How to Create a professional looking Website
Over the past series of articles we looked into the importance of taking our presence on the Internet very seriously, especially if we own a business that we want to brand and expand, and within this context, especially when it comes to create a professional looking Website.
How to Create a professional looking Website
Many people get a template that appeals to them and start their activities – mainly in posting articles, images, perhaps videos etc – without paying much attention to the ‘behind’ and the ‘visible’ aspect of the website – meaning how efficient it is in terms of Google Top 10 and how much it reflects what the website owner wants to express, thus attracting and keeping the right kind of visitors, readers and potential buyers.
When we develop the concept and create a professional looking website, or when we revive a website that has been neglected in the past, it’s critical to look at ‘what is’ and put it in relation to what we visualize, based on what we know is being wanted either through a thorough briefing – which is rare – or by knowing the customer and his requirements, or the customer knows our work and style and gives us ‘carte blanche’ to go ahead and deliver the product accordingly.
Boruch Rappaport Author Blog
In our case study and uniquely speaking about the visible part of the Web Design, the client wanted a new Look that he could brand for both his Boruch Rappaport Author Blog (on a Semiomantics XO Script) and BRap Chronicle (Semiomantics NewsCast Script), his online newspaper blog.
As we went into BRap Chronicle earlier, here now is a ‘before’ and ‘after’ screenshot of “Boruch Rappaport Author Blog”.
Boruch Rappaport Author Blog Before
In this ‘before’ screenshot of Boruch Rappaport’s Author Blog we see a rather boring background, nothing sexy as a header and many different colour nuances (which may not be too visible here even on the enlarged picture, but the colour codes were dancing!)
We had already published daily in the last 10 days or so and added specially created pictures to go with the basic colours, the chosen font and with the topics.
The important point here is that through the process of editing and publishing I could familiarize myself with the content and the target audience Boruch had in mind. Having produced quite a number of catalogues – especially in the fields of Architecture and Fine Arts – as well as Artist Portraits and Documentaries for the German and European Television in the past, and wanting to serve my clients as well as I can, I believe in taking the time in the beginning to ask all the relevant questions, dig into the material, get a good understanding and from there develop a concept that stands up to expectations – and ideally beyond.
Boruch Rappaport Author Blog After
Here’s the screenshot of “Boruch Rappaport Author Blog After“!
If you followed the progress on this project, you see how things fit together. Also, by chosing our pictures that accompany the articles wisely – or creating them accordingly from scratch – there is an interesting and attractive tension between the background, the Judaica Art on the Slide Show … and the thumbnail in the article.
To underline what I mean, see the harmony of the slide and the thumbnail on today’s post:
Maybe it’s taking things a bit far. . . however, I firmly believe that a sensitive mind picks up finesse in detail and care – and finally it reflects on the Author. It will solidify his reputation and he has peace of mind: his investment was right and it will grow and benefit him… provided there is good daily content (posts) and regular maintenance (updates etc).
Browser Issue
Finally, an important and widely unknown issue is that when we design a professional looking Website we need to ensure that this website or blog displays properly on both say Firefox and Internet Explorer.
The frustrating ‘browser issue’.
As we are on a Semiomantics XO Script here, we have to simply adapt the header.php and voila! all is fine. When doing this don’t become a victim of the cache as I did. . . change the code, then delete the cache in your blog and finally check the blog or website in Internet Explorer. I wish I had had this Tip before. . .
For more information especially on the specific setup we have in mind for 2010… very exciting and you want to know for sure. . . please join us today, Monday, at 9 pm London time in our brand-new MS Conference Room!
. . .
How to create a New Look for a Blog
In recent posts we discussed the criteria one has to consider when planning a brand-new website or blog – be it from the website owner’s perspective or that of a client, who may or may not have any clue about what a professional web designer actually does respectively what this complex task actually entails.
How to Create a new Look for a Website or Blog – meaning to work on something that already exists but that doesn’t live up to the expected standards, that is outdated, was never completed or whatever – brief: it is not high on the owner’s ‘likeability list’ and needs a thorough makeover to reach out for the Internet stars… well, while it may not appear thus in the beginning, the fact is that it is even more challenging and definitely time-consuming.
How to create a New Look for a Blog
In this article I share with you some of the considerations and experience regarding how to create a new look for a blog – or several blogs in fact – one of our eminent partners on YORGOO has entrusted me with and that he certainly agrees to given the benefit for our readers to learn from other peoples’ experiences and sincere report.
Remember: the Look comes second on our priority list – so as the corresponding blogs had been neglected over a period of time, they first needed some thorough thought to reestablish their purpose and subsequent targeting… followed by some serious technical updating and corrections here and there… and finally real life injected in form of regular original posts – properly edited and published – to start flirting with Google again and remind the online world of their existence and definite renaissance!
This having been said, what did we have to start with as concerns the ‘look’, the visual impact – and how could it be improved and further customized to reflect the author, his intent and valuable writings. . . and from there attract and subsequently convert more visitors and readers?
The Layout of the Blog
In our example, the layout of the blog was previously established and there was no need for any major changes. Once posts, images and widgets had made their way onto the Homepage, things started looking better every day. However, there were various items we were not too thrilled about, like headers and banners namely on the Author Blog.
The Colour Scheme of the Blog
Further to this, while the colour scheme of the blog was quite harmonious at first view – soft beige and rich maroon tones plus white and black – , there was room for improvement. And clearly for reduction. . . and as we are in that exact process right now we know: less will be more :)
Clearly, what guides me is the elegance, light and preciousness exuded by the Judaica Art on the Slideshow – something that’s very close to the author’s heart and expresses a lot about him – and which in my view sets the tone. It determines my adapted colour scheme. . . the way I visualize and translate it. . .
The Fonts of the Blog
While Semiomantics Scripts come with two practical presets of fonts – serif and sans-serif – I had introduced a specific font previously on his NewsCast Script, that I now also applied to the web graphics I specifically created for the various posts over the past 2 weeks, their particular style forming a new visual theme or thread throughout the Blog. Voila an example:
The Background of the Blog
A simple colour never hurts, but it’s not exciting either with the great possibilities a Semiomantics XO theme allows us in terms of creating new original backgrounds and integrating them into the css stylesheet.
As for some reason I cannot access the stylesheet right now, I decided to integrate the background on my own Author Blog for a limited time to test it. I chose it from a number of designs created from a digital photo I took which I then manipulated artistically in Photoshop to get the result I wanted.
Various versions were necessary as I had to bear in mind that if we work with a transparent background we have to ensure the readability of the text. Also, I do like the vertical lines in degrades as I show in the example at the top, but they are too dominant if I work with total transparency – they may be just fine if I don’t. It’s all a matter of doing, experimenting, testing and evaluating.
So I did have to make some compromises and am looking forward to seeing this version at its designated place and decide from there whether or not I continue on a transparent journey!
Visual Expression
Imagery is the most powerful visual expression, touching, stimulating and influencing our senses and subconscious mind in direct and indirect ways. It is therefore extremely important to have a good understanding of what the Blog is all about in general and particularly if it’s an Author Blog – to create a distinctive look and feeling for the personality behind it, the product, service or whatever is to be branded. It’s this look that will create empathy, recognition value, branding, trust – once properly established it will remain!
An important conclusion from this exciting example so far – meaning to change something that had been started and has already left a mental mark in the client’s brain that is not that easily ‘released’ – this is a process that requires trust and understanding on both sides. I believe that the best way to get a feeling for what it needs when approaching such a complex and responsible task is to dig into the articles, categories, keywords to get the knowledge from within… which obviously comes when editing and publishing as well… but my point here is that to create a look that ‘talks’ an in-depth feeling for the topic at hand needs to be developed and then translated into the Web Design and Web Graphics.
As said before: this is work in progress and to be continued. . .
Graphic Design
Graphic Design – like any form of Art – always starts with an idea… a vision… or an inner drive to create. To be and stay within a continuous state of amazement, enthusiasm and passion to create we need to find ways that provide us with a constant flow of inspiration for our boundless Imagination.
"Determination" by Bianca Gubalke (Detail)
One of my personal preferred methods is… digital photography. I am very happy with my new Nikon Coolpix P90 that fits perfectly into my hand and that will be my best friend once I’m beyond the testing phase.
Graphic Design
Graphic Design can start with a simple walk on the beach… capturing a moment that touches or impresses us… as was my case here – it’s only an excerpt… but it’s one that lead to more… and going for ‘more’ is what this is all about!
Bianca Gubalke Images
Noordhoek Art
Based on the above picture on Noordhoek Beach a few days ago, I created quite an elaborated Artwork earlier called “Determination” – HERE (small version of the original Design on Noordhoek Art) where I integrated various Photoshop filters and experimented with new Grunge Fonts and Grunge Brushes.
Following a request, I include a details for better viewing at the top.
Grunge Design
A Grunge Design based on the same photo (another excerpt), is visible HERE.
Grunge Design is great Fun as it’s liberating as was the so-called “Arte Povera” back in the 70’s. Although it looks simple, don’t let the ‘freedom’ blind you as here it’s even more complex to get the harmonies right – be it those of colour, space or volume.
Web Design
In the Web Design category we focus on Web Design related topics.
Web Design
More on Web Design to follow soon!
Design
This new Blog called “Design by Bianca Gubalke” will serve as a sketch book focusing on two main categories:
1. Web Design
2. Graphic Design
Design by Bianca Gubalke
Web Design and Graphic Design. . . on the Internet one flows into the other. . .
Expect more soon on Design by Bianca Gubalke . . .
Graphic Design
This category will deal with my new developments in Graphic Design.
Graphic Design
More on Graphic Design soon. . .
Contents
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Web Design Title Fonts
Title fonts, namely on your home page can completely change the look and feel of your site. One of the ways to get in control of your heading fonts in WordPress is to use flash supported fonts from Fontburner.
Title Fonts
Depending on the purpose of your site, you may choose light, heavy, serif or sans-serif fonts, you may want to go grunge or into handwriting or even use a monospace font visible to all your visitors.
When using Fontburner, we overwrite our standard fonts as defined in the style sheet with non standard fonts which will be delivered in flash format.
Flash Fonts
There are two ways to power your flash fonts: either you import them from Fontburner, who will host them for you or you host them on your server and load the flash from there. I prefer the second solution in order not to depend on an external source for the display.
Installation
1. Install the Fontburner Plugin on your WordPress.
2. Create a folder called flash in your domain root (public_html). This is the folder into which you load all the flash files of your preferred fonts.
3. In your plugin folder (font-burner-control-panel) you will find a file called: font-burner.php: edit it and change
src: 'http://www.fontburner.com/flash/';
to:
src: 'http://www.your_domain.com/flash/';
These changes need to take place on lines: 297, 370, 444, 518
and while you are there, you may also change the comment on line 590.
Get Title Fonts
Select your preferred fonts from Fontburner and download the flashfiles: the download link is located at the bottom of each font display page. Place all these flash files in your folder called flash, created under step 2 above.
I have downloaded the fonts represented by the screen-shots HERE.
To save time, you may want to download the flash files of this collection time from HERE.
Title Fonts Configuration
For the purpose of the demo blog, I configure only my h1 and h2 titles and I leave h3 and h4 defined by the style-sheet.
Configuration of h1 and h2:
Title Fonts Configuration
Note: the font name corresponds to the swf (flash) file name without the extension.
CSS Customization
CSS Customization for Title Fonts
My Title Fonts – the Result
Title Fonts
More about this Topic
| Author: Yorgo Nestoridis, Media Marketing & Publishing, Founder of YORGOO Publishing, YORGOO Press and Semiomantics.
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Miss Garden Route South Africa
Finally… the results for the “Miss Garden Route South Africa” are out! “Lalakoi” Hanno Coetzee has joined the YCADEMY Seminar with the latest news and the winning result…
Louise Muller crowned “Miss Garden Route and Klein Karoo 2009″
“Miss Garden Route and Klein Karoo 2009″ beauty pageant, Miss Louise Muller (18) from Mossel Bay was crowned “Miss Garden Route & Klein Karoo 2009″ at last night’s prestigious event at the Garden Route Casino in Mossel Bay, South Africa. It must have been young Louise’s outgoing personality that charmed the Jury to choose her as the “Face of the Garden Route for 2009” as well as the Ambassador for Tourism of the Garden Route and Klein Karoo.
It was last year’s winner, Noluthando Mkhobeni, who crowned the winners.
The second runner up was Miss Nathalie Graaff (23) from Mossel Bay and the first princess Miss Jeandre de Villiers (19) from Oudtshoorn.
The glamours Gala took place at Pinacle point, hosted by Garden Route Casino.
Miss Garden Route South Africa
YCADEMY Seminar participant from George, Hanno Coetzee (Lalakoi) , was at the event and gave some enthusiastic feedback:
“I’ve been to several of these Gardenroute pageants – this was the best… well organized… the girls fantastic… and so many images! I am sorting out images since 6 am this morning… my eyes are sore as I had too much to look at! I posted a number of posts… and the the winner was Louise Muller!
What I liked is that people started recognizing “Lalakoi” and “Lalakoi Publishing”. I like to sit at my PC while people enjoy themselves… but they need to know I am here.”
Q: Who organized this event?
Lalakoi:
It was the Garden Route Casino organizing it… it’s from the Garden Route and Klein Karroo (it’s not a province, it’s a rigid type of semi-desert area, but people are living there and farming there… it’s a very nice areea to stay. Like the Garden Route is an area… each type of vegetation has another name.
Q: Was there a local jury? A professional jury?
Lalakoi:
They were professional people; the management of the casino, the previous Miss SA’s… people who know what they are doing. The sorting out started 2-3 weeks ago… the theme of the event was to support battered children and women (Abuse). They also have shelters where the women and kids are looked after. One of each shelter lady got a make-over and the best make-over won a price. They all got presents and gifts… and all the money of the event is going towards these shelters.
Q: What does the winner win?
Lalakoi:
The total price of the event was R 200.000,–; the winner won in total about R75.000,– (R17,000 in cash) . The rest was going to the other girls. The winner will also be entered into the Miss South Africa Competition. The winner from last year will also enter the Miss South Africa Competition…
Besides… we had fantastic rains at last… after going through the worst droughts since 123 years …
Congratulations! Well done!
Louise Muller is Miss Garden Route 2009
A great Miss Garden Route Election night crowned Louise Muller’s beauty and grace! Louise Muller, 18, from Mossel Bay is Miss Garden Route 2009! Congratulations and we wish you a brilliant future as we do to all contestants!
Louise Muller on Google
Louise Muller becomes quickly visible on Google. The news about her election is out and Google has indexed and listed the event. In as much as our posts are concerned, we shot straight to Google Top 10 under Louise Muller.
Look forward to more!
Read also:
| Author: Yorgo Nestoridis, Media Marketing & Publishing, Founder of YORGOO Publishing, YORGOO Press and Semiomantics.
If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription. |
Miss Garden Route 2009
And the “Miss Garden Route 2009″ Winner is. . .?
We are still waiting for Lalakoi’s feedback as to the exciting results… seems the jury had a hard time with the choice???
Meanwhile. . . I did my own guess with this charming young lady with the irresistible smile :)
Miss Garden Route 2009
As we see. . . she’s entered the right environment. . .
