Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category

I’ve added a new graphic to the home page. I’ve created a portfolio page and added a graphic along with six free themes. I have more themes in development, among other new goodies.

I’ve recently gotten new books on CSS, jQuery, and PHP. They rock out! I’m still waiting on a pre-order for a book on HTML5 & CSS3. I’m a bit disappointed that it was delayed. Though I’m sure it will ship soon. In the meantime I’ve been experimenting with code from online sources. Of course IE is the only browser behind the curve. Which is fine because more and more people are switching to Google Chrome or Firefox.

During my day job I hand code content updates into a site based on ASP.net. It’s tedious, time-consuming and unnecessary. I’ve sent emails explaining how a Content Management System like WordPress would save them so much time, effort, and money. From the responses I’ve gotten it’s clear they don’t have a clue what a CMS is and have never seen WordPress in action.

I’m brainstorming ways to show them what I’m talking about in a friendly professional manner. One of the essential parts of my job as a web designer is educating clients about solutions that will benefit them and make my job easier.

Most companies and individuals miss the point of a web site entirely. People visit web sites to solve a problem, gather information, or buy something. With that in mind I try to keep my site designs simple and easy to navigate. I always want my users to know exactly where they are and how to get back to the home page without thinking about it.

The three related sites I update are huge over-grown monsters. They are hard to navigate, and most of the content is buried behind pages of other stuff. The worse part is on the back-end where the files are a sprawling twisted mess without any sort of recognizable organizational structure. On top of this they have not one but three servers; development, test, and production; all with the same sort of run away “Chuck that file anywhere” sort of setup.

It’s clear the sites were setup up long before site planning and design was in fashion. With just a glance at the lack of file structure it’s clear this mess has passed though many hands. All of which just did the best they could to manage the pile. You’d think at some point someone would say, “Hey, I wonder if there is a better way to do this?”

Then again, so far I’ve gotten no feed back from my CMS suggestions. Maybe they are thinking, “No need to fix what ain’t broke”. Just because the pages show up doesn’t mean your site is not broken. If it takes you more then one minute to find what you’re looking for, in my opinion, your site is broken.

As I said, I’m tenacious. I’ll keep trying to show them the way to CMS nirvana. Wish me luck!

I’ve been swamped at work so I haven’t had much time to work on this. Still, I managed to create a new theme for my site. I hope you like it. I have more improvements, and more free themes planned. Just need time to build it.

I’ve added six free themes to my home page. These are totally free simple themes you can download, modify, and do whatever you want with.

Have fun!

Dear fans,

After much consideration I’ve decided to take my web site in a different direction. Thus my netcast must die to free up space on my host for other things.

I’m rethinking what the purpose of my site is and how it will help you my fans better.

Thanks again for your support.