10 - 2005 | Websites Made Simple

Under Construction Page

October 21, 2005 by Danny

I’m sure everyone remembers when they were building a website, most of you liked to have an Under Construction icon with a text saying just that. Well, practicing that is a really bad thing because as much as the sign means something to you labeled undercontstruction.jpg, it might not mean anything for the new user of your website.

Adding to the error most of us have done and maybe still do, we tend to be lazy and leave the page with just those two words. However, there have been new approaches to deal with the lack in communication when there’s a webpage like this nowadays. I’d like to share with you what I’ve found working and not really working.

RM471.73 per WordPress Template

October 19, 2005 by Danny

That’s the rough amount you might have to pay for a designed and coded template. These aren’t my rates but one of the offers I found from the Sitepoint Contests forum thread.

I believe most of you who are reading this are already wondering, why would anyone pay for just a blog redesign? Well, other than being able to fund for it, some people actually recognize the difference when hiring a professional to help them out.

Skeletize, Visualize, and Nakedize

October 19, 2005 by Danny

Those were the fine words used by John of Addicted to New. John is a developer and released this great tutorial roughly 3 months ago.

He took his readers through the development process of a project with one of his buddies. (I think) As you know, other than design process of coming up with a template, even before programming begins there’s a need to skeletize the layout.

Top Ten Weblog Mistakes by Jakob

October 19, 2005 by Danny

Jakob Nielsen of Useit.com recently posted his yearly Web Design Mistakes that created an uproar. BusinessLogs stood up to Jakob‘s annual findings along with some others who defended their views from the field.

But soon after, Jakob then posted his Top Ten Design Mistakes of weblog usability. This time he decided to reveal obvious usability secrets of maintaining a good weblog.

However, note that as much as Jakob is as much a guru in usability, Steve Krug is also considered one because usability at times is mere common sense. ;)

To Become a Creative Designer

October 17, 2005 by Danny

I’m very aware that though this has been asked repeatedly numerous times either by forum members whom are interested in website design or plan to study a course that circles around this subject, the question of what and how to become a creative designer or website designer is asked.

But let me first clarify one thing that might have not been mentioned by me before. There are different requirements when you’re seeking employment and going solo in the field. The difference isn’t as wide a gap like the Grand Canyon per se but in terms of skills and knowledge, it could be considered that.

Email Potential Clients

October 15, 2005 by Danny

One of the things a freelancer goes through constantly is the draught in projects. Like a harvest season, during the dry periods of the year there will be less than few projects. One of the worst pitfalls of being self-employed is the non-existence of financial security. So if you’re not prepared to be without cash or save for many rainy days, don’t be a freelancer.

One of the ways I’ve thought about helping myself gain projects is by emailing website owners I’ve visited. If I’m visiting a website and think of on-the-spot solutions for them to make it better, I’d email and ask if they’be interested.

BusinessLogs Stands Up To Nielsen

October 14, 2005 by Danny

Everyone recognizes Jakob Nielsen as a usability guru. He’s published and co-authored few books. One of the books that I have is called, Homepage Usability. Ever since I first found out about Jakob, he totally changed my views when consulting website designs.

But during one of my classes in Melbourne, I was discussing usability with my lecturer and he said that Jakob’s teachings shouldn’t be strictly followed like the bible. My lecturer said though Jakob make lots of reasonable points of website usability, not all of it should be applied.

Instead, we should all learn when, where, why, and how to implement the teachings of usability where we see fit.

Design or Layout ?

October 12, 2005 by Danny

In my previous entry, I decided to release some of the design or layouts that I came up with for the upcoming revamp. The number of feedback was needless to say quite humiliating, but at least I know now how much a huge head creates a wrong impact.

The discussion we’re going to have today is about determining the difference between a design and a layout. I’d like to find the border that actually tells us when it’s called a design or a layout.

But just so you know in advance, this discussion might end up being very subjective and personal preference.

Blog Design Workshop

October 11, 2005 by Danny

Remember the many times I’ve mentioned that this blog design is still in the workshop, but pending release? Well, it’s still in the workshop without much improvements made. Why is it stuck? Why doesn’t Danny want to release something more exciting to us?

Well, it’s honestly not that I don’t want to. Trust me, I myself am actually scratching my head wondering why I haven’t turn the designs into development. So before I end up coming up with another design and stalling myself in the workshop any longer, I’m going to release current designs for feedback.

The Name, The Logo

October 10, 2005 by Danny

Not so long ago, I was discussing about how difficult it is finding a unique company name to be registered as a domain name. The comments left in the post had people debating about names not being unique enough to many who only want to register .com Top Level Domains (TLDs).

Then recently, I just came across Darren’s current problem of Looking for a Company Name. In the earliest part of the comments, I already noticed that Darren too admitted that most of the names he thought of were already taken.