Good websites

[Night Train]

I am in the process of designing my website.

Do you have any examples of really good websites you can link to for some inspiration please?
They don't have to be wood or furniture making related, they just have to look good and work well so I can figure out what people like the look, and functionality, of.

Thanks
NT

 

[Ironballs]

You might want to narrow it down a bit, ie the BBC and Amazon are pretty good sites but that may be of no use to you. Philly's is also a good site

 

[Paul Chapman]

A couple of sites, from the world of photography, that I like. I think they both look nice, quite classy, and are very easy to navigate The first is the site of the late French photographer Leanloup Sief http://www.jeanloupsieff.com/#

The second, which contains a vast amount of information but is still easy to navigate, it the site of the photo agency, Magnum http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.a ... 7O3R1VX08V

Hope this helps.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Night Train]

A couple of sites, from the world of photography, that I like. I think they both look nice, quite classy, and are very easy to navigate The first is the site of the late French photographer Leanloup Sief http://www.jeanloupsieff.com/#

The second, which contains a vast amount of information but is still easy to navigate, it the site of the photo agency, Magnum http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.a ... 7O3R1VX08V

Hope this helps.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Thank you. That's the sort of thing I am after. The first site has a really good look about it, strong, simple and contemporary. And you can't nick the images which is what I want. It is also different in that the navigation is on the right where the scroll bar is. That saves tracking back and forth across the screen. I may send that to my friend to tell him to do something along those lines for me.

 

[Argee]

If this is your first web site, ask yourself some pertinent questions first, then go looking for examples which fit the criteria you need.

1) Why do you want/need the site?

2) Will it need to contain any form of e-commerce coding (an on-line shop)?

3) How frequently will it need updating?

4) Where and with whom will you host the site?

5) Do you own your own domain name(s)?

If, for example, it's just a site for the fun of it and to reach a few like-minded surfers, there are plenty of easy ways to set one up for free - blogs, especially.

If it's to be a shop, look into the cost of being able to accept credit cards and the percentage required to provide the facility. Shop around.

If you would like to change the overall appearance occasionally, the use of style sheets will greatly help in the process. It's the preferred way, but some still don't use them.

If you're still considering a host, find out if they'll look after your domain registration too. If you already own a domain name, check if there are any fees for the hand-over to their server from any existing other server and if any conditions apply.

Above all, your web page must look inviting and be very quick to load the first page "above the fold." This means the very first screen-full that the visitor will see and comes from the impact of the first half of a folded newspaper - would you want to buy it to read more based on what you've seen first? The same principle applies to web pages and if the first one lacks interest and impact and/or is very slow to load, people will move on. Less is usually more on the front page - easy and clear navigation to other specific topics and/or pages is my preferred method.

Good luck and keep us in touch with progress, questions, etc.

Ray.

 

[Night Train]

If this is your first web site, ask yourself some pertinent questions first, then go looking for examples which fit the criteria you need.

1) Why do you want/need the site? To help promote my business of making things from wood, so that my prospective and potential clients can find me and see examples of the work I do.

2) Will it need to contain any form of e-commerce coding (an on-line shop)? No.

3) How frequently will it need updating? Maybe only every month or so depending how often I finsih a piece of work that I want o show on the site.

4) Where and with whom will you host the site? My friend, who has already set up a few sites, has this sorted for me.

5) Do you own your own domain name(s)? Yes, www.eversleyhouse.org.uk

Above all, your web page must look inviting and be very quick to load the first page "above the fold." This means the very first screen-full that the visitor will see and comes from the impact of the first half of a folded newspaper - would you want to buy it to read more based on what you've seen first? The same principle applies to web pages and if the first one lacks interest and impact and/or is very slow to load, people will move on. Less is usually more on the front page - easy and clear navigation to other specific topics and/or pages is my preferred method.

Good luck and keep us in touch with progress, questions, etc.

Ray.

Thanks Ray. That is the sort of thing we were talking about today. I wanted the pages to be complete without scrolling and be really clean and inviting with the style of the page suitable for the nature of the work I am doing. This is why I want to have some examples of what I mean by that so that we are both thinking the same way.

I want it to be able to show the variety of works that I do alongside being a cabinet maker so it will have sections for bespoke furniture, bespoke joinery, theatre sets and props and enviromental considerations.

 

[patl]

its probably more than you want to know, but this is the best book I['ve come across on the subject of usability. The title says it all really, so you don'tneed to buy it :wink:

 

[Dave S]

Thank you. That's the sort of thing I am after. The first site has a really good look about it, strong, simple and contemporary. And you can't nick the images which is what I want.

Don't you believe it. Put an image on the web - it can be nicked. Just because it's wrapped up in flash doesn't stop images from being nicked - just makes it a bit more tricky.

There are several downsides to using Flash.

It is also different in that the navigation is on the right where the scroll bar is. That saves tracking back and forth across the screen. I may send that to my friend to tell him to do something along those lines for me.

Be careful about that sort of thing - users have certain expectations about where certain things should be and how they function - navigation being one of them. Get users frustrated or confused and they won't stick around for long.

Dave

 

[wizer]

Indeed. Do not bother with flash at all. This is really only good for large, already popular, sites. Paul's second example is really very good but probably too big for what you want. Whilst I don't wish to inflate his ego any more, Brad's site is nice and simple with a relatively good look for someone who is unskilled in web design. You just need to display all the information that your customer NEEDS, displayed in an easy to read manner which is simple to navigate.

If you have some experience with websites then you might want to look into something like Drupal or Joomla. Which is the only method I use to creat websites nowadays.

 

[bugbear]

And you can't nick the images which is what I want.

yes you can ;-)

BugBear

 

[matt]

Two very simple brochure style sites:
http://www.greenwichwoodworks.co.uk
http://www.russellblake.co.uk

I would not get overly stressed about people nicking images unless images are your trade. I accept that people could pass your work off as theirs and, if they're on your turf then they could steal trade from you on the strength of your work, however, you could go to great lengths to minimise image theft and they'll just take them from someone else and still, potentially, steal trade from you.

Keep it simple. Use stylesheets as a mimimum for appearance. If you're feeling more ambitious you can use stylesheets for layout and positioning too instead of tables. It's the purist approach but not essential. You could also code to strict standards too if you enjoy the challenge of developing a site with integrity of the code.

There are some minimum standards you should adhere to, no least to ensure your site displays correctly in a wide variety of browsers (including those for the blind etc). Then there is the more purist approach to development which is good to do but not essential.

If you decide to go down the purist route, check out Jeff Zeldman... If you want to get some idea of what stylesheets can do, visit: http://www.csszengarden.com/

 

[wizer]

preventing the stealing of images is impossible and the effort involved in preventing it is futile.

If it's that important to you then put a watermark on the images. Simples.

 

[BradNaylor]

Whilst I don't wish to inflate his ego any more, Brad's site is nice and simple with a relatively good look for someone who is unskilled in web design.

Funnily enough, I was just thinking how nice, stylish and simple that French photographer's site was, and how I could borrow a few ideas from it for my new site I'm currently working on.

The thing I try and rememer is that a website in our kind of business is not selling furniture or joinery services or whatever.

It is selling the idea of making an enquiry, whether by email or a phone call. To achieve this the website must look interesting enough that it commands the attention of the potential client, and be friendly enough that it encourages them to make contact.

A website that is too professional and 'corperate' looking can actually be counter-productive to a small local business, as it can make you look too big and impersonal.

The website Tom has kindly referred to is here

http://www.duncancheslett.com/

Cheers
Brad

 

[Dave S]

The website Tom has kindly referred to is here

http://www.duncancheslett.com/

Cheers
Brad

And the header is still broken in Firefox!

Style Normal-C4 has a font-size of 19px. Turning it down to 18px will make the word 'finishes' visible. :wink:

I agree with the general sentiments - keep it simple. IMO a site rarely fails from being too simple, but frequently fails from being overcomplex.

Also an important point noted by Brad, about a 'psoh' site putting people off. Equally, a shoddy site can do the same. It's important to pitch it right. I see this kind of mistake frequently with e-commerce sites where, because it is quite easy to set up a site, people throw it together with little thought, and it looks like a dodgy market stall.

For someone like Brad, it's important that the site doesn't give an impression that the work might be second rate or shoddy. Equally it shouldn't have a 'Sunday Supplement' feel or people might be put off by expectation of 'Sunday Supplement' prices. It needs to have an 'honest, trustworthy' feel without being aloof.

In contrast, the Doctor is in a different area of the market and his site is different to Brad's. Whilst it shares certain core characteristics, it seeks to generate a different feel or mood which is appropriate to the market in which he operates.

Ultimately, the most important work comes before you create your first page, sort out hosting or any of that. It lies in identifying what you want to do, why you want to do it, how you want to do it. Who is the site for? What kind of feel are you tring to generate? What kind of image do you seek to portray? IME, it's here that many failed websites go wrong.

cheers
Dave

 

[wizer]

Brad, stick with the current layout and improve on it. Please don't be tempted to use flash. It's a search engine killer if nothing else.

Speaking as someone who would hire the services that you provide, I'd be impressed by your site and would want to find out more. If it was flashy with animations and whirligigs, I'd just click the back button and look at the next site.

 

[DaveL]

And the header is still broken in Firefox!

It appears to be OK in 3.5 (on XP) for me, what version are you using?

 

[Night Train]

The website Tom has kindly referred to is here

http://www.duncancheslett.com/

Cheers
Brad

It's a good site. I like the way it is worded, nothing complex or patronising.

Thanks.

 

[Dave S]

And the header is still broken in Firefox!

It appears to be OK in 3.5 (on XP) for me, what version are you using?

Yes, I have 3.5 at home and it's ok, but V3 at work and it's broken on that.

But on 3.5 the footer is broken, with the keywords list visible and overflowing the box.

It highlights one of the problems of using this kind of software - verbose, messy, non-standard code which renders unpredictably.

Dave

 

[wizer]

It highlights one of the problems of using this kind of software - verbose, messy, non-standard code which renders unpredictably.

..and if you don't know how to raw code, you're b*lloxed until the software developer sorts out an update.

 

[houtslager]

just outta curiosity, mine needs a few upgrades like spam preventing measures on the contact page, are there any other improverments I could try-out ?

HS, slowing down for the bouw-vak in Amsterdam :?