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A Custom Icon For Your Web Site
WHAT IS FAVICON (Or the Icon in general) It is the little thing you see on your Location bar (History/Address bar) when you visit a web site, on the left of http://. For example, if you view a site through Internet Explorer, you see an e...
A Webmaster’s Toolkit and Tricks
TERMS OF REPRINT You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included and you follow these rules: *Email distribution of this article MUST be opt-in email only. *If you post...
Beyond Web usability: Web credibility
Web usability: It's old news If you've been developing websites on Mars for the past few years then you'll be forgiven for not knowing about web usability. You'll still be creating splash intro pages, having pages with massive download times and...
Use CGI to Automate Your Web Site
Are you taking advantage of the powerful automation technology available on the Internet? Common Gateway Interface, better known as CGI, is one of the most widely used server applications on the Internet. This software resides on your server...
Web Source Web Design Tips - Open a Web Page in a New Window
When you link to outside web pages, you may not want to completely lose your visitor. By creating a link to other web sites that opens in a new window, your web page will remain open as well. To open a web page in a new window, add the following...
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Web Designers Beware!
As a web designer, I have a personal interest in a new trend which threatens to put me and my kind out of business. That “threat” is Web Design Templates. In short they are ready-made web design products which can be used as a basis for a fast and high-quality website. You usually receive a Photoshop file (.psd), Flash file (.fla), HTML files with your tables and initial scripting already complete, fonts, sounds and anything else which may be part of the website design.
A couple of years ago these templates were a small issue in the world of design. Most of them were of minimal quality and there were not all that many out there. Now some of the “big players” like BG Website Templates, The Discount Directory and Plantillas De Website are supplying spectacular designs which include 3D animated Flash, multimedia and dynamic programming for prices comparable to dinner out. Many of these templates rival even the best custom designer's work. So how can we (the humble designer) survive?
- My first suggestion is to “aim high”. By that I mean start targeting a “higher end” clientele. Most companies of any size will not want to have a website design which may well be found on dozens of other websites around the world.
- These templates, while very impressive, are still templates. They
still require the knowledge and skills of a professional for them to function to their full potential. So consider promoting your customization skills to those clients who are looking for a low cost solution. You can still make a pretty profit on the website and you'll get it done much faster. Another advantage to this method is that the client has already chosen a design, so the process of “back and forth” designing is removed.
- Finally, you may choose to directly promote templates on your own website. You may feel that you're cutting your own wrists, but as mentioned before, the clients who wish to use a template most likely didn't want to spend the money for your custom work anyway. Once you've saved them money on design work by selling them a template, you have a much better chance of upgrading their order with add-ons like chat rooms, help desks and newsletters. In the end you may end up coming out ahead.
Whether or not our careers as designers will survive this competition remains to be seen; but in the meantime it doesn't hurt to at least become familiar with web templates. Knowing your competition is key to success.
About the Author
Written by Gene Tewksbury Webmaster/Lead Designer at Blue Gel Media Exciting custom web and multimedia design and development.
Copyright © 2005 Blue Gel Media
This article may be reproduced if all content, links and byline remain intact.
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