously and begin to set goals and create strategies to meet those goals. Because of this, I am rethinking many structural, informational and experiential elements of this site. I am going to make changes to each of those facets in order to meet those goals – I will then analyze if those changes make a positive or negative impact on some metrics I am following and adjust appropriately. Read On…

An Interview on Web Trends from Fadtastic

I recently had the pleasure to be interviewed by Fadtastic about my thoughts on web design and its trends. I actually found the interview process to be quite educational as it really forced me to sit down and think about certain issues in order to come to a conclusion of what my opinion really is. Since not all my answers were posted, I thought I would post my entire interview.

Once again, I would really like to thank the folks at Fadtastic for the great opportunity. On a side note, I will begin contributing to Fadtastic with articles every now and then – I am looking forward to writing in a new arena.
Read On…

Form Design is Good Form

I freely admit that I do not derive bountiful amounts of pleasure from designing forms. Forms are a relatively dry subject. They rarely drive visitors to a site. Forms do not empower the user to take action, but they do dissuade the user from inaction. No one ever goes on and on about how much they enjoyed filling out a form. The vast majority of people recognize when forms are frustrating; the other handful may notice when forms are not frustrating. Forms are the offensive linemen of web design – amazingly crucial to the success of the collective, rarely given credit and only concentrated upon when they fail. I used to give very little thought to the design process of form layouts. I would concentrate instead on the “important” pages that I believed would garner the most attention. My point of view has completed changed. Forms facilitate users to make purchases, register into communities, exchange information with organizations, etc. These functions are the basic elements of a majority of websites – money, participation, information. Read On…