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I’ll be the guest on The Best People We Know Radio Show (Motivational Radio Show) on: February 3, 2011 and at 7pm (EST). We will be talking about:

• marketing
• search engine optimization
• website design
• graphic design
• social media
• …and more

Host Deb Scott

Deb Scott is an award winning author of, The Sky Is Green & The Grass Is Blue -self help book- and a certified professional coach and motivational speaker. She is a terrific host and an incredible person. If you have not meet Deb, make sure to visit her site (motivational website).

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Website design ideas.

As a freelance website designer, creating dozens of websites over the course of a year can start to challenge your creativity. Finding inspiration to break-out of a comfort zone is something the professional website designer struggles with most every day. On a psychological level, the freedom of a blank canvas is filled with so many possibilities that a designer can become overwhelmed at the options. When this happens it is not a question of, how to design a webpage, but …how to design a webpage that follows certain design guidelines, while still breaking all the rules.

Below are 10 website design tips to help professional designers looking for website design inspiration, or the beginner designer looking for free website design tips:

1. Use a gradient background instead of a solid color. One method is to use a reflective gradient that has a very subtle color change. For example, the gradient might start out a dark blue, transiting into a similar, but lighter blue, that transitions back into the same dark blue. Also, try changing the direction of the gradient to go from corner to corner instead of top to bottom.
2. Instead of starting the design and then getting the photos, first find a photo you really want to use in the design. Then, create a color pallet from the photo by color sampling different colors in the photo. This will build a color pallet that includes three to five colors.
3. Include a sidebar to break up a horizontal layout.
4. For accent colors, use blending modes in photoshop to add subtle effects to horizontal bars and boxes. This works well when the top layer is a solid color, with a gradient layer underneath. Make sure to add the blending mode to the top layer to create interesting color combinations.
5. Instead of the header being framed by two horizontal bars, use a shape to add interest to what would be a boxy layout. To keep the design balanced, copy the shape and flip it. This reflective shape can be added to the footer.
6. If you usually design with a background color, use more white space. Or, if you usually design with whitespace use a background.
7. Center your website to display in the middle of the browser, instead of the top left corner. This can be done in the HTML and CSS. First create a, div id=”wrapper”, that wraps around the entire layout. In the CSS, for the id, “wrapper”, set the box width according to the width of your design. Next, in the CSS for the wrapper id, set the left and right margins to “auto”. This technique is cross browser friendly and will center you layout (left and right margin) according to the browser window.
8. Use a different navigation bar technique: folder type, drop-down menu, sliding menu, accordion, two columns …etc. Also, consider changing your typical navigation from vertical to horizontal; or visa-versa.
9. Use a limited amount of animation to add subtle movement and interest to a stagnate page. This can be a slideshow, or a flashing button.
10. Stay up to date on the latest software. This will provide new techniques from new tools that you can incorporate into your designs.

These 10 website design ideas can change a design into something new and fresh. Using Photoshop and blending modes to create new color pallets will add pop to the typical solid background. Also, use a photo to create your color pallet, it will inspire new color combination’s that otherwise might be lost. Don’t be afraid to add shapes and sidebars to headers and footers, combining these elements with a horizontal navigation bars instead of a vertical navigation bar; adding interest to an otherwise boxy layout. Finally, keeping up with new software and using new tools and techniques will push your designs beyond your imagination.

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There are times when you want your website visitors to download a pdf, but if you use PowerPoint and you are changing it to a pdf to be used as a download for your website there is an alternative. You might want to keep it as a PowerPoint presentation and using Google Docs, you can upload and publish the presentation to your website. Doing this allows you to embed the PowerPoint inline with your design. Usually the reason for embedding your PowerPoint as a slideshow “in line with your website design” is,

it will provide a much better user experience, keeping the visitor in the flow of your design.

If you are unsure how to embed your powerpoint into your design, the steps are easy. Basically you will need a Google Account and you will need to add Google Docs to your account. To keep things simple here is a bullet list of how it is done:

1. You need a Google account. It is free if you do not have one.
2. You will need Google Docs. If the docs icon is not visible in your Google Account, you will need to add it. To add Google Docs to your existing Google account click, “try something new”. There will be a list of services, find Docs. Click to add Google Docs to your account.
3. Next there will be a new icon in your account, click the docs icon and you will be taken to the Google docs application.
4. Click upload to get you PowerPoint into Google Docs.
5. Click Publish.
6. Get the Code and embed in your blog or website.
7. The slide show below will show you the final 3 steps on: Uploading, Publishing and Embedng the PowerPoint into your blog or website. This slide show is an example of a PowerPoint embedded in my blog.

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I wave my magic Photoshop wand, push a few buttons and I say the magic words .. bibbably bobbity boo; and the website is transformed from a motel website to a gaming website -Tada.

This is not a exercise in Photoshop, but a demonstration of how images and color can effect a layout. On the right, I have put the two fictional sites side-by-side. Both site’s use the same layout and text.

Use your images and color wisely, have fun and keep that color wheel handy to develop interesting and dynamic color schemes.

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If you are thinking of saving money by hiring an international company from India or Malaysia to design your website …think twice. I’m NOT speaking from experience, because I have NEVER outsourced any: graphic design, website design, development or search engine optimization. My entire experience with these types of companies is from e-mail spam, forum spam and blog spam. This does not include the cold calls almost every week telling me how cheap they could design or optimize a website -that I could then resell for thousands or hundreds of dollars more to my clients. I always tell them no.

For now I will overlook what I would imagine would be terrible working conditions for the people hacking away at sloppy code. I will also ignore
the quality of the design and code associated with the work. Instead I will rely on my common sense that any company half way around the world that relies on spam and black hat search engine optimization is not going to do right by me. Basically, they type of company that I would NEVER do business with.

Their whole pitch is how cheap they are so here is what I say to that,

If you don’t have the money to have a website designed by a reputable company, you definitely don’t have the money to waist (or loose) by using some outsourcing company. If you have a small budget there are ways to get a website designed and still get something of real value.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true …it is.