Blogs and Websites

Several blog software are providing possibilities to seamlessly customizing your blog with your website. Typepad is probably the most versatile, but you have to pay to download the software. You can start a pre-designed blog with Wordpress and pay for extra services, including customizing your blog. So far, I think Movable Type is the most versatile for the small "personal" type website. Blogger is pretty good and simple, but you need to go into some complicated html and css coding to get some functions like menus running.

Time's Worst Websites

I recently posted on the Bloggers Awards, which is a popular vote for the best blogs out there.

Well, let's try the worst websites, according to TIME, at least. You can review them here.

But, here is someone who did spend quite a bit of time gleaning through the internet to come up with his yearly list of top the 10, or bottom ten, websites - and why.

He bases his decisions on this list, amongst others:

• Websites meet organization's needs (more sales/ contributions) rather than meeting the needs of visitors.
• It takes longer than four seconds for the man from Mars to understand what the site is about.
• The site doesn't make the organization or individuals look like credible professionals.
• The site's navigation is Flash-based.
• The site uses Mystery Meat Navigation.

Read more of his views, seriously tongue in cheek, here.

Web Humour

"Web publishing is no more about HTML than book publishing is about type fonts."
- Henri de Toulouse-LaTech

"Although art can be created with a chainsaw, this is hardly a justification for giving every would-be artist a chainsaw."
- Vincent van Gui, - commenting on some of the newer "extensions" to HTML

"In a successful advertisement it's the graphics that grab you, but it's the text that does the selling."
- Pablo PigCasso

"Before you put a really dark background on your web page, ask yourself this:
Why is it so much harder to drive at night than in the daytime?"
- Henri de Toulouse-LaTech

"Where were you when the page was blank?"
- Truman Capote

From: Art and the Zen of Websites

Bloggers, Awards, and the Main Stream Media

Bloggers' awards are an important way to validate information available on the internet. But that begs the question. Are blogs the best way to get information?

Yesterday's TVO (TVOntario) guest Andrew Keen doesn't seem to think so. His point is that professional media or Main Stream Media (MSM), like newspapers and television, spend time and research in order to produce their information. Blogs are the product of amateurs and not to be really trusted, is his conclusion.

But, it is interesting that some of the most important stories on the MSM were broken by bloggers. And one of the the US' most unlikely candidates, Ron Paul, is making headways because of the internet.

The 2007 Weblog Awards have given out their prizes according to categories. This shows you just how varied bloggers are, and that they can't really be put in a convenient niche of "amateurs". A gossip blog hardly rates the same as a technology blog.

There is a tendency, I agree, for blogs to be pop-culture oriented. There is no "Arts Blog" category in the Weblog Awards, and the Music Blogs finalists are all pop or rock. But, that just happens to be the choices that the Weblog Awards committee chose. Of course all those blogs are out there, but they now appear on a third tier - MSM, MSB (Main Stream Bloggers) and The Rest. But, unlike CBC or TVO, you don't have to wait for the media channel to bring you your favorite story, you can find them just as well yourself.

Still, like my previous post, video didn't kill radio, and blogs aren't going to replace MSM too soon. They just provide the choice and alternate interaction that makes news, hobbies, businesses, and any subject that you fancy, more interesting.

The Importance of Branding

Your website is only one of your marketing tools. There should be other methods with which you're making your work known. The most obvious are business cards, letter heads and other printable material.

Yes, print is still important in this cyber world. Just like radio and video (remember that song?)

Anyway, one of the most important things you can do is to brand your company or your work. A logo or image that identifies you will be a sure way for people to remember who you are. This could be a color scheme, something that relates to the idea of your website, something that incorporates some of your work, etc...

If people can remember your name or your company's name, and some kind of visual assistance, you will be a step ahead of your competitors. This of course goes on all of your web, print and other material. You can even get creative and wear a t-shirt or sweat shirt with this information on them. A simple identity makes all the difference.

Think of the Gap. Just with three simple letters and two colors, one color for the background and one for the letters, we can see the store a mile away. My all time favorite is Nike. No words needed, and the symbol itself tells a whole story.

Biggest Mistakes in Web Design

I've taken these quotes directly from the website critique and author Vincent Flanders.

Do go there, and read the whole thing. Entertaining and insightful.

Here, according to Flanders is Mistake #1. And I agree with him.

Believing people care about you and your web site.

Write these two sentences where you can see them as you’re working on your computer:

1. The only reason my web site exists is to solve my customers’ problems.
2. What problems does the page I’m looking at solve?

Nobody cares about you or your site.

Really. What visitors care about is solving their problems. Now. Most people visit a web site to solve one or more of these four problems:

1. They want/need information
2. They want/need to make a purchase / donation.
3. They want/need to be entertained.
4. They want/need to be part of a community.

Too many organizations believe that a web site is about opening a new marketing channel or getting donations or to promote a brand or to increase company sales by 15%.

No. It’s about solving your customers’ problems. Have I said that phrase enough?

Flash Galleries

The website design software Flash is great for simple, easy to navigate image galleries. Most photo galleries depend on pop-up windows or forward and backward buttons, making navigation cumbersome.

Flash avoids all of that. Instead, there are clear thumbnails which give you an idea of the image your are about to see, and the enlarged image opens right on the same page as the thumbnail. That way, you can skim through the thumbnails you want to enlarge, going back and forth at your leisure.

The idea is to keep your web audience as interested as possible, with the least amount of work. Too many buttons, non-visual navigation, and pop-up windows to close each time all take their toll, and many of those images you have for display may end up not being viewed.

Click here and here to see an example of a gallery designed with Flash.

Say it with Pictures

"A picture is worth a thousand words" is a good saying to go by when setting up a website. Studies have shown that most people do not read websites word for word. They mostly scan the writing as they scroll down, trying to find pertinent information.

One way to make that easier for them is to provide images. A well presented picture, with clear reference to the website, and particularly to the commentary near it, could provide more information than a paragraph of text.

A picture should not describe the text, but complement it, in order to encourage the browser to find more information within the text.

But, don't feel that every single page or comment needs a complementary picture. Pictures tend to take longer to download and can distract from the central message.

A simple interior shot of a gallery, store or restaurant can say a lot about the business, and yes, even about the "philosophy" of the owner.

I know, this is a post about pictures, without any pictures! I've covered that too, if you read through the whole post!

Getting Your Own Website

Artists and restaurateurs can often add their business to a group website which advertises specifically for their business.

This can have several advantages.

- Whoever is looking for focussed information can go to these sites and find a large collection of similar products, also giving your work a chance to be viewed.

- The business or individual doesn't have to worry about upkeep, design decisions, maintenance or finding a good and reliable website designer.

- These sites are usually much cheaper

But, there are some disadvantages as well.

- The look of these websites is pretty generic, and doesn't leave much for creativity or individuality. Since one way to attract potential clients or buyers is by how unique your website is, your product (menu, business name, artwork) etc... has to outshine all the others on those group websites.

- These websites provide website addresses that are usually attached to their own address. So, your website address may a long string of words, many of which have no relation to you or your work - something like: wwww.name of group site.com/your name.html. Such a website address is hard to remember, and harder to print on a small business card.

- You may want, at some point, to add interactive elements like e-commerce, or a newsletter, or comment box other than for email. Addition of extra elements is often impossible in these group websties.

Of course, the type of website you want depends on a large number of factors. But, if you are really serious about your business or activity, a website with your own unique address, and unique identity, and with the flexibility to add new elements and technologies will be much more cost-effective.

Summer Festivals

The Cabbagetown Festival is an eventful three days of parades, arts and crafts shows, a film festival, theater, music and food.

And there was the street show along Parliament, where the local businesses put up their booths to show their wares, and give out specials.

Kidist Designs was there on Saturday, where I met quite a few interesting people.

Be sure to take advantage of the specials, which I'm also posting on the blog.

You can also visit the Kidist Designs spot in the Cabbagetown Business Directory (under Digital Media, Website Services and Graphic Arts.)

Most Popular Font Types

Here is a list of the most common font types used from a survey conducted from January 2003 to August 2007.

Font type is a personal choice. Some like the generic Times New Roman, others the modern look of Lucinda Console, or the scripted style of Monotype Corsiva.

The font sets the style of the website. More decorative or artist sites might choose more curvy scripts, while those more business oriented can opt for the sleeker Arial or Georgia.

Some legibility concerns arise with some of the scripted fonts, and those with pronounced bolds.

Some fonts are just not appropriate for long texts, and might work better as labels.

And, if following the advice of the previous post, longer texts are better in dark script against light background.

Background Colors

One of the most difficult decisions to make with a website is the background. Text is usually best read when on a contrasting background. But, usually, it is much easier on the eyes if the background is light, and the text is dark. Even different colors are easier to read if the background is lighter.

Think about it, most of the time we're looking at things in daylight - a light background. At night, a dark background, even with as many lights as we shine on things, it is still more difficult to see our way around things than during the day.

See what you think (and see) by clicking on different background options at this very ingenious link!

Welcome!

Welcome to Kidist Designs' Blog. Here, I will periodically post material on website design, the latest news about websites, what's going on with blogging, and any other information that might help you in designing the best possible website.

Keep checking!