Archive for the “Web Development Practices” Category

While revamping the WebCommons About page recently, I realized that I hadn’t ever really expressed what my company’s web design philosophy was.

So, I just took myself through a thought exercise, trying to drum up my guiding experiences and methodology for approaching my web work.  After 15 years of tinkering with websites, certainly I could think of a way of relaying this in a way where most anyone, especially potential clients, could understand what I’m driving at.  A true challenge, I thought at first, but I made myself do it.

The strange thing was that the words that formed this philosophy practically wrote themselves.  In many ways, I just repeated what I say to myself all the time when working on various web projects.

I broke down the philosophy into three parts:

1. A beginning, overarching thought about proper web design, which can be spread like a meme;
2. A bunch of statements that undergird the overarching thought, lending significant but not overwhelming detail;
3. And finally, a “formula for website health”.  This is where I distill everything I said before into a symbolic equation, that if followed closely by professional practitioners, should produce very well-designed, more potentially successful websites.

Here’s my overarching thought about web design:

At the outset, web design, like any visual functional design, is about controlling the “flow of the eyes.”  In the long run, web design is about capturing the ongoing interest, if not soul, of a significant many who visit the website.  Period.

And here’s the distilled WebCommons formula for website health:

Website Health =
Eye Control + Obvious Navigation + Convenience Functions + Simplicity
+ Modesty + Performance + Coherent Style – Nonsense

Check out the new page entitled The WebCommons Web Design Philosophy to read the undergirding statements in between.

What do you think of WebCommons’ web design philosophy, and the formula for website health?  If you are a web developer, what is your design philosophy?  Disagreement is welcome.  Philosophical differences in web development are the norm, and we can all learn a lot from these differences.

Note: In case you’re wondering, I didn’t include “Fresh, Compelling Content” in the formula because I see this as the purview of the website owner, not the designer.  A designer doesn’t create the content, unless it’s their own website they’re designing.  It’s not a “formula for website success”, which is part good content, part sufficient marketing, and part good luck.

Today, hopefully for your edification, I am going offer a rare glimpse of extreme honesty on a matter that I as a freelance web programmer, and I’m sure most other freelance web developers, have to deal with.  I am very sure that what I am about to unveil may lose me some work, but I can deal.  You see, people who freelance in web development and other fields don’t just work for money; we work for reputation as well.  That is, we know the perils of having our names (or our company’s names) associated with shoddy work — therefore, we will do anything we can to prevent that from happening.  We always have to keep our minds attuned to how our services are truly marketed — through the word of mouth emanating from the completion of quality websites.  That’s where most of my new work comes from, so I have to obey this reality.  No choice.

Now, you might be wondering: Is it fair to potential customers to reject work at all?  Ask attorneys that question, or ask anyone who performs very specialized services this question.  The reality is that when one specializes in any field, in order for them to run a business based on that specialization, they have to have rules by which they conduct business, or they will be overrun with serious problems, financial and otherwise.

I hope that my following list of top ten reasons to turn down web development projects will create a good picture of what people like me are looking for when clients approach us.  Whether you seek my services, or anyone else’s services, you need to know these things.  Believe me, with this list, I am trying to HELP YOU meet success when working with the webheads.

1. You don’t know what you want.

Seriously, are you going to go to Kinko’s and say “Print me a brochure with a few party-like graphics and text using these scribbled notes here” and get what you actually expect?  This also holds true for working with web developers.  You need to be as specific as possible as to what you want your website to do and what it should look like.

Now, certainly, I am dutifully available to offer professional feedback on your ideas so as to more finely tune what it is you exactly want.  But, I am also not a mind reader — I am not omniscient — I am no magician — You tell me what you want because you have taken the time to think about what you want.  Explore other websites.  Talk to your trusted friends about your ideas.  Think about what you want your site to accomplish.  After all, ultimately it’s your site; therefore, you have to own its concept!

People start businesses with a business plan, whether written down or not — Think of your website the same way people think of their own businesses.

I am the web developer, you are the web development client — I turn your ideas into reality with my technical skills.  So be specific.

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