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Technology Vs. Usability
When JV Media Design was formed, the year was 1995 and the Internet was a very different place than it is today. The first websites we created used simple layouts, a modest amount of graphics, standard "web safe" colors, and no javascript. This was all done in an attempt to create websites that worked well with the browsers of the time (namely, Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator). As the years went by, technology rapidly changed, and so did the web. Soon enough, javascript was standard procedure to create "roll over" effects on buttons, to scroll text, and lots more. Web pages got more graphically intense, and using audio and Flash was a brand new frontier. Ten years have now passed and keeping up with the technology and trends is still a major priority for us. When it was once unheard of to include Flash in web pages, it is now become standard practice. But there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing". We strive to create web pages that blend technologies together to create the best user experience. When it was once accepted to incorporate a Flash "splash" page on a site, it is now looked upon as an extraneous step that most visitors will click through. Attention spans have shortened to a mere matter of seconds on the web, and putting your uses through a Flashy presentation just to have a "wow" factor can be more detrimental than beneficial. So the main factor in considering Flash technology for your website is: "will it enhance my website?" In order to answer this question you must consider your target market. For instance, you are a rock band. You need to convey a certain "image" and your design can be more creative and exciting than if you are a Real Estate Agent. Try surfing the web and see what others have done with their sites. Also, your designer should be able to guide you in what will work and what will not. Keep in mind that there is still a large enough percentage of Internet users accessing the web at "dial up" speeds. If you do choose to utilize Flash, make sure you do not lose potential visitors by making them wait through a long, boring loading screen. Most people surf the web to access information. Just because you can design a very complicated Flash presentation, doesn't mean that you should. If you have any questions, we would be happy to help you out! Sherry Holub received her BA in studio art from UCLA in 1995 and is the Lead Designer and Manager at Southern California firm, JV Media Design. http://www.jvmediadesign.com
Get Faster Download Times By Making Bigger Web Pages!
As a webmaster you already know how important it is that your web pages download fast. In a nutshell, if y...
Caveat Scriptor: Use The Advice Of Those Who Know Before You Build A Site
~A man [woman] is a success if he [she] gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he [she] does what he [she] wants to do. Bob Dylan~I'm smart. Wicked smart. Too smart for my own good. At the same time (as they said when I was as kid and as it still applies), I'm too big for my own britches.So I put those prissy pantalones to some good effort and I teach others how to write. I win a few awards, send a few hopefuls off to higher learning institutions where they in turn win their own awards and accolades. I do this till my seat gets burned one too many times by the politics of academia, and I go into freelance writing.I research for 1000s of hours, submit to literary contests and magazines, start working writing gigs, and keep researching. I build a web site. With what it costs...
Creating A Favicon
Once, I attempted to create a favicon (the little graphic in the URL address box) for this Web site, but never did finish the work until now. I used a free program that allowed me to copy and paste an image to create an icon, but I believe it has spyware so I won't share its name. There are many icon creators out there.In Photosho...
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Alternative To Web Site Templates And Design Software
Before I discovered the concept of Web site templates, I felt woefully inadequate to build my own site. It was the old "catch-22" where I didn't have the money to pay to have a site built, I needed a site to make the money to have a professional site, and without the knowledge of how to build a site, I had no hope of getting a site.But even templates took some degree of technical knowledge. I could get a reasonably priced site for between $40-$75 dollars generally speaking, but I had to download, mess with it and find a hosting site, domain name, learn FTP, then upload every change. Ugh! However, I heard about a new online resource where... |  |
| Cheap Web Design In London
Due to the large number of people offering web design services in London, there is always a bargain to be found.Website design firms in London are in a very competitive market and some offer some great deals at various times of the year.People who are just starting out in a career building websites will often offer their services at a very reasonable rate, basically to build up a portfolio. Once they have established themselves they then tend to increas... | |
| Basic Web Design Principles
Home PageHome page should clearly indicate what the site is about. Provide top level navigation on the first page, your logo, and tell to the visitor what he can found on your web site. Your home page should be informative, and should call your visitor on action. Home page is the place where the visitor decides what he will do, click on some of your links, or leave the site. If you have a discount, or if you offer some free service in attempt to make a contact with potential customers, make sure to provide link to that service on your home page.If you decide to implement flash intro on your first page, make sure to give the user possibility to skip the flash intro. The link "skip intro" should be outside of the flash, because you will force the visitor to wait until the Flash movie is loaded.Navigation structure | |
| Designing Your Web Site For All Browsers
Let's face it. Building a web site that browses consistently on multiple platforms and multiple browsers is not always as easy as we would like.It is safe to say that most designers spend most of their time building their sites on a given platform. Those with the highest standards should, upon completion, take a look at their creation in different browsers and different platforms.Sure, you could see how it looks in Window 98 with Internet Explorer and let that be good enough, but do you really want to risk a bad web experience for millions and millions of potential visitors? Consider this....A recent statistic I saw reported that 12% of internet users were Macintosh users. Ignoring this fact is like creating a catalog that can only be optimally viewed by one in eight of your customers.Furthermore, not all of the W... | |
| Let Your Website Make You $$$ While You Sleep! And All That Other B.s.!
Well, you've got your product, started your home business, and even have your website up on the internet. Only one problem, where is that money you were supposed to be making? Nothing! No one is knocking down your door to buy your product! Well, here is the real world answer. Just because you have a website up doesn't mean much if people can't find you among the masses of sites out there. And you thought you were done:) Now, the real work starts....... | |
| No Matr How Goud The Infomation...
Typos, misspellings, hideous grammar, exclamation overkill and run-on sentences all undermine a Web site's message. Your reader will have to work too hard, and you won't have that reader long.Grabbing a reader's attention is a key point in getting your message out, but there is such a thing as too much grabbing--and the wrong kind of attention. Negative attention can lose a great many visitors and potential clients.Clean content and neat appearance are not merely a matter of aesthetics. It goes to the core of establishing trust and reliability between a Web site and visitor. Relate it to a deli. A potential customer heard about you through an ad. Cool ad, got his/her attention, so he/she stops by on the way home. On the outside everything looks nice, meetsexpectations, so the visitor walks in, looking for tonight's sandwic... | |
| Website Design Firm
Website design firms come in all shapes and sizes.When choosing which firm you would like to build your website, there are many factors which you need to take into consideration.There is no point having really nice looking website if no one can see it because it has poor optimisation.Most web desgn firms will offer additional services such as optimisation, website promotion and may also submit your website to the search engines.For me the website they ... | |
| Choose & Use The Best Colors
The Psychology of ColorAre you using the best colors for your web site? Many web designers often overlook the issues of color in web design. When ch... | |
| How Not To Get Web Design Work
I get the occasional web design lead from my website. I wanted to find a company I could pass these onto. So I put an ad on a freelance site. It specified the programming qualifications needed, stated that the successful candidate should have good English, and was for companies only.The replies I got were enlightening. So much so, I made a list of things applicants did wrong. Here it is.I should point out I was initially prepared to give everyone a fair go. After the first twenty-odd emails, my attitude changed. I was looking for reasons to delete applicants. I only needed one successful one; with 100+ replies it was getting to be a headache, so I decided a brutal approach was needed.1. Failed to read the spec.Many applicants couldn't write properly in the English language. Many were individuals only. Result: in... | |
| How Not To Be Ripped Off By Your Website Designer
As web designer my self, I have had the unfortunate luck of speaking to too many of my clients who have been ripped off by a web designer somewhere along the line. Whether it be that the designer never really finished the website, took the deposit and was never heard from again, or finished the website with less than promised quality.No business, especially a small business, can afford to be taken advantage of by a web designer.... | |
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