A friend/colleague sent me email recently, asking about programs for creating Web site graphics. Basically, he’s working on a low-budget labor-of-love Web site and needs something better than MS Paint. Don’t we all?
Sure, the pros use Photoshop and Fireworks, but the cost is steep and the learning curve is steeper. So what’s a weekend Web [...]

Among the first things young photographers are told is get close to your subject and fill up the frame. Good advice for framing photos to hang on your wall, bad advice for Web/design usage.
The new rules, when shooting for general Web site usage: group your main subject, but shoot wider shots with plenty of photo [...]

Today’s my birthday. Yippee!
Here’s the reason for the disclosure: in an increasingly social online world, business can no longer afford to be faceless. Facebook and Twitter facilitate connections between people that are often unexpectedly personal and intimate. For example, I’ve learned from Facebook of the death of an acquaintance’s mother; of the birth of [...]

Recently, I had success looking up an image using TinEye, a reverse image search engine. A client sent me an image asking about using it on their Web site. This is always a concern for me, since most better photos and images are under copyright, and I try to be careful.
But with a reverse [...]

One thing I always advise my clients is: if you’re going to put anything on a Web site, keep it up to date. Solid advice, and often overlooked.
A few years ago, I was doing background research for a client that had me reviewing Voss Water’s Web site. At the time, their News section was more [...]

I’ve had a few projects recently where an existing site need a lot of help in a lot of areas: poorly organized, ineffective design, hardware or programming problems, inconsistent integration of various services, etc.
Problem is, design is visual, and clients get that. So they know they want a new design. The other things are harder [...]

When do you need to redesign your Web site? If it’s doing it’s job — that is, if it is easy to use and the right information and services are accessible and provide value to you and your customers, you should be fine, right?
Maybe.
Some Web sites just look dated. They might function fine, and have [...]

Today I received an unsolicited email offering SEO services for one of my domains. Bottom line is, it’s worthless — but many people wouldn’t know it. For a business owner desperate to improve his rankings in search engines, this might sound tempting. Let’s deconstruct…
Here’s the message, with the name and address withheld.
Dear Business Owner,
75% of [...]

In a social networking world, where your presence on MySpace and Facebook is almost as important as your own Web site, any redesign project needs to think outside the box.
Granted, offsite factors have always been part of the business marketing mix. In case you can’t afford a few Super Bowl ads, online advertising and offline [...]

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of dense Web sites. You know, three columns jammed with stock quotes, recent news, ads, highlights, customer login boxes, sale-of-the-day. The clutter in these sites drives me mad. It’s like a pack rat was turned loose on the Web, armed with everything that could possibly go on a Home [...]