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Site Design Asthetics vs. Requirements

Mr. Anderson

Mr. Anderson

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Nov 1, 2001
22,568
7
VA
Ok, so until recently I've had a real job - in the sense that I was working for someone else. As of last week I'm officially a freelance multimedia artist - even set up a DBA and bank account.

What that means is that I'll be making business cards and putting my main freelance website on there. Which will require me to actually have a website for people to see.

The current one - www.gone3d.com - will be overhauled. I kind of like the concept and I'll keep some of the elements, but it will need to be more professional and not a pet project that gets worked on when I have the time.

What I was more curious to determine, however, is what makes a good site for what I'm doing....something that looks good and has all the info you need to know what I can do. Is flash a viable format or do I need something more simplistic?

Any thoughts or examples of good or bad sites would be great.

Thanks,

D
 
I think the point of the site that you are working on is to showcase your abilities, as a freelance designer it's basically a resume. I would spend a fair amount of time making it as visually pleasing as possible in order to draw in new clients. From a customer perspective I think that Flash is completely acceptable, as long as that is what you are offering. If you're also going to be offering services in plain HTML I would make that point clear. Also I would provide links to past work, and anything that you are currently doing.
 
flash is perfectly fine, like the previous post says, as long as its available, but i guess that doesn't really matter to much. brand yourself. i would start by making a logo, letter heads, business cards, etc... then extend that into your web presence. also also also... looks are almost as important as the skill if not more. i can stand mismatched colors and corny things such as mouse trailers and scrolling text, not to mention JS. im not saying all of it, but anything more that adding functionality is not needed. lastly keep it simple.
 
I would be careful doing your whole site in Flash. If you are hoping to get traffic from search engines Flash is not renowned for being easily spidered. I would do the site in valid HTML and CSS, with links to your Flash portfolio where required.

If you can write some good articles that will also help your site become a success. Don't just tell people what you do, write articles on interesting topics within your field. It helps showcase your knowledge and increases search engine referrals.

Good luck with running your own business - it's lots of fun, combined with moments of sheer terror :eek: :D.
 
I agree with aus_dave. I'd make a XHTML+CSS version of the site the performs nicely and has a reasonable amount of features that are simple and easy. Kind of like the Mac OS.

Then, also include a version in Flash if possible, or have an area dedicated to Flash, that also comes in XHTML. Make it easy, simple, accessible. You'll be in over your head in no time :D.
-Chase
 
www.gone3d.com site actually performs bad on my firefox. After some checking it seems that I don't have version 7 of flash installed ... Which is funny since the browser didn't detect the flash version from the website.

Make sure you get this done flawlessly on your portfolio site. Or have visitors upgrade to v7.
 
Remember, as a designer you are a visual communicator ... don't just make it look "cool" or "pretty" as not every client is going to want or need that

a "flashy" website won't do anything if it takes away from the message --
 
revenuee said:
Remember, as a designer you are a visual communicator ... don't just make it look "cool" or "pretty" as not every client is going to want or need that

a "flashy" website won't do anything if it takes away from the message --
Click to expand...

I totally agree with that - no intros or difficult navigation or delays waiting for the flash animation to finish :D

Thanks for all the feedback, too.

I think that since I've had some issues with the current layout, I might go with a main page in HTML and CSS and provide an option for a flash version. But also remember, I'm not really designing webpages - I also do 3D Illustration and Animation, video and Flash design/programming. The nice thing is that I have a regular client that keeps me busy - I just need to get a few more so I can avoid having to rely on one.

So anyone have any good examples of pages they like?

D
 
iGAV said:
Why not integrate Flash elements within a HTML site?

Word of warning though... keep it simple, Flash has a tendency to lead people to excess, and XHTML and CSS can lead people down the road to a town named Banal. ;)

Links...

http://www.dixonbaxi.com/
Click to expand...

Nice stuff - I like the first one the best....this is great though, my vision becoming a little more clear....

And I find it interesting that the main theme of this thread has become "Keeping it Simple" - something I planned on from the beginning :D

Thanks!

D
 
Everyone really brings up some valid points. In my personal opionion, as a web designer, I believe that SEO results are more important for my business than having an all flash site. Don't get me wrong, I belive that flash "elements" work great to increase asthetics, but like any business on the web, SEO is the best way to convert new business. I'd say 25% of my new business comes from SEO. Thats just my $0.02 dollars.
 
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