A few months ago I had  a designer I had worked with previously contact me inquiring if I had any upcoming projects.  We  had collaborated well on our last project and everyone was satisfied with his work.  And yes, he used tables in the layout but that was still acceptable then.  Using <div> was still “cutting edge.”  I told him I would  hand off the next design project to him.  After a couple rounds of revisions, the client was satisfied and I told the designer to slice it up and send me the files.

So I unpack the Zip file, fire up my trusty old Dreamweaver MX and open up index.html and here’s what I see:

Whoa.  I’ve gotten so used to seeing  <div> now for page layout that seeing the <table> markup really did cause a small shock.  Even worse, it was only html and not valid xhtml.  Well, ok, that’s easy enough to fix.  So I have this sinking feeling in the bottom of my stomach that I have paid this person for what is really sub-par work.  You wouldn’t  know it by looking at just the design – it looks fine.  Do that right-click > view source and that’s when it gets ugly.  I see something that stops me dead in my tracks:

You’ve got to be kidding me.  A ‘spacer.gif’ as a means to control page layout?  Really?  Um, I’m actually speechless on this one.

What it all this boils down to is one thing: laziness.  Laziness on the designers part for not keeping his skillset up with the changing times.  Keeping up with all the browser differences, CSS techniques and W3 recommendations can be time consuming and frustrating – but necessary for your career. It’s obvious to me that whatever graphics program he uses, he just used the quick “auto generate” html button.  I know this because back when I tried to design my own sites, using my old Paint Shop Pro, if you used the auto-generate html it spits out <table> and ‘spacer.gif’.  I knew the very first time I tried this that it was NOT the right way to do things – and back then tables were the norm.

So just an FYI to any designer who I may work with in the future – I will ask for live sites that you’ve worked on so I can right-click > view source…..

The idea of this was very appealing to me. Always having had an interest in technology, I was keenly aware when growing up that only boys were into that stuff. And girls were supposed to be teachers, work at a bank — anything not to “techie.” Mind you, there’s nothing wrong at all with those jobs. What’s wrong here is the stereotypes we hang over young girls as to what they can/cannot be when they are adults.

So Cathie and Jeni asked me if I’d be willing to become a STEM mentor. A chance broaden the horizon of a young girl, dreaming all those impossible dreams? To impart a little bit of “girl power” to a young female? I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff – sign me up.

Very soon I will meet my mentee face-to-face (with her parents) and start the process of building that relationship. And making a not-so-small investment into mine – and hopefully Northwest Indiana’s – future.

Custom WordPress Theme

We are delighted to announce a new site design for our latest client, Dr. Laura Hannon in Portage, Indiana.

Dr. Hannon’s practice offers a comprehensive approach to dentistry. They offer cosmetic dentistry services such as porcelain veneers and teeth whitening, as well as general dentistry for the entire family.

When I talked to Dr. Hannon and her staff, they were very clear that they did not want to deviate too far from their previous site. It was important to them to maintain the sense of familiarity with their existing clients and to improve upon their brand by putting Dr. Hannon herself into the design.

Their previous site had nice, flowing lines and soft colors. We kept those curved lines and soft colors in the new design, but chose warm colors over the previous cool tones.

Dr. Hannon’s office staff also wanted to be able to have control over their own web site and use it more for educating patients. We used WordPress to build the site because of its user friendly Content Management System (CMS), which would enable them to update any page and add more before/after images to their smile gallery. They wanted to be able to have a more dynamic, frequently updated web site and WordPress will allow them the freedom to expand the information provided to current and future patients.

Site Development: Lisa Fox
Graphic Design: Nichole Baiel

A big question for a lot of people is whether or not to use a pre-made WordPress theme or go with a custom design.

The answer to that question is that there is no right or wrong answer.  It all depends upon your situation.

The Case for Pre-Made WordPress Themes

Without a doubt, the biggest reason to use a pre-made theme is because it’s cheap.  Most themes are free and those that aren’t usually are anywhere from $12 to $150.  Another big advantage that pre-made templates have is that it’s already made – hence, quicker turnaround time on the entire project.

There are probably thousands of different pre-made themes to browse through – which can be very overwhelming.  But the upside here is that you get to view hundreds of different designs – while doing a custom design means there’s usually only one mock-up to look at.

I find that pre-made themes work well for those businesses and non-profits who do not have a strong brand to project to the masses and can easily get the message across using the right theme that suits their content.

The Case for Custom WordPress Themes

The above paragraph leads nicely into the main reason why I believe businesses should have a custom WordPress template designed:  to protect your brand.

Maintaining a consistent image across all advertising domains – print, web, radio, tv – whatever the medium, is extremely important in creating an imprint in your potential customer’s mind.  I think it’s ironic that so many businesses give almost zero thought to the image they are projecting to the world.  If your web site is not performing like you thought it would, then maybe it’s time to re-vamp the design and make sure it’s sending the message you want it to.

The other reason why I like to do custom themes is because so many of the WordPress theme marketplaces either:

A)  have the same themes  – or

B) all the themes look like glorified blogs – not a beautiful web site.

Another important distinction between pre-made themes and custom themes is the way that content is displayed.  We all know that content is king in the eyes of the mighty search engines, so you really want to showcase that content, right?  With the pre-made themes, I find that many of them are more focused around promoting the social media (which is a very  important part of your online marketing plan) rather than the content.  You can have greater control over how your content is displayed if you do a custom theme, rather than trying to hack at someone’s existing design.

In the end, you need to take some time to think about the money you have to spend on a site, the content that you have to display and if it all aligns with your overall brand message.  And whatever you choose remember this:  a web site is always a work in progress.  Hit that reset button anytime.

This new site is built on the WordPress framework and this is the software I’ll be using to build all of my clients’ sites.  More businesses are finally starting to embrace Web 2.0 (even though it’s been around for a few years now) and realize the powerful potential a web site has to reach customers.  It’s not about having your logo, name and number anymore.  It’s all about fresh content and staying connected.

Look for more posts to come on this soon.

~Lisa