New & Improved Website

It's finally happened. I've updated my website and online portfolio.

My website is pretty much done (all the important stuff is, anyway). I've implemented a new and much more attractive design. My portfolio is now pretty comprehensive and shows a wide sampling of my design abilities. My resume is updated and I've even included a "Skype Me" link on my Contact page.

I still have quite a few things to do, however. My Misc. Works page needs to be finished. I need to look through all of my past work that's not in my portfolio and see what I want to put up on that page. I will also update the aesthetic of this blog so it more closely matches the new design of my site. I should also add descriptions to all the images in my portfolio so viewers get an idea about each project. And regarding a more time-consuming effort, I will eventually PHP my site. My portfolio and Misc. Works page will be database-driven, and thus much easier to maintain. I also plan to make this blog internal to my site. So instead of having my blog hosted and viewed on Blogger.com, it will be wholly contained within my website. Should be an interesting undertaking...

Anyway, that's the rundown on my New & Improved website. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me or comment on this blog. Thanks for reading.

Don't Use PrintPlace.com

So I learned a very important lesson last week. It's a lesson I've learned numerous times but never seem to remember when I sense a good deal. The lesson I learned is that "you get what you pay for." Let me elaborate...

I've recently redesigned and updated my website (more on that in a future blog) and changed my branding a little. Because of this, I thought "I should order new business cards." Being that I don't make a huge salary, I found a place on the Web where I could get some pretty decent business cards for pretty cheap -- PrintPlace.com. Couple their low prices with the 31% off coupon I had (it was a Halloween weekend deal, set to expire Sunday night at midnight), and I was going to get a really good deal. So on the evening of the 28th I uploaded some designs, approved the proofs, and was pretty happy about my purchase. Then I got an email the next day.

The email was another online coupon from PrintPlace. This time it was a Halloween week coupon worth 50% off. Upon reading that, I was pretty annoyed. I had just ordered business cards 12 hours before under the impression that, once my 31% off coupon expired, I'd be paying normal prices. Then, the following day, I find out I could have saved another 20%? Of course I'm a little annoyed. It's just like when Apple lowered the price of the iPhone, but instead of waiting weeks (which I would have been fine with), PrintPlace waited hours to alienate their customers. Being that I wasn't really happy about the situation, I decided to give PrintPlace a call.

I gave them a call to see if they would apply the 50% off coupon to my order since I had placed my order less than 12 hours previous to the start of the new promotion. I assumed they'd say no, but thought they might give me an extra 5%-10% off because they could understand how this situation would make a customer a little angry. I was connected to a customer service representative and things went downhill quickly.

I calmly and politely explained the situation and my point of view. The customer service representative met my comments with complete hostility. When I asked her if she could understand how this situation might upset some customers, she said in a very condescending and disrespectful tone, "No. You don't have the right to be upset. You should be thrilled that you received 31% off and even happier that you can get 50% off any order you place over the next 3 days." That uncalled-for response made me even more angry, but I decided to salvage the conversation by calmly asking if they were going to do anything to show me that they appreciated me as a customer. Again in a hostile tone, the representative said "No." At that point I told her that the PrintPlace had lost all my future business, but before I could get the entire statement out of my mouth, she hung up on me.

So again, you get what you pay for. Next time I need something printed, I'm going to the print shop down the street and paying a little extra so I'll at least be treated like a human being.

Web 2.0 -- Designing the New Web

What is Web 2.0? There are probably as many opinions and different answers about the term "Web 2.0" as there are questions, but a very good and widely acceptable explanation (better than the one I'm about to give) can be found here. My explanation will be slightly different since I'll be looking at the Web 2.0 phenomenon from a website design point of view.

Web 2.0, Generally...

The term "Web 2.0" often refers to the re-emergence of the Web after the dot com crash in the late 90s. During this period, the web businesses that didn't meet their demise when the dot com bubble burst were successful because they were beginning to incorporate new business models and design styles. These businesses started utilizing the Web as a platform, providing services (and not packaged software) that were platform independent, customizable, scalable, and more accessible. They also started utilizing another important development considered a Web 2.0 characteristic – the current design trend to separate website structure from website style. This, along with other design aspects of Web 2.0, is what I'm going to focus on during this discussion.

Separating Structure from Style

One of the main aspects of Web 2.0 is that it not only has to be useful for people, but it must be easily understandable and accessible for computers as well. Since many Web 2.0-style sites have dynamic, computer- and database-controlled content, website structure became much more important than website style. Because of this development, the practice of separating structure from style began. At present, many Web 2.0 sites have no (or very little) formatting and style information in their markup (that is, in the HTML file that web browsers read to display a webpage). All style and formatting information is now located in cascading style sheets (CSS) that are linked-in to the webpage. This not only makes the markup easier for computers to read and interface with, but it makes a website's style more versatile and easier to change. This current Web 2.0 practice has caused some other interesting design side-effects as well.

The Effects of Structure/Style Separation

Aside from making the Web more computer-friendly, Web 2.0 design principles have created a recent design school with a minimalist style. Websites are beginning to express more by saying less. They use large and bold graphics, bold text, and a fair amount of white space. They don't say anything more than what's needed and they provide a better user experience. Because of the simplicity of current designs and a refocusing of efforts toward a positive user experience, users can go to these sites and very quickly and easily access exactly what they are trying to find. And because the mantra of Web 2.0 is dynamism, new and constantly changing content keeps visitors coming back. Repeat visitors mean repeat business.

Web 2.0 design practices, when done correctly, also provide the user with a feeling of trust and confidence. The simplicity and elegance of a design combined with a website's ease of use projects a feeling of stability, consistency, and permanence to the user. With this level of comfort and confidence, a user is more likely to do business with a company that represents itself in such a professional manner – they don't mind handing their money over to a quality place that is so capably represented.

Should Your Site be "Web 2.0 Compatible?"

Technology changes very rapidly, so it's hard to see too far into the future, but at the moment, all signs point to Web 2.0 conventions and standards becoming the norm (they already have for most large-scale websites). Providing users with the information they're looking for, giving them control, and letting them use the Web on their terms is a trend that will (if it hasn't already) become a rule. Any person or company who ignores the Web 2.0 movement will probably be left behind the curve, losing business to those ahead of it.