Apheus recently completed a very simple ecommerce website for a client in Valparaiso, Indiana. The Erie Signal Company builds track detection circuits for model railroads. This is by far the easiest ecommerce website we’ve ever created – currently with just one product! Check out the new Erie Signal website.
Browsing Posts tagged Web Design
There are thousands of great web designers in the world today. Each designer continues to “one up” the next designer with easy flowing web pages, eye-pleasing graphics, and solid programming. Unfortunately, there are also thousands of bad web designers and “wannabe” web designers in the world. They make common mistakes that can ruin a website from a visutal standpoint.
Bad Color Combinations
How many times have you tried to read red text on a blue background? Take a look at the image below:
It’s pretty much impossible to read the text and it hurts the eyes trying! Staying clear of bad color combinations is paramount. A good designer can find different combinations of color to really make your text stand out, and make it easy to read. By making the blue background slightly darker, changing the title to yellow, and the paragraph to white, we can make the same text much more visually appealing:
Bad Linking
Another bad web design practice is bad linking. There are many ways to mess up linking. Almost everyone knows that blue text with an underline is commonly looked at as a link:
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Go ahead, click as many times as you want, it will not take you anywhere! Another bad linking practice is to hide links. A visitor to your website has to see the link in order to click on it.
Also, keep an eye out for links that don’t go anywhere. Every link on your website should go somewhere. If you don’t have the page designed yet, then there shouldn’t be a link. A good designer will not have any 404 page errors. If you’ve redesigned your website, then make sure you put in plenty of URL redirects to minimize these 404 errors. Bad linking can be very confusing for visitors when they are trying to navigate your website. If they can’t find your links, or become frustrated trying to navigate they probably won’t stick around for very long.
Broken Image Files
If a website designer doesn’t properly code your HTML, you may get broken image files that look like this when you view your website in a browser:
Don’t worry, it’s just a graphic of a broken image and not a real broken image (I wouldn’t dare create a real-life broken image!) Broken images are easy to fix, but occur quite often on the internet. Its very unprofessional and can detract from your overall design. When you view your website, you should never see broken images.
Blinking Text
Sometimes, you can use animation or Flash to draw attention to a particular spot on your website. This is OK if its done correctly. Blinking text should almost always be avoided in modern web design, mostly because it is quite annoying. Look at the blinking text example below:
Aliquam risus metus, egestas sed, convallis sodales, gravida ut, lectus. . Vestibulum et tellus tempor orci porta vehicula. Proin blandit luctus diam. . Mauris consectetuer, odio non hendrerit lobortis, orci orci bibendum mi, at pretium risus justo at mi. Curabitur tristique. . Sed tristique ipsum et est. Vestibulum eget mauris et dolor sagittis lobortis. Integer mollis fermentum erat.
Frames
Some web designers rely heavily on frames for navigation, advertising banners, content, etc. Frames are (in one word) bad. They are hard to handle in some browsers, never look quite right, and are another “old technology” that should no longer be used in modern web design. Frames are also bad for SEO and should just be avoided. The first website I designed utilized frames, but thankfully, I’ve moved beyond that! Unfortunately, I still see a lot of websites out on the internet that utilize frames. All I can do is scratch my head and wonder, “why?” CSS is a much better way to go if you want to create blocks of content that don’t move on the screen.
KISS
One basic rule of thumb applies to website design – Keep It Simple Stupid! A good web designer will always try to keep everything looking good, have good code, and will make suggestions that can improve the look, feel, and navigation of your website. An overly complex website can become a monster that is impossible to maintain and will drive visitors away rather than bringing them back.
We recently released our new Apheus.com website. Check it out! http://www.apheus.com
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Choosing a web designer for your company or organization can sometimes be a challenge. There are many companies, design houses, and freelancers on the internet offering website design services. Choosing a quality web designer from among those choices can be a difficult proposition if you don’t know what you’re looking for. I’ve been designing websites for over 10 years and here are some questions you can ask yourself when shopping for a web designer:
Does the Designer Have a Website?
This may seem like a silly question, but oddly enough some web designers do not have a website. This is usually a good indicator that you should steer clear of them and choose someone else. You should never judge a book by its cover, but in this case you should at least give some thought as to why they don’t have their own website.
Does the Designer Have a Portfolio?
You should always look at other websites that a potential designer has created. Most web designers will have a selection of sample websites for you look over and judge their work. If a designer is just starting out in the business, their portfolio will contain limited samples, but don’t discount their abilities. Quantity is not necessarily an indication of quality. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, have them produce a mockup. A designer will usually do this for free or a minimal charge.
Does the Designer Have a Bad Reputation?
Some bad web designers will develop a naturally bad reputation for themselves. Ask your friends, family, or colleagues about the reputation that a particular designer may or may not have. If they have a reputation for not delivering projects on time or if they are difficult to communicate with, you may want to keep shopping.
Does the Designer Create Websites that are Easy on the Eyes?
Website design can be described as an art form. Just like art, it comes in many shades of color with varying degrees of texture. But everyone has different “tastes” when it comes to art. A website should have a unique look and feel while projecting a vibrant (but not overly powerful) image for your business or organization. Adding constantly flashing graphics or using bad color combinations can be a disaster for your website. A good website designer can spot problems before they happen and isn’t afraid to make suggestions to help you during the development process.
Does the Designer Make Websites that are Search Engine Friendly?
A good website designer will product your website so that it is search engine friendly. If your designer refuses to use META tags or insists on creating websites entirely constructed using Flash animation, you would be better off finding another designer. Search engines are the primary way people on the internet will find your website. If its not listed on the search engines, t
