Website Design. | The Stephford Diaries

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Website Design.

Mar 13th, 2008
at 1:14 am

Categories:
Life

As y’all already know, I’m a web designer wannabe. I know enough to monkey up a WordPress layout ’til it’s nearly unrecognizable (and sometimes, unusable), but that’s about it. I know what looks good. I have a clear, concise vision of what I want. Then it’s time to make it happen, and I turn into a big pile of dumb. Really. (No, I’m not fishing for compliments on my layout, either.) I don’t think I’m the only one with this problem, either. But that’s not the point. (Do I ever start out with the point?)

I’ve noticed a few sites I visit regularly that are poorly designed, and this is reflected in the sites’ respective PageRanks. Is it mere coincidence? I don’t think so. I’ve noticed that as my layouts have evolved, my readership has grown, but that’s not the important part - my returning readership has grown. Now I’d like to think all of you are here because I write some damn fine content, but let’s face it — without Wednesdays with Tricia and a decent layout, I’m just another blogger talking about her life. Not a bad thing, but nothing that makes people who don’t even know me come back to read time and again. (Except you, my beloved Bulgarians. You’ve stuck by me through it all, haven’t you?)

At any rate, as someone who recognizes good design, even if I can’t implement it on my own site, I would really like to offer my unsolicited advice to one of my favorite websites. However, I recognize that unsolicited advice is overstepping boundaries, even if the person giving that unsolicited advice is very, very well-meaning. But dammit, I’m watching one of my favorite websites go completely unvisited, uncommented upon, unlinked, UNLOVED because its design is just not the greatest. It’s not even good really. This really is a crying shame, and I have no idea what, if anything, I ought to do.

What do you think? (And no, beloved readers, none of you have craptastic websites. I’d have already said something. :grin:)

Tags: advice · design · web design2605CommentsWebsite+Design.2008-03-13+06%3A14%3A57Steph

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Comment by d

2008-03-13 12:33:00

Dude, you already know my thoughts on this and I know who it’s for. You should just do it as a thank you and offer it up. If they don’t use it, well then oh well.

But knowing what little I know about this person, I don’t think they’d take offense and I think that maybe they’d appreciate a better website so that their information can get shared and they’d get more traffic.

Lets look at the info they’re trying to put out there and how important and useful it is. Everyone should be drawn to that page and not turned off by it.

I say redesign it and offer it up. *nods wisely*

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Comment by Amy

2008-03-14 11:11:45

Hello! I agree - do it and offer it. All they can do is not take you up on it. You’re good, I think they’ll do it. (Yikes, is it me?)

I think this current look is very slick. I sort of miss the toys though.

btw — I believe Hill stood by Bill because she had to in order to be doing what she’s doing right now (and Obama is royally screwing it all up).

I think it just KILLED her to do it, and there is no telling the ways she’s made him pay. But it was self-serving. There were bigger fish to fry for her.

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Comment by Steph

2008-03-14 15:32:15

Amy - NO, it is NOT you!! I don’t want to say who it is ’cause I don’t want to hurt their feelings, but it’s no one who reads here regularly. :grin:

I’m still working out a few hitches here and there. It’s a little TOO slick for me. I need some…Steph in there somewhere. And God knows, I ain’t slick. :grin:

Okay, this Obama thing…how bad do the people associated with his campaign have to screw up before people switch to Hillary? I mean, for the love of Mike, I hear about a new Obmaux-pas (yes, I do think I’m clever!) every stinkin’ day, I swear.

At any rate, I think her choice to stay might have been a double-edged sword. I know that I am not terribly likely to vote for her *because she stayed. That indicates, to me, that she’s either got bad judgment or she’s willing to do damn near anything to get into the White House for herself. Either way, I’m not comfortable with it. Plus, I just can’t warm up to her, and I’m really not sure why.

But let me stop before I get a debate started. :grin:

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Comment by d

2008-03-14 21:06:19

whoooooooo….new look!! Very clean. I like the layout. Although something is missin. I don’t know what.

I know!…This seems serious and all grown up and stuff. I’m used to more whacky and silly side of Steph.

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Comment by Steph

2008-03-14 22:26:48

d - I’m hating on it. It looks like a site I should use to sell designs, and had I created this design, that might be okay, but yeah. This isn’t mine.

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Comment by d

2008-03-15 08:28:34

I didn’t mind the layout, but I thought you’d pimp it up. I like this layout better though. You know me and boxes and lines. I’d like more color. But that’s just me.

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Comment by Steph

2008-03-15 10:59:29

d - I’m still working on it. I don’t even know if I’ll keep this one. LOL. Basically, I’m being a lazy cow here. I just don’t want to put in the work to rock this mofo out.

Anyway, if I do keep this one, the only color I’ll add is in the headers. I’ll go back to using the toys. I think that would be very striking visually.

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