![]() | |
![]() |
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 to maintain an ISP and web hosting account and little else, I create this ambitious masterpiece, believing I am now a self-taught web host, writer, teacher, and confidant for academic writers, mental disability writers, and elder memoir writers. But as your confidant, I have to confess: as much as I'd like to think those 300 hours of study and application for usability, keyword-rich, to-the-letter-of-the-law of interstate/inter-country/internet navigation design and creation make me a self-taught smartass, I did little but the legwork by myself. Actually, five virtuosos of the web world made making a website possible: Jakob Nielsen After creating a really bad mess of a site overloaded with spinning, flashing, color blobs of coolness, I discovered www.useit.com/alertbox and Dr. Jakob Nielsen. His stellar advice, delivered in a no-nonsense tone, is backed by his many years of theoretical and practical work. After reading and studying articles such as the following, I completely reconstructed my site: Current Issues in Web Usability Misconceptions about Usability Ten Most Violated Homepage design Guidelines Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003 Usability for Senior Citizens Writing for the Web Ed Zivkovic As I was catching on to using the experts to build a user-friendly, usable site, I was catching on to the language that indicates the writer knows what he's talking about. This is the redeeming value of Ed Zivkovic's site, Tips for Work at Home Webmasters, at www.ezau.com. He uses candor and directness. He provides technical content in understandable terms. And defying the popular and trendy, he tells you directly and honestly what is crap, what is not crap, what is effective website technique and what is a waste of dough. Try some of these instrumental articles for starters: Domain Name and Web Hosting Hell R.I.G.H.T.S., www.rightsforartists.com As any artist/writer will attest, the work that goes into creation is an interminable challenge. But we do it because we like it, because we are good at it, and because we have to do it. We are compelled to create. But we do our own work, not the work (or art) of others. This site contains all of the legal and ethical guidelines for copyright; R.I.G.H.T.S., a coalition of contributing artists (rather than a corporation or organization, that is) thoroughly, relentlessly provides information, definitions, answers, and directions for copyrighting and protecting creative work. Firelily Designs Just as much about the science of such vital concerns as color design for web users with color vision deficiency as about aesthetics of web design, this site practices what it preaches-as it preaches, well, teaches, graphic design. I don't create my own web graphics. That would take me a year or two to master, when I have enough to do with getting words crafted into readable forms. But I found the advice on color at www.firelily.com fascinating and functionally useful. Angela Hoy, Writers Weekly There are writers newsletters aplenty. And then there's Writers Weekly. What does the site and the owner have to do with web design, specifically? They are proactive protectors of writers and creative people, in general. Hoy stands up for the rights of freelancers by refusing the requests of tightwads who solicit her to recommend writers to work for 3 bucks an hour on copy for them so they can make millions while the writers starve. Hoy encourages the ethics of hard work by way of informative how-tos. And Angela Hoy, with husband and co-owner, Richard Hoy, pours an acid tongue on the plague that is the scamming POD publisher or the conniving money-charging agent-in a section of her [their] site called "Whispers and Warnings." For the newbie, novice, wannabe freelancer, or even for the work at home woman or man creating a website she or he wants safe from scummy scammers, www.writersweekly.com is an advisory imperative. Robert Woodhead of Self Promotion.com Finding www.selfpromotion.com shaved centuries off of not only my design and development but my publishing and promoting the site. With uncluttered pages and cutting-edge (constantly updated) information, Woodhead (who even makes self-effacing jokes about his name) walks a web wannabe through every stage of the process, and then provides [shareware] support by helping you submit your site to hundreds of search engines and indexes that you need to have crawl your site for rankings-the latest (2004) must-have for any online business. Of course, if you were to look at my Favorite Files, at the 900+ categories, subcategories, and links, you would find that many others pulled my smart ass up by the seat of the pants. I name a few of these helpful gurus here, too: Andrew Starling's Top Ten Sites Compared, in the Web Developer's Virtual Library at www.wdvl.internet.com Jill Whalen's www.highrankings.com Jim Heath at www.viacorp.com Keith Instone's www.usableweb.com, 970 Links about Web Usability Kevin Lee's Free Keyword research Tools and Keywords revisited at Click Z Network, www.clickz.com The PSP Interactive Zone, www.pspiz.net www.smallbusiness.sbc.yahoo.com Assistant Professor Stan Ketterer's Design Fundamentals News Writing/ Newsletter coursework at www.cas.okstate.edu Stephanie Hetu at www.stephaniehetu.com Sumantra Roy's SEO course, Choosing the Correct Keywords for a Site, at www.thejunglemarketer.com Karen Zoldan of www.bridgemarketing.com As you might have figured out, I write this not to share any of my own personal technological truths-which are wanting. I write this not to embellish the careers of any affiliates. I don't have an affiliation with nor do I know the people in the Top Five-who do not need my small time embellishment or exposure. I write this not to create an entity I had no previous knowledge of creating-though how I do like to brag. I compose this guide to humble myself to the fact that I was flying by the seat of my pants in most cases-except where I was lucky enough to intuit some strategies (which are still in the making, so don't get an attitude when you visit my site and find it still needs work: I know it does). I compose this guide to honor those who put in way more than 300 piddly hours of research, study, and practice to find out what works to make it work even better. And I compose this guide to help you avoid even 300 (not so piddling when you are doing it yourself) hours of stitching and tearing out the stitches of the britches of a tailoring project. Smarty pants just had to do it the hard way. May your way be easier. N.H.-born prize-winning poet, creative nonfiction writer, memoirist, and award-winning Assoc. Prof. of English, Roxanne is also web content and freelance writer/founder of http://www.roxannewrites.com, a support site for academic, memoir, mental disability, and creative writers who need a nudge, a nod, or just ideas?of which Roxanne has 1,000s, so do stop in for a visit, as this sentence can't possibly get any longer??.
MORE RESOURCES: Website Development: In-Depth Guide For Beginners Search Engine Journal 22 Free Web Design Tools from Spring 2023 Practical Ecommerce Web Design North Offers Website Designing Services in Canada Digital Journal Best Web Design NJ Recognized as Top Choice for Businesses ... Digital Journal Web Design Strategies to Improve Website Conversion Rate The Good Men Project Web Premium Launches Cutting-Edge Web Design and Digital ... Digital Journal 23 Top Graphic Design Companies Built In 6 Benefits Of Professional Web Hosting For Businesses HostReview.com Web Design Software Market Research Report by Industry ... Digital Journal New SCC program blends graphic design, web design, marketing ... Daily Independent Elevate Your Web Design Skills: 5 Effective Tips for Optimal Learning - Robotics and Automation News Elevate Your Web Design Skills: 5 Effective Tips for Optimal Learning Robotics and Automation News The Impact of AI on Web Design and User Experience Down to Game The Best Free Software Tools to Create Great Graphics CO— by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Exploring Elementor AI: What is it? PC Guide - For The Latest PC Hardware & Tech News The Benefits of hiring a Web Design Agency Tech Guide AI: The Ghost of Web Design Future? Hindustan Times How to Use Web Design and Content Optimization for User ... RS Web Solutions Mobile-First Design: Creating Websites for the Mobile Generation NASSCOM Community The 10 Best Software Development Companies in 2023 MUO - MakeUseOf Proof of Talk 2023 – Two Days To Restore Trust in Web 3.0 and Design the Future of the Industry The Daily Hodl Web design, development firm named among Inc. Best Workplaces SiouxFalls.Business 5 YouTube channels for learning graphic design Cointelegraph 50+ New Cutting-Edge AI Tools (2023) MarkTechPost Boost Your Business with Custom Website Development Services Digital Journal Fulton Savings Bank Donates $5000 To Fulton Community ... Oswego Daily News 8 Common HTML Mistakes You Should Avoid for Better Web ... MUO - MakeUseOf Four female Buffalo entrepreneurs team up to help small businesses ... The Business Journals 6 Chrome Extensions to Boost Your Productivity Online MUO - MakeUseOf Adamson senior awarded trip to NASA, summer internship with local ... Oak Cliff Advocate McFarlane Toys and Blizzard Entertainment Licensing Agreement ... Action Figure Insider BULLZ and GeloCubed Combine Marketing Forces To Help Web3 ... Digital Journal Marine Toys for Tots Provides Smiles for Today and Hope for ... Action Figure Insider The SEC’s Coinbase lawsuit shows how Biden is cracking down on crypto and big tech companies Vox.com Research Assistant (Web-design) job with MAYNOOTH ... Times Higher Education Crucial Role of Web Design in Enhancing Online Casino Experience Yucatan Magazine Your Ultimate Business Startup Checklist Small Business Trends Interaction Design | Web Design & Development | Digital Media Utah Valley University Joint journey: The Ferraz Rodrigues brothers' path to collaborating ... Illinois State University News Portfolio Requirements for Web and App Emphasis | Web Design ... Utah Valley University 20 Free Web Design Tools from Winter 2023 Practical Ecommerce WAcademy's Web Design Interns Have Successfully Developed Over 30,000 Free Websites for Global SMEs Yahoo Finance 2023 web development roadmap TheServerSide.com Simple Steps to Mobile-first Web Design Practical Ecommerce 15 Best AI Tools for Web Designers Designmodo 6 CSS Tips for Better Web Development and Enhancing Your Web ... MUO - MakeUseOf The ultimate guide to web design: Learn the fundamentals Interesting Engineering System Breaks Down Barriers for Blind Web Designers Maryland Today Retailers are using sneaky web design to catch you out Creative Bloq When and Where to Use REM and EM Units in Web Design? hackernoon.com Best AI Tools for Web Designers (2023) MarkTechPost Web Design In Melbourne: Creating Designs That Communicate ... Harlem World Magazine This Colorado web designer doesn't want to make wedding sites for ... Colorado Public Radio The Impact Of Competitive Analysis On Web Design & How To Perform It Properly [DesignRush QuickSights] Yahoo Finance Top Web Design Trends 2023 Designmodo A Web Designer's Tech Stack Practical Ecommerce |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
RELATED ARTICLES
Affordable Web Design In Birmingham If you have a business, big or small you may be thinking of getting yourself a website.The world wide web is another way of spreading your message or selling your product. Long Copy Sales Letters on the Web: Hype or Not? I have written before about long sales copy on the web. But I have more to say on the subject. Transforming A Site From Good To Excellent One of the challenges of moving a web site up from good to excellent is transforming it from just a bunch of web pages and graphics to an interactive experience. Another term for this is community - a place where people can come to communicate with others. Developing Your Winning Web Site Strategy Your web site is the key to your success on the Internet. You can use your web site to build your brand, increase sales, generate more leads, slash costs, and much more. Creating a Basic Web Design Template A "template" is simply a design format which you can apply to all (or most) of the pages in your web site. The first advantage of using a "template" system is that it allows you to make your most important design decisions at the beginning, and then just focus on content. Web Site Turn Ons When you develop a sales brochure, you have a mental checklist of what needs to be in it. You probably look at brochures from other vendors. Web Design - 7 Key Things to Avoid A search for "web design" on Google returns more than 325 million results. So how do we start eliminating all these so called designers? Here are a few of the most common shortcomings. Website Checklist 10 Basic Things Your Website Should Have .. Excellently Constructed Websites Want to see an excellently constructed website? As a writer I found one of my favorite writers: (Paulo Coelho) has a site that could inspire anyone who wants to create a more humanistic presence on the Web.Being a writer, when I was asked to do some research into what makes a good website, of course I straightaway went to check out all of my favorite authors. Graphic Design Using Color Color is everywhere and conveys a message even if we don't realize it. While this message can vary by culture it pays to know what colors "say" in your own corner of the universe, and even what color means to your target market. How to Build Your Own Website - More Steps To build a website, there are four methods to choose from:First method: Get a professional designer to build the site for you:It is expensive in creation process, site maintenance and development.Second method:Designing the site with free website hosting:In this case, just sign in the website that offers this service, and start building your own website. Get Rid of Your Frames A few years ago a lot of websites utilized frame technology.A website that uses this frame technology is apparent when the left hand or top of the screen stays the same and the inner part changes when links are clicked on. Put Up A Website And Start Promoting In About An Hour I can't figure out people who have products or information to sell who do not have a website. With some people, it's fear of technology; others just haven't realized that we've entered the electronic age. Creating A Quality Web Site Design! In this article, I will attempt to cover the basics of creating a great quality web design template for your site. Now it's a known fact that the layout or "eye candy" as I put it will determine whether your visitors will stay more than 15 seconds or they will just become another statistic. Custom Icons For Your Specific Brand Developing a software application is not easy at all; apart from the effective creation of the application you'll have to think of other things as well, like: making the software easy to work with, giving it a unique and appealing look, making it better than other software, etc. Apart from the qualities of the application, these little things are the ones that promote your software application among the end users. 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. Content is Crucial! Content is undoubtedly the most important element of a website. It is the defining factor for a website, that which catches the interest of your visitors and keeps them hooked to your site. How to Make Effective Use of Web Fonts Writing for your web site is not the same as offlinewriting. The fonts used for print media are different thanweb fonts. So You're Hiring a Web Designer-You Have the Right to Demand these 7 Perks Whether you're hiring a designer who has created 10 sites or 1000 sites for other businesses, there are 10 things every website should do for you.1. Create A Web Site That Builds Trust If someone doesn't know you personally, will they trust you enough to do business with you just by visiting your web site?Most people view organizations - and web sites - they don't know with great skepticism. Given all the identity theft and viruses running around, people are understandably cautious and somewhat skeptical when they go to a new web site. ![]() |
home | site map |
Webdesign-box © 2006 |