Web Sites

If I am selling myself as a web site designer, the expectation is that I have a flashy, all-singing and dancing web site. In the real world, all-singing and dancing sites are usually a poor solution to a clients' requirements. I can make flashy sites - but there is rarely a good business reason for doing so.

client needs

I work with clients, and clients have needs. They want to have a web site as part of a marketting campaign, they want to attract members to their organisation, they want to advertise a constantly changing stock of equipment, or they need a forum to disseminate information. I prefer to work with clients to develop simple sites which are easy navigate, and present information clearly. Some clients want sites which they can update without having to learn HTML programming or javascript - I can do that.

Other clients may need a site which is php based, linked to a database, or packed with flash animations. I can do that too!

a few examples

The Plesiosaur Site
This is a site which has developed over several years, and is one I use as a testbed for developing new and better techniques of structuring large sites. Most of the site is driven by an on-line database, which make updating existing pages and creating new pages very quick and easy. It obviously deals with a very specialised subject, but in that limited field has top placement in most search engines.

UCPE.com
Used Cereal Processing Equipment - a subject about I know next to nothing! This site is also part of a larger whole, and is designed to be updated on a weekly, or even daily basis. It all starts with a database on which equipment available for purchase is recorded. The database writes pages which can simply be uploaded to the web site, so that the site is always up to date.

Paleocreations.com
This is another site used as an on-line portfolio for an artist's work. Bob Nichols is a very talented palaeo artist. In a nutshell, he paints dinosaurs. Have a look at his images - I think they are stunning

SVPCA
This is a conference in vertebrate palaeontology and comparitve anatomy which has been held annually since 1953. I started the web site in 1998 and have been adding to it ever since. This is a very large site, containing hundreds of pages and thousands of images, organised using a database so that additional pages for each year can be added. It is also used to run an email list.