Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Hectic Web
My designer-self is all about the websites right now. Two new sites are in development today - I'm writing content for Accurate Staffing and doing the initial setup on a new Drupal site for AA-Affordable at "plumbinggremlins.com". Seriously, there's a very cute little green gremlin guy with a wrench. I can't tell you how much I was to create little fuzzy stuffed gremlins as a giveaway.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Live
I love going live with new Web sites. I'll never forget the first time I switched on the very first site I had build myself from scratch, I agonized about it for hours, for fear that I hadn't thought of everything and it would fail horribly in some browser configuration I hadn't thought of.
But like any design piece (or anything at all that you ever create I guess), there's a point where it's time to let go. I love Web sites because once I upload everything, it's out there in the world and instantly accessible to anyone who can find it.
I've gotten a little better at this since then, but every site involves some new skill that I've just learned. Today seaaire.com went live, complete with Flash movie and a whole bunch of embedded video, and I'm looking forward to finding out just what happens next.
But like any design piece (or anything at all that you ever create I guess), there's a point where it's time to let go. I love Web sites because once I upload everything, it's out there in the world and instantly accessible to anyone who can find it.
I've gotten a little better at this since then, but every site involves some new skill that I've just learned. Today seaaire.com went live, complete with Flash movie and a whole bunch of embedded video, and I'm looking forward to finding out just what happens next.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Happy Friday
Yippie! I just got off the phone with the guys at Accurate Staffing, and the initial web site design is now approved! Next up is to locate some awesome stock images of business people and... archers. Yes, archers. This is turning out to be harder than it sounds.
The Epson will get a workout this weekend with a large print order, as well. My 4880 prints beautiful images, but it's not exactly speedy, so 100 pages may take a while.
The Epson will get a workout this weekend with a large print order, as well. My 4880 prints beautiful images, but it's not exactly speedy, so 100 pages may take a while.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Web Site Upgrade
Hectic Red is throwing the confetti and popping the champagne corks - the new Hectic Red Web site just went live! It's been over a year since the last revamp, and I wanted to put something out there that reflects my current style a little better. Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Drupal
I just went live with the Chicklet Books web site (www.chickletbooks.com). This is the first fully-customized site I've implemented using my new favorite toy, Drupal.
Drupal is magic. It's my preferred Content Management System for clients who need a robust and feature-rich Web solution, without the custom-development price tag. The Chicklet and I selected Drupal because she wanted a very feature-rich site with message boards and an interactive community that she could update without my intervention.
Content Management is what allows you update information on your web site without knowledge of HTML. With just a little training, you'll be able to perform a lot of routine site updates all on your own.
IMHO, Drupal is the best open-source content solution out there. That's important because if there's something you want your web site to do - for example, maintain an events calendar - someone has probably already thought of that and written the program ('module') to do it. With a little configuration and setup, the new functionality magically appears on your site and you're ready to go - and best of all, the module is freely available. It's good practice to make a donation to the developers of open source applications - why else would they spend their time tinkering around making all these useful things for us?
Drupal is wildly customizable or can be quickly implemented with any one of hundreds of pre-built open source templates. I have implemented and am maintaining several sites on this platform, and my clients are uniformly thrilled with the functionality and their ability to independently update the site on a whim.
Drupal is magic. It's my preferred Content Management System for clients who need a robust and feature-rich Web solution, without the custom-development price tag. The Chicklet and I selected Drupal because she wanted a very feature-rich site with message boards and an interactive community that she could update without my intervention.
Content Management is what allows you update information on your web site without knowledge of HTML. With just a little training, you'll be able to perform a lot of routine site updates all on your own.
IMHO, Drupal is the best open-source content solution out there. That's important because if there's something you want your web site to do - for example, maintain an events calendar - someone has probably already thought of that and written the program ('module') to do it. With a little configuration and setup, the new functionality magically appears on your site and you're ready to go - and best of all, the module is freely available. It's good practice to make a donation to the developers of open source applications - why else would they spend their time tinkering around making all these useful things for us?
Drupal is wildly customizable or can be quickly implemented with any one of hundreds of pre-built open source templates. I have implemented and am maintaining several sites on this platform, and my clients are uniformly thrilled with the functionality and their ability to independently update the site on a whim.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Web Sites, $249!!!
How much will your web site cost? It depends.
Seriously, I'm not being difficult - there's just no way to know until I have some idea of what you want. I know plenty of people out there will tell you they can do a web site for $249. If you read the fine print, though, you'll see that it says "starting at" $249!
There are just so many different ways to get a web site up and running - there are pre-built templates, which are inexpensive and fast, so long as you don't mind if it doesn't exactly meet your needs, your logo doesn't fit in the allotted space, and there are potentially unlimited numbers of duplicate sites out there. There are basic sites that just present some introductory information, and there are community-building web sites where interactive features are key, and there's e-commerce and lots of other more complicated functionality.
Some of the things I'll ask you before I make a proposal:
- Do you already have any kind of site?
- Have you registered a domain name?
- Where will the web site be hosted?
- What do you want it to look like overall?
- Do you need special features like e-commerce, blogging, message forums, etc.?
- What's the purpose of the site - advertising? Customer service? Community building?
And that's just for starters. I typically invest 1-2 hours with every prospect before I even get the job, just to make sure I thoroughly understand what they need and can be certain I can deliver. Yeah, it takes time, but I deliver a custom product and that kind of service is just basic to how I do business.
I work with each client individually to come up with the best way to meet your unique needs. If you need a completely killer custom site with all the bells and whistles, and you have the budget to match, well, I can do that. If you're on a tight budget, we can do a lot of things such as starting with a pre-built template that will seriously reduce your initial expense. It's all up to you.
Seriously, I'm not being difficult - there's just no way to know until I have some idea of what you want. I know plenty of people out there will tell you they can do a web site for $249. If you read the fine print, though, you'll see that it says "starting at" $249!
There are just so many different ways to get a web site up and running - there are pre-built templates, which are inexpensive and fast, so long as you don't mind if it doesn't exactly meet your needs, your logo doesn't fit in the allotted space, and there are potentially unlimited numbers of duplicate sites out there. There are basic sites that just present some introductory information, and there are community-building web sites where interactive features are key, and there's e-commerce and lots of other more complicated functionality.
Some of the things I'll ask you before I make a proposal:
- Do you already have any kind of site?
- Have you registered a domain name?
- Where will the web site be hosted?
- What do you want it to look like overall?
- Do you need special features like e-commerce, blogging, message forums, etc.?
- What's the purpose of the site - advertising? Customer service? Community building?
And that's just for starters. I typically invest 1-2 hours with every prospect before I even get the job, just to make sure I thoroughly understand what they need and can be certain I can deliver. Yeah, it takes time, but I deliver a custom product and that kind of service is just basic to how I do business.
I work with each client individually to come up with the best way to meet your unique needs. If you need a completely killer custom site with all the bells and whistles, and you have the budget to match, well, I can do that. If you're on a tight budget, we can do a lot of things such as starting with a pre-built template that will seriously reduce your initial expense. It's all up to you.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Gypsy Life
I have a sexy red phone that has Internet built right in, but it turns out that if you check your email when away from any possible Internet connection for your computer and find out that a client really needs you to send that file RIGHT NOW, it doesn't help much. And apparently my monthly wireless bills weren't quite high enough yet, so now I have an AirCard.
This magical little device looks like a USB keychain drive and hooks right up to my MacBook to get me online wherever I may travel. Given how much time I've spent trying to hunt down a Starbucks when I've had an unexpected problem pop up when I'm away from home - and given that they charge you $10 in addition to whatever you spent on the coffee! - I expect that this will pay for itself quickly.
The fun part is that my entire office now actually does fit in that cute little black backpack I'm always carrying around. If I have a cell signal and any battery power left, I'm good to go. If I don't have a cell signal, then the clients probably can't find me anyway, so that's okay too.
This magical little device looks like a USB keychain drive and hooks right up to my MacBook to get me online wherever I may travel. Given how much time I've spent trying to hunt down a Starbucks when I've had an unexpected problem pop up when I'm away from home - and given that they charge you $10 in addition to whatever you spent on the coffee! - I expect that this will pay for itself quickly.
The fun part is that my entire office now actually does fit in that cute little black backpack I'm always carrying around. If I have a cell signal and any battery power left, I'm good to go. If I don't have a cell signal, then the clients probably can't find me anyway, so that's okay too.
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