Web site design

Rest in Peace
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Salvor Hardin

- Creating and hosting successful content rich Web Sites for small to large businesses.

- These pages may not render properly in 32 bit or 16 bit color, try 24 bit color. This has only been observed on ATI Rage GA's running WIN98. If you have any problems please be so kind as to direct comments to the comments link, THANKS. TLH

Design/Art

Web site design criterion are similar to but not the same as other vehicles of expression, such as the many forms of media or buildings and other forms of architecture.

To build a Web site, keep in mind the design goals. Do you want to build the Hoover Dam, or the Sistine Chapel of Web sites, or just the average site? Do you want Search Engines to notice your site? 

I will divide design elements into two sections, Art and Engineering. How much do you need Art? Do you want a stylish and individualistic look to your site? Maybe you would like to have a beautiful graphic logo as the cornerstone of the design. One thing is for sure, the wrong choice of color can severely impact the quality of your site.

Art has a creative component, but to find someone with great talent, and the technical expertise to implement it on a computer graphical platform is a task that will drain many hours of time and money that most managers would prefer to spend on other tasks. Most of the top Web sites have little or no graphical content. They have other types of content. However, depending on your business, your needs may be different. To achieve effective artistic expression the content must exploit the three elements of color, shape, and space.

I will devote a page to Art later in the course of this sites development, but in the interim you can view some  Fractal Art here.

Engineering

Most users of the internet are somewhat technically inclined and can recognize advanced Web design when they see it;  just providing HTML is not enough. A Web site has to have something else to set it apart from the competition, or to distinguish itself form a mundane plethora of sites that do nothing to enlighten the visitor. If content is King, then quality is Queen.

Many of the elements of design such as interactivity, multimedia, DHTML, JavaScript and custom Java do much to enhance the experience. What may otherwise be a lot of text and graphics, adequate for me, will be just boring for most other people. If you want visitors to be impressed with your effort and delivery, invest in some of these more elaborate design elements.

The best approach is to be systematic in development; this is to make life easier. To do things two or three times is not very desirable, and one should always strive to find a better, faster and cheaper for the client way of doing things. This is especially prudent for large Web sites.

Unlike some computer companies, billing quotas should not be the primary concern in Web site design. Over the long haul client satisfaction is paramount.

For more information on Engineering click here, or if you are interested in Web site promotion click here..

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson