Beagle


Dave (modbod) - you do realize that the website you linked to above as an example has flash on it, right?

flash doesn't have to be about an intro "entertainment" like is on IK Mulitimedia or the heavily integrated stuff like Native Instruments.

those menu buttons on this link http://www.cleartrackstudios.com/studio/studio-b/ 
 are flash menu buttons.

another thing to remember is that all phones and tablets do not support flash at all, so even those buttons on that website above do not show up at all on that website on my android tablet.

Thanks for clearing that up for me.  I was citing that one page for the general simplicity of the information presented.  You are right that I have equated Flash with extended page intros and that sort of thing.  Nothing I hate more that to have to wait for an intro to load to a point where I can skip it.

Hi Dave,

Here's my 2 cents worth on this subject and from what I've read so far (and this from experience). Deal with an experienced Web site developer (James recommendation for example). It's going to cost you some $..., but since you obviously do not have the proper background to make any kind of informed decision on your needs at this point (no offense intended), I would consider at the very least a consultation session with a pro to properly evaluate your needs. It's an investment in your Web site future, not an expense IMHO.

Since your site's main purpose is going to be to generate new business opportunities in your area of the world, SEO considerations are going to be an important factor (very important). At the very least you need to be aware of this. I do like your minimalist approach in how to present yourself online but done in such a way as to give you some flexibility for future growth. Don't attempt this yourself with ready made templates if you value the importance of the famous/infamous "first impression" factor.

And you're right in that a FLASH only site for commercial purposes would probably be the worse thing you could do. In your case, emphasis should be on HTML5's multimedia capabilities, if need be. I wish you good luck with your project and will be following it with interest.

Alegria


Hi Dave,

Here's my 2 cents worth on this subject and from what I've read so far (and this from experience). Deal with an experienced Web site developer (James recommendation for example). It's going to cost you some $..., but since you obviously do not have the proper background to make any kind of informed decision on your needs at this point (no offense intended), I would consider at the very least a consultation session with a pro to properly evaluate your needs. It's an investment in your Web site future, not an expense IMHO.

Since your site's main purpose is going to be to generate new business opportunities in your area of the world, SEO considerations are going to be an important factor (very important). At the very least you need to be aware of this. I do like your minimalist approach in how to present yourself online but done in such a way as to give you some flexibility for future growth. Don't attempt this yourself with ready made templates if you value the importance of the famous/infamous "first impression" factor.

And you're right in that a FLASH only site for commercial purposes would probably be the worse thing you could do. In your case, emphasis should be on HTML5's multimedia capabilities, if need be. I wish you good luck with your project and will be following it with interest.

I just dropped back into the thread to say that I've come to the conclusion that I don't know what the hell I'm talking about.  The Wordpress template generated sites just scream "WORDPRESS TEMPLATE."  And most of the user created sites are so obvious and are as bad if not worse than my home built site.  I even decided that the right amount of Flash doesn't take all that much to load as long as there isn't a definite gateway page.   I even found one Flash template that would probably work for me but I don't really want to do this thing myself is my conclusion.


Your post pretty much confirms everything I've learned in my two hour search of Wordpress and Flash templates.  Thanks.

Hi Dave,
 Here is something I put together for Chuck to look at a while back.

http://harmoniccycle.com/...dio-template/index.htm

 It doesn't look like much... well, because it isn't.

 How ever if you were to take some time looking at the source code you would see that it is so simple that you can probably understand it all.
 What I have provided is the most basic and crude framework for a simple business card site.
 Any body should be able to do some basic page layout or design within a framework like this.
 
 Check out the studio.css file in a text editor... it's a really good and very standard way of controlling font characteristics and site colors in one easy to work place.

 A good site will also use "includes" for things like the top navigation bar and page footers. These includes can keep all the repeated info in one place and then they are linked or referenced to each page. They are great when you want to fix a link on the top bar of every page... you do it once in one place and the whole site is updated.

This template doesn't have includes but they would be easy to add.

 The source code is carefully documented with comment tags... you can learn a lot by reading the comment tags in your text editor or Dreamweaver's code display.

 Here is a zip file of the "site" template:

http://harmoniccycle.com/...te/studio-template.zip

 You can grab it and fool around with it and see if the versatility and wide open nature of it sparks a muse and leads you down the path of page design. Hint, think tables, and nested tables... and real good comment tags.


 Good luck.

 all the best,
mike

Oh BTW, I do know that you have said that you do not want some of the subjects alluded to in the top bar... the idea is that you simply throw away anything in the top bar you don't want.

best,
mike

I've managed to get Wordpress installed.  It wasn't hard at all once I found a site that turned me on to a feature that my webhosting company had available in my cPanel.  It was a one click interactive panel.  Quite easy but I had to take my original site down in order to install Wordpress.

I got a quick makeshift site back up in case someone stumbles across my site in a web search.  It's multiple pages but it already is looking better than my original.  It will give me time to have a go at the design before I call someone for help.

It has a nice look... but anyone that knows what a website is will recognize that the web "pages" you have set up are re-purposed blog entries.

Ultimately all the template choices for the blogs look like blog templates. By the time you out think the template with clever work-arounds so as to force some "originality" into the page layout you will have worked as hard or harder than simply laying out a little .htm business card site.

best regards,
mike

mike_mccue


I found irony and humor in this example

http://drupal.org/node/1671878

where the Stanford Law School website is used to demonstrate how drupal was used in a rebuild of an actively served database driven website that encourages the constituents to post compelling content like "data show that a reputation" right on the Law School splash page.

I'll bet the next post is going to be every bit as exciting and informative.

That was a whole lotta work just to empower students and staff to post such vital and time sensitive content.

Even a forum script will attract constituents to post compelling content like the quote above. 

It looks like they (Stanford) fulfilled an extensive requirements specification and did a good job to me.

I agree it might have been a cool excercise in bloody-minded 'manliness' to have hand-coded the whole lot in Notepad using html but it wouldn't be looking so good and have the dynamic capabilities they've given themselves.

Dave, I'd recommend if web design isn't your thing that you could discuss it with a reputable designer that would be able to put your ideas into practice very cost-effectively without recourse to the need to become a geek.

$200-300 a year with maintenance thrown in is exceptional value for publicising a small business, it's cheaper than local press advertising and gives you global coverage (if that's what you want).

DIY is fine but it's easy to miss some valuable tricks and end up with a half-baked tacky looking presence that will attract nobody.  Besides don't you have enough to do being writer, producer, player and engineer?....

Hi Dave,
 Here's a an example of a DIY prescence that has instigated initial contact and subsequent business with revenue in the 7 figures.

 http://www.kevindeyo.com/

 A good business card site can be as simple as a good business card.

 I made this site about 10 years ago and the only thing that ever changes is a new camera or format is added to the list. The site just keeps working and working.

 It is time to replace the flash contact slider on the bottom because, as has been mentioned, Flash is dead. It was fun while it lasted.

 The point about the drupal based site that I was thinking of (and the joomla sites) is that they are made for active content, on the fly, page building to enable a website to have content added without anyone noticing, and usually nobody notices. In that particular example, they already had an actively served web presence using "yesterdays", flavor of the month active server data base driven solution. Now they have todays.

 Most business card websites don't need that sort of interactivity with the "back office".

 The most important thing about a business card website is to have contact info prominently displayed and to make sure people feel comfortable, even enthused, to initiate contact.

 There's no need, as some service providers do, to explain how bad studios suck or how many unsatisfactory times they have had at one. That's like a waiter telling you they just got over food poisoning and then asking you if you are ready to order some good food.

 T.M.I.
 
 There's no need to remind a potential customer about how scary it is to hire a stranger.

 A nice photo of you with a sincere and warm smile will go a long, long, long, long way.

 The other important thing to realize about a business card website is that is does not drive traffic... you have to drive people to the website through other, usually, traditional means of business communication.

 So, for example, Kevin's website above is often found through a Google search for regional service providers. Often it is visited by someone who got a tip from a colleague or trade association. What we have found is that the web site seems to provide an interim step, where someone who has found out about the service uses the website as place to be reassured that it is a good next step to get on the phone and talk business.

 I've done a few real estate pages that were even simpler in scope but initiated rock soild 7 figure revenues from contacts made through the page. In those cases a billboard was used to drive people to the web address. The point is, the web is not effective push marketing... there are many more effective tools to drive people to you. The website is most effective as a means of reassurance and creating a strong first impression.

 My wife is an active server, database programmer for front ends that look and act like web pages. I have nothing against some good active technology...  it's just overkill for a web site that isn't changing content every few minutes.


best regards,
mike

Dave, Keep us posted on your progress with Wordpres. There are some excellent plug ins available that I would recommend. Askimet is a great spam filter, All in One SEO Pack is excellent for Search Engine Optimization, Don't forget Google Analytics and something to make your site mobile phone friendly. (I use WP Touch).