WordPress Sites Custom Sites
I have been designing and creating websites for many years. Both the production process and design looks of websites have changed dramatically since I started creating them back in the late 1990’s. Often the industry that the client is in, and their specific needs help steer what type of website I create for them.
Back when I first started designing websites I was using Photoshop and Illustrator as my base for the conceptual designs. Once the final design look was created, I then “sliced up” the sites in Macromedia FireWorks. These sites were/are made up of “static pages.”
The limitations of the older style sliced up/ static pages, and the intensive labor involved to make changes by the designer, led to a different process. Websites transitioned from a static page to one that was largely based on CSS styles. These sites started with tables and divs, and used advanced CSS programming to create the look. I was lucky to work with a programmer/web developer who helped me with this new “framework.”
Clients in several different industries need a database to hold data and automatically generate their pages from searches. These clients to date range from: A Ticket Sales Agency, Artist Portfolio Sites, a Car Enthusiast site and sites with Upcoming Events and Calendar Listings. I worked with a web developer versed in PHP and MySQL to create several database driven sites.
As technology changed, some clients needed “custom” Responsive Web Design for their database driven sites. This meant designing each page, area, for the three different size screens. Designs have to look good on: phones, tablets and full screen monitors. This gave the client a lot of design control over how their site would look on all devices.
Most recently, I started using WordPress. This database driven program gives me the ability to do most of the detailed styling though the css style sheet. WordPress themes automatically create Responsive Web Designs, meaning the design looks good on the phone, tablet and computer screen. Plug-ins really help with the programming that is beyond a designer’s skills. WordPress also allows my clients to make text, image and menu changes themselves.
WordPress works well for my clients who either want “static pages” or “changing blog” entries.
Please check out my “evolution” and different types of Website design.
