I can provide your web initiative with three valuable services: content creation; design and coding; and consulting on strategic direction. You find two approaches to site design on the World Wide Web. One is to use a lot of elaborate graphics, Flash animation, java applets and sound and motion. The other is to use a simple design that allows pages to load quickly and site users to navigate with ease. Maybe it's obvious from the way I described these two design philosophies which I prefer. Simple, well-organized and easy-to-use sites best serve the needs of both the web site provider and the audience. It's like those fancy digital watches that became the rage in the 1980s. They could perform a zillion functions -- report the temperature, calculate elapsed time, measure pulse rates, play songs. But, what did users want? They wanted to know...what time it was. That's why the demand for digital watches fizzled, and most people today still prefer old-fashioned analog timepieces. The lesson: It's important to ask, "What do visitors want from my site?" You shouldn't have to conduct a market-research study to get this answer (although such surveys can often reveal fascinating details on users' expectations). You should know: "They want to know more about our products and services." Or, "They want advice on advancing their careers." Or, "They want to listen to music or play games." That doesn't mean you, the web site owner, shouldn't try to shape the expectations of your audience. But, your site architecture and design can't get in the way of users finding what they want. It's equally important to determine what you want out of your site. Is your web presence intended to attract new customers? To enhance services for existing customers? To sell goods and products? To create new revenue streams? A good web site can do all this and more. But, you should be able to identify the one thing that stands out as your enterprise's top priority. In the case of this web site -- Goleta Publishing -- my goal is to attract new clients. That's why, for example, I don't have banner ads. (True, that decision is made easier by the fact that there's not much of a market for advertising on a portfolio web site.) Banner ads don't fit into my site's main mission. You also won't see outside advertising creatives on Amazon.com. Amazon is in the business to sell its own products. Banner ads, which take users away from the site, don't help in that regard. On the other hand, Washingtonpost.com is filled to overflowing with banner ads. That's because banner ads represent the best way for this site to make money. And, utlimately, Washingtonpost.com exists to generate revenue for the parent company. Why does your web site exist? Once you answer that question, implementation becomes a lot easier. Regardless of the purpose, a web site needs to be simple and direct. Big graphics, which look gorgeous on an artist's palette, generally add very little to a site. I can create .gif and Flash animations, but I'm not a big fan. They seldom add much to a site. And, usually, they cause pages to load slooooooowly. There's also the problem of non-compatible browsers. Not every user has the capability to run Flash graphics, nor the bandwidth to download Java applets or even PDF files. I design sites that will work for users with 600x480 monitors, connecting to the Internet via a conventional modem. Designing for the lowest-common denominator assures you that high-end and low-end users will have equal access to the site. Other site design principles: Design graphics that are 15K or less size and no more than 450 pixels in width. Display contact and copyright information clearly on each page. Provide site navigation on each page. Use Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant tagging (e.g., "alt" tags for all graphics, text versions of menus, "noframes" text for framesets) Make all content accessible within three clicks of the home page (not always possible, but it's a good practice to keep in mind) Avoid "splash" pages. Don't embed audio files or pop-up ads. Create pages simple enough that a client with HTML skills should be able to update pages. Above all else, it's important to recognize that launching or enhancing a web site isn't the end of a process, but a beginning. When users visit a web site, they assume it is current as of that day. If your site contains information that is weeks or months out of date, a visitor may assume you either don't care about such details -- or worse, that you are no longer in business. Please see my online portfolio for examples of my web work.

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MIKE FROST · GOLETA PUBLISHING 3004 Mt. Vernon Avenue Alexandria, Virginia, 22305 Phone: 703/346-3170 · Fax: 603/299-0351 E-mail: mfrost@goletapublishing.com AIM: mikesfrost · YIM: msfrost © 2003, Goleta Publishing, unless otherwise indicated.