CSS XHTML Constructed Web Site
My major problem is I get tired of looking at the same stuff really quick. This ends up creating much more work for me due to wasting half an hour here and there on ideas of reconstructing my websites. Being a man who constructs most sites in Flash I was looking for another method of site development to get my teeth stuck into and had wanted to venture further into the world of css for a while. I happened to be reading through an article on creating a web site mock up in Fireworks and then translating this all to Dreamweaver and creating the whole site using xhtml and css. So flicking through the article and armed with the css book ‘Bulletproof Web Design’ I delved head long into creating a new Newtriks site…
I love Fireworks but have not as much experience in using it compared with Photoshop, last year I made a conscious decision to switch to full time Fireworks for a variety of reasons and now love it. I am no photographer so really only use it for web design work, for this it is perfect. I can sit for hours working on logo’s, banners, text idea’s and site mock up’s and have found out how easy it is (sooooo easy) to transfer all work into Dreamweaver or Flash. The Nutrix cross logo remains my company identity but I needed something else to add some flava and I have decided that the crane flies I orginally used on this blog are now the official Newtriks logo alongside the Nutrix Interactive cross. These flying pests plagued my summer but in a random photo looked kinda cool and with a Fireworks bit of magic (and loads of tinkering) they remain, they now differentiate between the general web development and medical web development.
I am a big fan of simplicity and follow straight forward rules detailed by many including: + Clear navigation + 2 or 3 colours max + Avoid visual overkill + Ensure your site translates across all (or as many) platforms as possible + Small file sizes for the narrow bandwidth but keep the images at the highest quality possible (trial and error technique) + Out for the sell but don’t over egg it!
So, for now I am happy. This site actually surprised me, I am such a Flash obsessive and have been blinded by its interactivity and ability to cater for any wierd and wonderful concept that passes through my head. It (as all software) has its limitations and there is no harm (in fact it is a huge plus) in using other languages to create what you may have done in Flash.
START RANT Actually this is turning into a much bigger post than I intended cos whenever I create a website using Flash it always nags in the back of my head exactly how many people will be able to access it? Here is an example, over here in the UK NHS and private healthcare system there is still windows NT or windows 95! So I have had to ensure that ALL flash content I create is published for Flash Player 7 or earlier as both of the mentioned platforms cannot accommodate flash players 8 or above and according to Adobe will never be!!! So my original excitement regarding all the cool new features of Flash 8 were quickly thwarted when I discovered my primary client would not be able to use it :( END RANT
Back to where I started, css and xhtml website design, simple, sweet and seriously easy to expand and update… My only complaint is the hacks you gotta suss out to ensure backwards compatability and that it looks the same on mac/windows… I am a MAC user no doubt and initial problems have turned to head nodding positives cos I make damn sure that all surfers see the same (if I have failed in any way please tell me, no one is perfect you know ;) )…
Check it out and see what you think about the final result…..anti climax I here you say after the size of this post… Well its what’s inside that counts yah know what I mean!!!