I’m convinced that from now on, all the sites I build need to have sitemaps. If they’re built in ZenCart, or CMS Made Simple, that’s not a problem, they build the sitemaps for me. But for all other sites, it’s another page to make and link to. I just added one to my own site after 8 years in the business, so it’s not something I’ve always done. But better late than never. 

Why sitemaps? I think the two big reasons are:

1. Usability
2. Search Engine Optimization

Usability: Making Your Site More User-Friendly

 For usability, it’s a matter of making sure it’s easy to find all the content your site has to offer. I try to make the navigation logical and accessible, but I can’t assume anymore that people will follow the steps through the site that I’ve laid out. Or that they want to. It’s got to be quick and easy. By showing users a bulleted list of pages, they have to option to quickly scan and find the page they want. Or discover pages they didn’t know existed, because they never thought to go through “About Us” to find testimonials, for example. This assumes that your sitemap has logical and easy to understand titles for each page. You could add a description next to each item, but the overall idea of sitemaps is to keep them quick and simple.

Search Engines Love Them

The robot crawlers behind the search engines love content. And following links. So why not make it easy for them? A nice, text-based list of pages in your site is just begging to be found. And those web crawlers will follow each link from your sitemap, goobling up content as they go. Google not only loves sitemaps, but asks that you build a special one just for them. A Google Sitemap is an XML document that follows the conventions laid out by the sitemap Powers that Be at sitemaps.org, with each page in your site listed in a specially-marked up document, highlighting not only the page title, but things like how important the page is, and how often it is updated. This tells the search engine how to rank pages of equal content from your site, and how often to come back and look for updates. Not rules, just suggestions. And it can’t hurt to try.This means you should have 2 sitemaps files to every site. The one for people, sitemap.html, and one for the robots, sitemap.xml.

Not a Coder? Tools That Build Sitemaps For You

While I can easily build a sitemap for my clients, if you’re wanting to build your own, there’s some technical details to consider. Building a HTML sitemap designed for site users (aka “people) isn’t hard. You can build one in an program like Dreamweaver by making a bullet list and linking each item to appropriate page, like I did on my site.But building the sitemap the search engine webcrawlers prefer, an XML document? That requires a bit of coding knowlege. Google shares how to do this online, and you can use a simple text editor to make your sitemap.xml. You can cut and paste their examples, rewording the pages and links to suit your site.There are also 3rd party tools that will generate the XML code for you. One choice can be downloaded for free, at SourceForge. A simple Google search will reveal a host of options for building the sitemap.xml file, such as www.xml-sitemaps.com.And as you search for tools and information, it leads me to the next point that accompanies the importance of sitemaps. Can you guess what it is?

The Importance of Search

While sitemaps are great, an equally valuable tool to add to your site, if not more valuable, is SEARCH. Search is by far the preferred method of finding content on the Internet. More on adding search to your site in the next post.

I just attended the 1st annual MinneWebCon at the University of Minnesota. Part of my ongoing training and education, I sponsored myself to the all day event. Described as a “full-day, three-track continuing education conference for web professionals,” the conference covered broad topics, such as the meaning of being a web designer today and the future of the Web, as well as more specific areas of Google Gadgets and Google Analytics, microformats, modern javascript usage, accessibility, and Internet Law. Turn out was good, and keynote speaker Eric Meyer was very engaging, speaking of the proper role of web designers in the tradition of craftmen. Hopefully the event will continue next year, and continue to grow and improve.

I haven’t been advertising myself using this ubiquitous term, Web 2.0, but since it’s become such a popular term, some of you may be wondering, does Dan Moriarty get this whole Web 2.0 thing? Does he design Web 2.0 sites? The short answer is yes. I understand and appreciate the current trends in both website development and web design, and can apply it to your next project. While some of the design tricks that are considered Web 2.0 are being vastly overused (reflected surfaces, rounded letters, etc.), I still find a lot of it a refreshing and welcome change from the designs of years past.And Web 2.0 can refer to so much more than just looks. In my mind, it’s about new Internet startups, cheap but powerful software, following recommended web standards and better coding, embracing open source movement, moving to web-based software, creating and joining online communities, and building websites with an eye to flexibility and accessibility.If you’re interested in learing more about what Web 2.0 means, here’s some interesting articles that attempt to define it.Web 2.0 Design:Web 2.0 Design Style GuideWeb 2.0 Type and Logos:Great Fonts for Web 2.0Logos of Web 2.0

The past few months I’ve completed a bunch of new sites; more than I’ve been able to write about. 2 other sites launched in December include one for Aperture 24, a video production company, and one for Dimensional Mail, a division of Impressions Inc. printing company. Both feature a black, white, and red color scheme, and use of Flash as well as HTML.

For Aperture 24, the client had a site that was incomplete and needing revising. I rebuilt the existing site, changing it to a format the client could edit themselves using Adobe Dreamweaver. I made many design changes along the way, updating the site navigation and adding several video clips, embedded into the site pages using Flash.With Dimensional Mail, I took initial layouts designed by their staff and built the website. I also made an animation using Flash that shows a package morphing into a letter, emphasizing their service of direct mail packaging.You can view these and others in my online portfolio.

Two new ecommerce websites, built and designed by Dan Moriarty Freelance Design, were just launched this month! The first is a redesign and rebuild of Bright Starts Learning Center, a Canadian-based company that sells educational toys for kids. Besides giving the online store a new look, I was able to add several new features and add-ons as well, such as customer wish lists, referral programs, gift wrap, and more.  Online at brightstartslearning.com.The second site is Hot Ice Skating Apparel, a Minnesota-based company seeking to expand sales with an online store. Offering clothing and accessories for both kids and adult skaters, this new ecommerce site can be found at hoticeskatingapparel.com.These are two more additions to my ecommerce portfolio. If you’d like to sell something online, I can set you up with an effective, powerful set of online tools that you can administer and manage yourself. If you’re already selling online, but want something friendlier to use, better looking, and with great features and flexibility, contact me. 

 In 2007, I partnered with some local design firms, helping create new websites for their clients. Two recently launched websites include Grassroots and Groundwork and Lange Research, both of which I built for Minneapolis design firm, Thebe Street. They created the layouts and I built the site, adding Flash animations, images, CSS styles, and the HTML pages.While I typically design and build sites for small businesses by myself, these projects were good opportunities to team up with other local designers in need of an experienced web designer and developer. Grassroots and Groundwork is the local nonprofit arm of Northwest Airlines, and Lange Research works with businesses and schools to develop educational programs.