By admin | Published:
February 4, 2010
I’ve talked with a few photographers lately about new web sites. They each had different ideas of what they needed. It got me to thinking… what would the perfect photographer’s web site look like?
Photography is one of those fields where you put your work - your art and soul - on the line at every appointment.
It is also a word-of-mouth business: happy clients will refer their friends. Prospective customers value their friends’ opinions, so the most trusting new clients will be referrals.
A photographer’s web…
By admin | Published:
February 2, 2010
I’ve been pretty silent on this blog for the past several months, but now I’m starting up again. I have been a web developer since 1997, and I’ve been busy. I haven’t done as much blogging as I would like. I’ve almost always worked for a bigger company, and Stitchsoft would take a back burner to both the day job and my family.
Now, I have an opportunity to spend more time on Stitchsoft and other web sites that are my own. I must admit…
Posted in Web design | Tagged stitchsoft
By admin | Published:
February 1, 2010
“I own a small business. Do I need a web site? a blog?”
It’s a valid question. As a businessperson, you don’t want to dump money into a web site if it’s not going to be a good investment for you. And if you choose to have a web site, how do you go about deciding whether it should be a blog or other type of web site?
A Rose by Any Other Name
Here’s a secret: a blog is just another name for a content-based web site.…
By admin | Published:
January 30, 2010
Design House Digital is the brainchild of myself and my sister-in-law, Jen Allyson Nugent. It is not very old, and yet it’s already had more traffic than any other site I’ve ever done through Stitchsoft. Jen Allyson Nugent and Spencer Nugent did most of the graphics; graphics aren’t my strong suit.
Read more about Design House Digital.
By admin | Published:
January 29, 2010
I did this site as a favor for a friend. As a teacher, his current and former students ask him questions often. He is able to post his answers on this site for all to see.
I chose to do a custom Wordpress theme on this site. Because it was a “favor” site, I just did the graphics myself, instead of paying a designer like I usually do. He likes it. It looks great, and fits his needs well.
My favorite custom feature is a list of links at the bottom of each post page. It contains all the other posts in the current category.
Posted in Portfolio | Tagged CMS, Wordpress
By admin | Published:
July 1, 2009
A web site analysis: Liberty’s Army is a political commentary and education site. It’s a bit of a political hodgepodge; some posts are merely boxes containing information on bills, and other posts are very long commentaries.
I learned this stuff from experts in usability and search optimization. You’ll get the same advice elsewhere; it’s really not just an issue of personal preference.
Read more about Site Analysis: Liberty’s Army.
By admin | Published:
June 17, 2009
Part 2 of starting a web site covers the expected / desired visitor cycle, card sorting / organizing menus, and professional graphic design. Follow our example character Joe Blue as he goes through these steps to build a water park web site.
Read more about how to start a web site, part 2.
By admin | Published:
June 16, 2009
I have been part of lots of web projects… some have fallen flat on their faces, and some turned into major success stories. Of course, there were a few in between! For those of you just getting started on a new venture, here is my personal step-by-step formula for setting up a new web site, from concept to its initial launch.
Read more about how to start a web site.
By admin | Published:
June 4, 2009
My neighbor is a photographer. The other day, she was telling me how nearly all of her business comes from referrals from friends. Come to think of it, referrals are how I usually get my business as well.
Most people prefer to work with a friend of a friend, rather than a stranger. That is why networking is so important for small businesses - the more people we know, the more business is likely to come our way.
It just makes sense. Small business owners want to make it as easy as possible for clients, friends, and relatives to share our business with their friends and colleagues. One way to do this is with an “email-a-friend” link on the business’ web site.
Read more about email-a-friend.
By admin | Published:
May 26, 2009
Adobe Flash is a great tool. Web sites that are all flash are snazzy. They sing, dance, and dazzle. But, like triple chocolate brownies smothered in chocolate syrup, they have their place. You can’t have those brownies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day or you’ll have a problem!
Over the past few weeks, I visited both of the following restaurants. They are my old favorites! I noticed that they both use Flash, and I thought I would use them as examples here. Then, I’ll offer some Flash rules that will help you balance your Flash happiness with Internet realities. Flash sites are generally more expensive than plain old HTML sites, so it’s disappointing to realize that most Flash sites have more problems than their HTML counterparts.
More about Web sites and Flash.
Posted in Web usability | Tagged Flash
