Web Design Tips

Deciding on a web design is difficult when you start to analyze all the scenarios. Who will be your target audience, what if your viewer is vision impaired/color blind, what age groups will your site support and site navigation would require its own chapter?

Next, as with most projects you must be able to do it within your budget set for your site. I have found most Webmasters want to design, develop and publish their site as individuals without any outside help.

I too started this way and now have a different viewpoint when it comes to the term “Webmaster”.

The big change came after working with several web site Awards Programs and through that experience realized that being a good Webmaster goes far beyond the design.

The cover of a book does not make it a “Best Seller”, while it may help to get someone to look at it to begin with; it is the content and ease of use that will make your site successful.

After getting past the “ I have to do it all phase “, I was able to start looking at features, site content and user interfaces. It was clear that to get my site to the level I desired it would require a level of coding/programming above my capability/knowledge.

In particular, I was visiting a site that had a superior photo gallery www.astronomyforbeginners.com. It was easy to use and allowed a guest to upload images to the guest gallery. While I have seen other sites that offer a twist of this feature, I have not visited any other sites that made it as easy/simple to accomplish.

It also provided the Webmaster the opportunity to reject or edit incoming images to prevent any inappropriate images reaching the site gallery. All in all, the best Image gallery I have seen and I wanted it for my site and for those who visit my site.

I contacted the Webmaster and found that in addition to having an astronomy related site he was also a Web Designer. His name is Gavin Vincent and his Web Design Site can be viewed at www.gavinvincent.co.uk.  

My only concern was could I get what I wanted if my web designer was half way around the globe. This proved to be of no concern and did not affect the result and did not require any additional time on my part due to distance. (What did we do before the Web?)

After a few simple emails we were able to select the features that I wanted and Gavin proposed a project plan to get us there. I also found that his gallery was SQL based and provided many options that could not be seen from the site. (Administrative Features)

Yes, I wanted them all and added a few items off my personal wish list to make the new gallery unique to Sights Above.

Each step went as planned and in my case the project stayed ahead of schedule.

I must confess, I surprised him with several last minute additions and changes over the first week of getting started. Gavin was able to handle my surprises and new larger project scope within the original time frame (It is amazing what you can do when you have the knowledge and programming skills)

Well the project is complete and I confidently recommend Gavin Vincent to anyone who wants to elevate their sites features or to add custom controls.

He also builds sites from the ground up, large and small. I find his pricing schedule very reasonable and competitive for the quality work he provided me.

Last, I like Gavin’s professional approach and how he added his personal touch for good measure.

Thank you Gavin for my new gallery and a great experience and as my site matures, I look forward to working with you again.


By Jim@sightsabove.com