My Values
Graphic design
It's impossible to please everyone when it comes to graphic design. Tastes differ. What you and I might call elegant, for someone else will be too minimalistic; what your son will call cool and modern might look too busy and flashy to me and you. Make sure your design pleases you and is not too different from what is commonly accepted in your industry. You might show it to a few people whose opinions matter to you to gather feedback, but you don't have to take all the advice. Trust your perception and common sense.
Web Perfectionist is not a big fan of Flash. Don't get me wrong: there is nothing wrong with Flash when it's used correctly: for online games, interactive maps, charts, etc... But implementing an entire site in Flash is a mistake.
Even a simple layout can be elegant. Even a complicated design done using a lot of advanced Photoshop tricks can be ugly. Beauty is not in the tricks; it's in the sense of harmony - make sure your graphic designer possesses it.
HTML/CSS
They should be valid. Period.
Using HTML tables to control layouts is wrong. There is nothing wrong with using tables for what they are created for - holding tabular data. What's more, if you have tabular data, you should use tables.
Search Engine Optimization
Using any unethical SEO techniques that deceive the search engines may or may not get you banned from the search engines, but it will forever ensure you and I won't be friends. Unless you change your ways completely that is.
If you would like to change your ways and switch to ethical SEO, but don't know how, I'll be pleased to help with advice.
Copywriting
I believe that web content should be easy to read and understand. It won't help you win the hearts of your visitors if they feel like fools trying to decipher your pseudo-business claptrap. And I believe that web content should contain the truth and nothing but the truth. Hype can help you win a customer, but not keep their trust. You can call me naive for this - I don't mind it.
Last modified: 01.04.2010
