Most people, in general, like to think (or act) like they know a lot more than they actually do. Writers creating their own author websites is no exception.
With that in mind, here are five phrases that I’ve heard from clients more than once in relation to author websites. Everyone will start sounding a whole lot more tech-savvy when they stop using phrases like these…
- I want a web page.
Yes, there is such thing as a “web page.” It refers to one page of a website. When a client tells me she wants to build herself an author webpage, it’s like nails on a chalkboard. If you want more than one page, it’s an author website you’re asking about. - I want to download a video to my site.
People commonly confuse “upload” and “download.” You download a file FROM a site. You upload a file TO a site. Uploading is sharing, and downloading is taking. - What should the buttons on my website be?
Those of us in the industry do not call them buttons. Nor do we call them title bars. They are the elements of your website navigation. - What happens when people press on that link?
Users don’t “press” on links. They click on links. - Is my site search-engine friendly?
Nearly every site out there today is search-engine friendly. Unless you specifically block the site from being indexed by the search engines (tech jargon, I know), it’s “friendly.” What you really want to ask is if the site is optimized for the search engines. Just because it’s friendly (i.e. It can be read by Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc…) doesn’t mean that you’ve taken the necessary steps to optimize it for your name, your book title and select keywords.
Designers/developers/web editors out there … are there other terms like these that you repeatedly hear people using mistakenly? If so, please share them with us in the comments box!