Web Design

I'm obsessed with web design. When I say obsessed, I'm not just talking about the "pretty" aspects of design.

I'm talking about what's under the hood... what makes it tick. I'm obsessed with the details that earn front page rankings on Google (it's quality content!).

I'm obsessed with valid code. Did you know that websites that have completely error free coding are ranked higher by search engines? I do. It's worth the extra effort.

I'm equally obsessed with making sites as efficient as possible. No link farms for me. I don't want anyone to have to click more than once to find the information they came looking for.

Check out Mustangs&More, CrashtheCar, Jane's Yummy Buns, FuriouslyCurious or Totally3rdGrade to see some of these ideals in action.

P.S. If you think you'd like me to build a site for you, use the "contact" button to reach me.

Mustangs More

Mustangs & More is a company that restores, repairs, and hot rods all kinds of cars.

M&M needed a site that could showcase their abilities without resorting to huge amounts of information overload.

It was also important to appear competent, professional and polished without looking "slick" or "corporate."

The site needed to feel like real people work there. It had to be inviting.

This was accomplished by using elegant, but earthy colors. It was enhanced by using photos of actual customer vehicles shot with a plain old camera. The language is clear and to the point.

Perhaps most importantly, the site's navigation is utterly uncomplicated. When you click on a link, you get what you expect. Everything is clean, crisp and easy.

Go take a look right now and see if you're suddenly inspired to make an appointment with these guys. Take me to Mustangs & More!

Crash the Car

Crash the Car is a rock band website. As such, it's main requirement is to present a variety of media with a sense of style.

One of the band's fans (Justin Kroman) was kind enough to take pictures of some live performances and those became the basis for the look and feel of the site.

The black and white layout stands out against a sea of brightly colored, blinking websites. It has the dark vibe that suits a rock band, but without the cheese.

There is also an interactive element of surprise on the home page... the band moves in response to your mouse. Go try it. Let's go have a little fun with a mouse!

Jane's Yummy Buns

Jane's Yummy Buns is essentially a walk-in restaurant site.

The color scheme is crisp, clean, soft, comforting and a bit nostalgic.

The basic idea was to make it easy for people who had already heard of Jane to recommend her to their friends and to invite them back.

The latter task wasn't as easy as it sounds since her location is not obvious. Imagine explaining to someone that the place they needed to go was a small restaurant in the back of an antique mall, which was located in the back of a shopping center that was nearly identical to a different shopping center across the street from it.

One other detail...she's only open about 3 hours on Sundays!

Despite the hurdles, I think we ended up with a pretty nice look and feel. Go check it out for yourself and see if you aren't suddenly craving a warm, gooey cinnamon roll. Let's go shopping for cinnamon rolls!

Furiously Curious

Furiously Curious was designed to be an elementary school teacher's dream site. Content-rich, organized, modern and efficient; just what a busy teacher needs.

The navigation on this site is the key to its success. Even though there are nearly 400 pages of content, all of it is within 2 clicks. That is a real time saver.

Another distinctive element is the completely fluid layout. The layout automatically resizes itself for any size monitor that teachers, kids or school districts may be using. Say goodbye to awkward horizontal scolling.

The text can also be made larger or smaller by using a mouse's scroll wheel. That makes it easy to accomodate the needs of any size room or audience.

Just for fun, you can also select 1 of 4 color schemes. Some are bright, some are mellow and all of them help teachers adjust to the energy levels of their pupils on the fly.

Go there now and play around. Let's go have some fun at FuriouslyCurious.com

Totally3rdGrade

This was the teacher's site that started it all. While it looks a little plain on the outside, there's a radical concept on the inside.

The remarkable thing about this site is that it relies almost completely on decentralized content.

Rather than focus on promoting the site itself, I decided instead to promote the content.

Each topic that I could serve received its own web page, which held every bit of related information about that subject. It was like hitting pay dirt for anyone seeking what I had to offer.

The plan worked so well that it only took 9 months to receive 1 million hits... without a single penny spent on advertising!

Go see the little engine that could (Totally3rdGrade.com)

Home | Contact | Blog