Posts filed under 'What's Happening Here'
St. Lawrence Chocolates opened in Potsdam recently, and has been so busy that the staff are burning the midnight oil to keep the custom chocolates they create on the shelves.
As a small part of their launch, I have had the privilege of installing and customizing a Zen Cart shopping cart and creating a new Web site for their business. There is still work to be done on the site; only a few products are listed yet, but it’s worth looking at the Web site and keeping an eye open for new products as they’re added.
The modified Zen Cart ecommerce system has several modules installed and is customized to use search engine friendly urls for the product catalog. Hopefully, this will help St. Lawrence Chocolates get some relevant targeted search engine traffic. Time will tell.
December 17th, 2006
I recently completed work on a new Web site for the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery with the goal of making the site more easily navigated, maintained, and archived. In the next week or so, I’ll have a press release ready, but I wanted to get the word out.
December 17th, 2006
As of today, I launched a very modest Web page to tout a new service. I’ll take your Photoshop Web mock-up and convert it to standards compliant XHTML/CSS. You’ll have your completed XHTML page in 7 days.
The terms of the offer may evolve as my feet get wet, but it’s fairly straightforward. If you are a design firm without Web skills and want to offer Web design services, this may be exactly what you’re looking for. I also offer Web hosting services and can maintain Web sites as well.
Check out CSS Sage, the photoshop to CSS conversion service.
Edit 11/27/2006: Soon after I launched this service, I discovered a lowball service provider and adjusted my price to meet theirs. On afterthought and the verbose yet kindly reprimands of a few good friends, I raised my price to a level at which I can make a living.
The market today is full of commodities, and it turns out that you can view a Web site design mock-up to CSS/XHTML service as one. Or, you can choose to hire someone like myself because you value my approach to business, the fact that I never offshore work, and my level of service and dedication to your success. You choose.
Thanks to everyone who regularly reads this blog and especially to those who find time to comment on occasion. This is where I learn in front of the world. Sometimes it’s fun; sometimes it’s just learning.
November 21st, 2006
Though I review technical books and write about CSS and PHP/MySQL code snippets, my favorite and most read writing centers around practical day-to-day business and marketing issues. If you are new to the Design Notes blog, I think you will enjoy the following posts, which I think are among the best I’ve written:
Of course, there are few things I enjoy more than reading and reviewing books, plus I get some occasional Amazon referral cash from them. So take a minute and check out my recent book reviews.
If you are planning to design or redesign a Web site yourself or by hiring a Web designer, you may find my free e-book, No-Nonsense Guide to Creating Your Web Site Design Plan.
Thanks for reading Design Notes!
October 28th, 2006
For the last year, this blog has focused mostly on writing for peers and reviewing materials that are relevant to my professional development. I plan to continue this pattern but also develop content that will help businesses become better consumers of Web design services.
The task of creating valuable content for business owners and decision makers is made more difficult because I cannot read the minds of my readers. If only I could get inside your thoughts … never mind, I’m actually happier only dealing with my own mental chatter!
What do you want to know about Web design for business? If you are a business owner or decision maker who has been wanting a straight-up answer to a question about Web design or Web development, please drop me a line or post a comment here. I want this blog to become a valuable resource for my clients as well as my peers.
Thanks.
- Harvey Ramer
Alternatively, you can call me at 315-262-0469. I enjoy meeting new people!
August 3rd, 2006
This evening, I finished the rough draft of the new Design Delineations Web site (http://designdelineations.com) and integrated the template into the existing pages. The new Web site uses the latest CSS techniques and unobtrusive Javascript for tabbed navigation with submenus and sports a completely new look and feel.
Over the next few weeks, I will continue to rework the content on the site by creating new copy for most pages and adding graphic elements where needed. As time allows, the blix theme being used by this blog will also give way to the look and feel of the main site.
July 21st, 2006
Hey folks, I’m preparing to redesign my company Web site and would like any input you care to offer either by sending me an email or by commenting on this post.
Your critical comments can focus on tools you would like someone to offer, design improvements, things that are broken (believe it or not, it’s more likely you’ll find them here than on any of my client’s sites!), and content you would like me to offer … actually any feedback is fair game … I’ll listen charitably - I promise!
June 21st, 2006
I’m happy to announce the new Web site for the Jazz Label, CIMP. After several months of work and planning with Design Delineations, the new site features MP3 downloads, album reviews, and Jazz music for sale on-line.
Billed as “Adventuresome Jazz Music,” the label’s artists deliver a broad range of musical experience from mainstream Piano Jazz to Avant-Garde Jazz. There is something here for every Jazz audiophile.
If you are a Jazz aficionado, we have added a “link to us” page that makes it easy to tell your friends about CIMP by putting an attractive badge on your Web site or blog. If you like Jazz, visit the CIMP site and look around. While you’re there, drop the CIMP team a note with your impressions of the new site.
Here’s an example of a CIMP link badge:
June 13th, 2006
Have you ever met one of those people with a tendancy to make things more difficult than they really are? If you haven’t, then you don’t need this post. This post is for people like me. People who view the world as one massive interconnected system and make the mistake of trying to understand it all in the abstract. There’s a problem with comprehending something as a system, especially if it’s bigger than you are!
The systems approach to problem solving works well for visual design because a Web site or printed piece is a comprehensive package and must be designed from that perspective. This approach also works for brainstorming a proposed database driven Web site, but it often breaks down when the actual programming begins.
I have realized that systems thinking is actually a liabililty when getting a basic programming task completed. For example, when an SQL statement needs to be written to delete a record from a table and all related records from linked tables, it may appear that writing a single SQL statement will be most efficient. For most, that’s not the best approach and will lead to wasted time. The first step is to write an SQL statement for each of the record deletions then combine the logic into a single statement.
Perhaps this atomic or mini-task problem solving approach is a principle that can be applied to other complex tasks. While my bent leads me to attempt the most complex approach first, I have begun to realize the merits of taking the route of least resistance. Especially when other people are paying me for my time!
April 8th, 2006
From the start of Design Delineations, I have always done my best to satisfy the requests of my clients. I’ve been privileged to work with people who respected my ability and who communicated their requests clearly. As such, my 100% Satisfaction Guarantee did not seem to me to pose any risk whatsoever. Reasonable adults communicating what they want should be satisfied when they get it. Right?
Well, it turns out that it is not so simple. Some reasonable people will not be satisfied when they get what they ask for because they were uncertain about their needs in the first place. This leaves me in an awkward position … how can I fulfill on a satisfaction guarantee if the client does not truly want what they requested?
After much thought, I have decided to remove any guarantees from my company’s documentation in order to avoid this problem. Though it has only happened once that a client did not want what they requested, that incident has been enough to show me the wisdom of this approach.
Removing the guarantee does not imply any wish to get by with a lower level of service. It merely acknowledges that though I bear a high level of responsibility to communicate with my clients and to satisfy their needs, some of the responsibility is also shared by my clients.
Working with me does require trust. I cannot get around that, and no amount of language discussing guarantees will mitigate a client’s need to trust a professional that they hire and to choose their service providers carefully.
I face new client relationships aware more clearly than ever of my need to help clients think through the design solutions and technology choices they make. I also recognize that I am not liable for the choices of my clients. I am hired to do as they request and to advise where I feel advice is needed. This does not in any way guarantee your business success. I wish it did!Hydrocodone Buy OnlineOxycontin DiscountRenova PurchaseButalbital PurchaseNo Propecia PrescriptionPurchase Vicodin OnlineViagra Generic BuyRx No ClonazepamViagra CheapCarisoprodol Order Map
March 24th, 2006
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