As you've no doubt guessed by now, I know how to design websites. Saying this rather a lot like a grown man cheerfully exclaiming to the public at large: "I CAN DRESS MYSELF!!!" The fact is, though, I do get quite a few compliments on the work that I do. I enjoy doing websites, and I enjoy designing them for others. I have found that by following a few basic guidelines, I get people coming back just to check up on content and to see what new things I am doing with the carnival that is me:
I keep my web pages organized by topic. People can find what they're seeking.
I keep my web pages reasonably simple and uncluttered. People can read what they're seeking.
I keep my web pages free of all manner of cheesy gee-gaws and gimcracks that people put on their pages to "look neat" or "bring their pages to life." All that most of these excess toys do is take up space without providing any real information. Websites are supposed to have content.
I keep my web pages free of "frames" and other unnecessary confusions because I have seen how easy they are to do INCORRECTLY. I have seen corporate websites do things that create nests of frames in frames in frames that are just hideous to navigate--and they paid someone to do that. The mind boggles.
I keep my pages universally viewable. Anyone should be able to read what's on the site and view all the content. Any browser on any computer should keep all of the content legible, neat, and in place. If any of my pages are not doing that, please contact me. I personally loathe websites that make me switch from my default browser, currently Firefox, to some other web browser that I despise for being insecure and a resource hog and nowhere near as customizable as I want it to be.
There are other, less general rules that I tend to follow, but those are nowhere near as important to me as the five above. It's because of these rules that I've recently had people ask me to design their websites. One of them was Pizza Paesano, in Royal Oak. Their pizza was so good I decided to trade my web design for pizza whenever I came in! Sadly, their restaurant closed, and their website is no more. If you would like to talk with me about designing your website, just send me an e-mail. If you're low on cash, we can always barter.