The Upward Path

your message matters

You and your message

Does your website need a spring clean?

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Here in the UK it feels like we’ve been waiting a long time for spring this year! But now that sunnier days are here, thoughts naturally turn to clearing out the old and bringing in the fresh and new.

Are you looking at your website and thinking it could use a sweep through, but not sure what needs attention? Here’s a quick look at some important things to check.

Change the welcome mat so they know they’re in the right place

When visitors arrive, does the site show them clearly who you are and what they can expect to find inside?

That first screenful is critical in drawing in cautious passers-by, which you do with a combination of things – title, subtitle, the navigation menu text, the page heading, images…

Although that might sound like a lot to think about, the key for most of us is to keep it simple and effective. Try to put yourself in the position of a visitor who doesn’t already know you. Can they see what the name of the site is? If there’s important text or a logo, can they make it out clearly? (For instance, watch out for text on busy background images.)   [Read more…] about Does your website need a spring clean?

The power of colour for building your authentic brand

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Coloured fabric rolls

Perhaps the most immediate impression we get from websites, documents or other materials is the colour scheme. This isn’t just about looking pretty. There’s a field called colour psychology that says different colours give us particular messages. The choices you make here can strengthen your message or create a jarring effect that makes it harder for people to trust you.

This post sets out commonly recognised associations for 12 colours, to help you understand their effects and choose the right ones for your work.

Quick jumps to colour sections

Red | Orange | Yellow | Green | Turquoise | Blue | Black | White | Grey | Pink | Purple | Brown

The power of colour

Whether we realise it or not, colour schemes spark off associations in our brains. We feel differently about warm colours and cool colours; about bright colours and muted colours. Colours can excite or relax us, signal trustworthiness or act as cues to particular values.

If you want to consciously communicate your message to people who visit your site and read your materials, it’s not just about picking colours that you happen to like. Choose a colour scheme that looks good and says the right things about you.   [Read more…] about The power of colour for building your authentic brand

How to write for the web to turn visitors into readers

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Typing on laptop image

If you’re trying to reach an audience you probably write web pages, blog articles and maybe guest blogs, and social media posts. Here’s some guidance and a checklist to help you do it better so you can engage your audience with your message.

You can’t just throw text on the page and expect it to work. You have to respect the reader. It’s in your interest to respect the reader.

Their brain is poised to remind them of more important and enjoyable things they could be doing right now. And if it sees a page that looks like hard work, it will.

If you have a message that you want to get into their mind, you need to make it smooth. Any bumps are likely to throw them off. Your ideas don’t get their due consideration if they don’t get read.

But if you do a good job they’ll enjoy the experience, learn something from you, and maybe want more.   [Read more…] about How to write for the web to turn visitors into readers

Welcome to the new site

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Tim GrayI haven’t announced this site yet, so it’s kind of a tinkering project. But for anybody who finds it –

Hi, I’m Tim Gray. This site is a rebrand and consolidation of what I’ve previously been doing at Words That Change The World (focusing on communication skills and services) and The Upward Path (big picture blogging on social change, personal development, etc).

Why? A bunch of interrelated reasons.   [Read more…] about Welcome to the new site

Web pages – check them out before you check them off

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When you create a new site, or new content, it might be something you’re eager to tick off your to-do list so you can move on.

But please remember the visitors you’re making it for, and pause awhile to make sure it will actually work for them. I see so many instances where this clearly hasn’t been done.

Try to look at your pages like a new visitor. They don’t know what you know about what’s further down the page or two pages over. They only know what they see at any one time. Can they see what they need to? Is stuff getting in the way and frustrating them?

Below you’ll find a few specifics to watch for.

(Tip: I talk about zoom settings in your web browser – if you haven’t previously found how to adjust the close up/far away setting, hunt it down in the menu. It’s a useful tool, especially if your eyesight sometimes needs a bit of help.)

Page layout and screen format

I’ve been noticing this a lot recently. I still use a 4:3 format monitor, and there seems to have been a shift to assuming everyone is now on the wider 6:9. So page designs made of blocks sometimes break and I have to reduce the screen zoom % to get everything to slot into its proper place.

You don’t have any control over a visitor’s monitor and settings, so try to get your design working with as wide a range as possible. That means checking a page design on two or three devices to see how it behaves: at least a desktop and a phone.   [Read more…] about Web pages – check them out before you check them off

A simple structure to take the stress out of your About page

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Person in spotlight image

The About page of your website is the place where you talk about yourself, in a way that you probably don’t on other pages. It’s about you – but in a way that serves your visitors.

People get hung up on their About pages, and from what I’ve seen there are two reasons.

  • They don’t know how to structure the information.
  • They have big resistance to showing up. (Especially for introverts, but a lot of people seem to have some of this. I expect it’s partly a British culture thing.)

It’s not that difficult or scary, really. There are lots of ways to write an About page, but let me give you a standard version that will let you get it done and go on to other things.   [Read more…] about A simple structure to take the stress out of your About page