A Practical Guide to Developing and Managing Websites

Roger Tomlinson and Vicki Allpress July 2004, Arts Council England July 2004 ISBN 0728710234 £10 [£14.90 inc p&p]

This book should be essential reading for anyone is looking to publish a new website, or who is charged with looking after an existing site. It’s quite rare for any guide to strike the right balance between breadth and depth but here the authors have provided a good introduction to the various elements that need to be considered – strategy, information design, usability and so on – as well as suggesting further reading for anyone who needs to know more.

Key points are covered well: the emphasis throughout is on the need for every website to be driven by a strategy which sets out exactly the business needs the site is expected to serve. Despite the theory, it is still my experience that too many arts organisations have embarked on a website because someone has decided it will be a ‘Good Idea’, and it is no surprise that they then find it almost impossible to work out how to make the best of it. Any marketer or administrator faced with demands from boards or directors to introduce a website should make sure their colleagues read this book and stick to the advice it gives, in particular over how important it is that resources should be allocated to keep a site up to date once it’s published – a website is never finished.

As with any printed publication about the web, there are a few things that have dated – even in the 9 months since it was published – but that shouldn’t detract from the main arguments. This is a very useful book which I hope ACE will update over time.

Review by Kieran Cooper, Director, Catalyst Art

SAM's Books compiles the Bookshop section of Arts Professional magazine, and used to compile Bookshop in its predecessor, Arts Business. This review has appeared in Arts Professional or Arts Business. It gives a longer and more personal description of the book than appears in the booklists.