www.thewebtailor.co.uk
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www.thewebtailor.co.uk |
By e-mail: thewebtailor@thewebtailor.co.uk
By telephone: 0116 224 9866 or 07771 533 055
By mail: thewebtailor, 4 Glengate, South Wigston, Leicestershire, LE18 4SP
Because web sites that work require more than templates, models and software that claims to do all the work for you. Because a website that actually delivers on the promise of the internet needs to be an interface between the users of the site and its owners.
Because your website needs to reflect your personality. Expressing personality through the style of the website without sacrificing functionality requires expert knowledge and thoughtful, considerate design. The object of good website design is to make the site work in the way users can predict, whilst keeping an individuality that makes them want to come back to your site again and again.
Because personal service and attention to detail are not out of date just because the materials we work with are electronic and intangible. thewebtailor will keep you in control, whether you are a small business just dipping your toe into world of on-line trading or a large organisation wanting a new site for a specific issue or campaign.
And because there are so many websites which fail to live up to their owners' expectations. Somebody has to put them right! thewebtailor specialises in renovation and restoration of websites which have fallen into disuse, or which never acheived their design objectives in the first place.
Good design matters.
Good design doesn't mean pretty graphics or intricate animations - although they might be elements of good design, on the right site. Good design is about ensuring that the structure of the site delivers the content to the right users in a format they can both understand and use. Design elements which undermine that process represent bad design, no matter how attractive in themselves.
The first step therefore in designing a website, or even a single page, is to work out, clearly, what the content is for. Who will be using it, what will they do with it and what expectations will they have?
Matching the visual and multimedia design to the structure of the information to be held on the site is the test of good web design. Sadly it is a test that many web designers, even apparently successful ones, simply do not pass.
So many websites, some of them costing thousands of pounds, hit the world wide web without so much as a cursory test to see whether they work. The web is littered with sites that were created but never tested, and as a result they were never used either. Usability testing, the process of checking a site with real users before it is put into full operation, is essential if costly mistakes are not to be made. There is no substitute for testing with real users, and it does not need to be expensive.
Despite all of that, most web designers do not run usability tests. Either they think they can do without them, or they don't understand how to do them, or the client fears they would be too expensive. All sites designed by thewebtailor will undergo usability testing as part of the design process. Guaranteed.
For a website to work, it needs to reflect the organisation it represents, not the designer who produced it. So many 'cut price' web designers work from templates that mirror their own sites. You only have to look through a web designers' portfolio and see ten sites using the same structure but different colour backgrounds to realise how such an approach reduces the impact of the website. You need a website that works for you: that means it needs to relate to your organisation, your members, your clients or your market. Only you know what the focus of your website should be. thewebtailor will work with you, pointing out the pitfalls, and turning your vision into a working website.
Because we focus on accessibility we use technologies that increase, not decrease, access to the site. This means all pages are written, and validated, in either xhtml 1.0 or html 4.01. By writing pages that meet these standards we know we are producing sites which will work in tomorrow's browsers and devices, not just today's.
We produce static webpages in html or xhtml, but we also do a lot more than that. You might need a database-driven site (for e-commerce, say, or to run a membership system on-line) - no problem. We use MySQL databases and various options for linking your database to your website. We also write and use scripts in both Perl and PHP - technologies designed to make your websites work.
At the heart of thewebtailor is Nick Holden. Designing web sites since 1997, Nick's experience lies in information-rich web sites and user interactivity. If you want a website that delivers a message, thewebtailor can help you get one.
We use other people's skills when they are needed: graphic designers, software experts and so on. But we all share the commitment to quality design that puts the goals of the client first.
Nick's first websites were for campaign organisations and trade unions. His eight years working in the NHS gives him unrivalled understanding of the needs of public sector organisations for websites that answer questions: questions from the public, from employees or from others working in the same field.
Since the summer of 2000, thewebtailor has applied these skills and understanding to commercial websites for corporate clients. Retaining the focus on information-delivery, and design which supports rather than conflicts with the message, thewebtailor now offers those services to small and medium sized businesses that want to make their presence felt on the Internet.
Whether you want advice on a site you already own, a quote for a full design-and-build project, or anything in between, get in touch. I'll be happy to help you in any way I can.
By e-mail: thewebtailor@thewebtailor.co.uk
By telephone: 0116 224 9866 or 07771 533 055
By mail: thewebtailor, 4 Glengate, South Wigston, Leicestershire, LE18 4SP