Website Design

Before I head off to bed, I’d like to leave my dear readers and visitors with a small quiz. I’m sorry to say there are no prizes to be given away – maybe in future. However, reason I’m doing this is to see if you can spot a similarity I’ll continue to discuss on tomorrow when I resume this entry.

So let’s get started. Spot the similarty between these 2 different websites; Happy Cog and The Blog Studio. Below are the screenshots if you don’t feel like visiting them.

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While reading one of my newsletters from Sitepoint, they recently released a book titled The Principles of Beautfiul Web Design and it became already sold out!

I’ve followed Sitepoint for a good period of time and the first book I bought from them while still in Melbourne; Build Your Own Database Driven Website is still used as a reference for me. What I seriously like about their books is because it’s not overly technical and the guide is made simpe so it doesn’t confuse you with too many tech jargons.

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Web design comes in several packages ranging from the out-of-the-box to the fresh-out-of-the-oven. Difference between the two is that ones catered to be visually astounding while not user-friendly and the other is highly user-friendly while strikes balance between its aesthetic value. However, I’m not saying that out-of-the-box or fresh-out-of-the-oven web design can’t be a total failure as well.

So what’s one of the best ways to find out if you have succeeded? It’s called user testing. While very uncommon to many Malaysia agencies and teams, user testing is all about…your users.

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I was enrolled in Lim Kok Wing Institute of Creative Technology (LICT – not University then) for a 3 + 1 course. I spent 3 years in Malaysia and had to complete my degree in RMIT, Australia after. I had always wanted to be a website designer ever since I was 13 and even as a kid, I made big plans for myself.

I don’t know why but I always thought the US will be a great place for me to learn about website design and eventually allow me to work there. However, after graduating from high school I rejected my parents offer to study in the US and instead pursued my college life in Malaysia. I do think back if I should’ve gone to the US and pursue my dream.

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The what?! you might say. The flow is an invisible guide that your unconscious mind interprets as a line for your eyes to follow on your website. Imagine you’re walking in your almost pitch black room with a dim light coming out from entrance. Because it’s a room you’re familiar with, you’re guided partly by your intuition or unconscious mind through the darkness.

The flow on a website is like being in this dark room. Though you’re familiar with the surrounding of the logo, the menu, the images and the content, it’s the flow that normally guides you to your intended goal on a website.

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I’ve finally gotten my invite key for Wufoo and the last time I was this excited trying something new was when I requested for a public key to use Google Analytics. When I first mentioned about The Art of Wufoo Form Creation, it fewer options you could add to a form and there was less features you could use.

However, now given the opportunity to beta test Wufoo I see that they’ve got a quite a few nice stuff and not so nice stuff depending how you look at it of course. So let’s have a chat about Wufoo and what it offers website designers alike. :)

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Now here’s a website that took a simple idea of Amazon’s affiliation and turned it into a brilliant simple website business idea. Pricenoia is like a search engine for anything found on Amazon and not just the main website but also the branches in Japan, United Kingdom, Germany and etc.

The website utilizes a very clean white layout with simple dashed lines to segment out its sections. This website is very informative driven and have a look at the cool things you’re getting when using its service.

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Dustyhawk aka Serge aka Leo aka multi personality blogger emailed to request a review and suggestions for his blog. I’ve only met Dustyhawk once in person I think and that was during the last blogger meeting at Midvalley on one fine day.

Anyway, taking a look at Dustyhawk’s blog, you’re greeted firstly by the character found in the web comic Megatokyo though forgot the name of the hamster. Dustyhawk’s blog is like your average personal journal type blog. He blogs anything and everything that comes to his mind.

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There were previously two wedding couples websites that have been reviewed. The first that I’ve seen was one that I discovered while I was in Australia. That was Nate and Jessica’s one during Website Mention Time. It was a really simple website with simple info you could find out about them.

The second wedding website I came across was Jason and Susan’s website that I reviewed just this month. Their website was a little more complex in style and design. The navigation still remained simple as possible with additions of a gift registry.

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I’m not sure if this website is the same one I’ve seen 1-2 years back so if you do know of any other that uses the same business model, do update us on it. Getting down to a woot! review now, it’s a simple and straight to the point website offering a single item for sale everyday and once the day is up, the product will be taken down.

Yeah, I know it sounds something familiar that I too have heard before either in the past Computimes (NST: Tech&U now) or The Star: InTech. woot! has definetely come a long way since I last visited them. The last time I saw it, it was selling a G-Shock type watch and at the moment of viewing, it was selling off a projector.

The website has very strong points for its business model but I also noticed a weak spot on their website. So let’s find out what they are.

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