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Up0
Hi Carl – I like your work, especially the carltoons
@ Adam – I understand where you come from when you say:
Id prefer a pig ugly site with 100 visitors a day than something that belongs in an art gallery that gets 2.
But what if users find you and turn away because your site is pig ugly and not inviting? Never underestimate the visual effect of things. Even with visitors without a design education.
Or if the site doesn’t work because they are using an iPhone (I’ve heard that iphone doesn’t support flash, correct me if I’m wrong).
And who would recommend or try a designer with an ugly looking website? I always look at hairdresser’s haircuts as wellDoesn’t mean that the SEO shouldn’t be up to date if that’s what you want and need.
Cheers
AstridUp0Astrid, post: 3170 wrote:Hi Carl – I like your work, especially the carltoons
@ Adam – I understand where you come from when you say:
Id prefer a pig ugly site with 100 visitors a day than something that belongs in an art gallery that gets 2.
But what if users find you and turn away because your site is pig ugly and not inviting? Never underestimate the visual effect of things. Even with visitors without a design education.
Hi Astrid
Yes I agree with what you are saying, there does need to be a minimum level of aesthetic and navigational competence involved in the creation of a web site.In saying that though, thats not very hard to achieve. The web site on this thread is at the extreme end of aesthetic pleasure and good looks and it has reason to be, as its a showcase of the OPs profession.
My guess is it was quite an expensive site to create either in time or money or both.
Most of us dont need to demonstrate a high degree of creativity, in actual fact it could be argued that business thrives when creativity is curtailed (systems and procedures I think are the opposite to creativity)
So in saying that, I will correct my original post and say, I would rather a site that is as plain as an Arrowroot biscuit and can be found by 200 people than a Monte Carlo that is only found by 2.
(note; in real life I prefer the Monte Carlo)
When I think of all the sites I go to that are on both my favourites and on my links tab, not a single one would win any design awards (take a look at Google the most successful web site in history) Its the information they contain that puts them at the top of my list.
Up0Hi Adam
I shouldn’t read about biscuits before dinner – had to stop and ransack the pantry.
I too agree with what you are saying. Barrier free websites and easy access to information is essential. And much more important than visual overkill.
What is creativity anyway? I don’t think it’s only nice pics and colours and fancy typography. It’s more a simple and unexpected solution to a communication problem. Systems and procedures can – in my opinion – also contain certain creative elements.
Some websites need to be more “award winning looking”, some just need to be plain informativ. Especially in the top design and architecture business clients expect to see something beyond the normal stuff.
But I think we’re getting too much off-topic here
Cheers
AstridUp0Hi Carl,
Great looking website and animations you’ve got there! There are several things I can think of that will help you, and aren’t hugely expensive, nor do they trash very much of work you’ve already had done.
Firstly, your site is currently almost completely Flash… this is not really the best way to get discovered online (by search engines etc), it’s also not necessary for your site. After having a bit of a look around, I can see that there are places where Flash is appropriate, but it needn’t be the whole site.
Secondly, I think adding a blog (possibly with WordPress) would certainly be of benefit. Keep in mind though, blogs need to be updated regularly to be productive.
I’m more than willing to give you some more specific pointers if you like, feel free to PM me if you’re interested. I’m also more than capable of doing the work for you, or just being available to answer questions if you decide to do it yourself
Best of luck!
On a side note:
tier1onlinestrategies, post: 3312 wrote:“…how to go about hiring a web design company.”I would add in the following:
Results — what have they done before?
Location — are they even in the same city you are?
Experience — have they spent any time in studying/working in the US, learning about the latest techniques that are years ahead of what’s known in Australia?
I really took exception to the second two points here. Location is almost completely irrelevant in the web industry! Most of my clients are not even in Australia… Also, time spent studying/working in the US? Might sound impressive I suppose, but again not really anything to do with anything. You may have noticed that the internet is available in almost every single country, and information flows fairly freely across borders
Up0Me too Japh. The term “web design perth” is one of the most competitive search terms IIRC — Judd, this is true right? I remember being told to not bother with it
60-70% of my clients are based in Los Angeles and New York – 2 of the most saturated markets for web designers… and yet I manage to woo entertainment companies because I am highly regarded in those circles & always deliver. And little ol’ me in Perth is quite sought after despite never having been to the USA. Who woulda thought?
Your work, your service, and your attitude transcend EVERY other aspect of business… the other stuff is excuses.
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