Index
Posts
Practical pieces on structure, voice, and shipping content for the web.
- 01
Redirects are documentation your future self will need
Every redirect you set up is a tiny piece of institutional memory. Treat them like the load-bearing infrastructure they are, not cleanup tasks.
- 02
The second paragraph is where you lose people
Your intro hooks them, but paragraph two is where readers decide if you're worth their time. Here's what actually keeps them reading.
- 03
Breadcrumbs that actually tell users where they are
Most breadcrumb trails break at the worst moment—when users need orientation. Here's how to build navigation that survives real content sprawl.
- 04
Edit for the person who arrives at 4pm on Friday
Your reader is tired, distracted, and has six other tabs open. If your page demands their best attention, they'll leave.
- 05
Metadata inheritance saves hours you're currently wasting
Stop filling the same fields on every page. Let parent pages pass values down and override only what changes.
- 06
Taxonomy before taxonomy: name your buckets once
Most sites drown in overlapping categories because no one sat down first. Define your buckets before you file a single page.
- 07
URL structure you can maintain for ten years
Good URL patterns survive redesigns and organizational changes. Plan them with durability, not cleverness.
- 08
Alt text audit in fifteen minutes
A systematic sweep through image descriptions that actually helps search and screen readers, without overthinking or AI slop.
- 09
One H1 per page is not a rule
The single-H1 myth survives because it used to matter and now it's just cargo cult. Current HTML and search care about hierarchy, not counting.
- 10
Build pages people finish
If the reader bounces at paragraph two, the page did not fail at SEO. It failed at being a page.
- 11
CMS guardrails for staff who should not design
Editors need power over words and images — not over the gravity of the layout.
- 12
Write for scanners without lying
Scannability is not clickbait. It is honest labeling of useful sections.
- 13
The editing pass that ships
Stop polishing forever. Use a brutal checklist once, then publish.
- 14
Images that earn their kilobytes
A hero image is not decoration. It is either evidence, atmosphere with intent, or dead weight.
- 15
Information architecture before voice
Personality is paint. IA is the load-bearing walls. Paint the walls after they stand.