Web Design Principles
"Honor the purpose of the site" means everything that goes on the page is in some way in support of this purpose, which is defined by agreement between myself and the client. This keeps us focused on what is really important, saves you money and doesn't distract or waste a site visitor's time.
The workings of a site should be invisible to the user who for the most part is there to know more about the client or their business, and ultimately to make a connection. This means navigation is engineered so the user is not figuring out how the site works when they should be just pursuing their interests there. You can't always know what a user is looking for, but you can, for instance, make it reasonably clear what they will find when they click on a link.
In describing my work I use the words aesthetic, appropriate, conscientious. Aesthetics are important for many reasons: they are an important, non-verbal way to convey values that underlie a site's purpose and they can aid the visitor's understanding of the information contained within a site. The aesthetics of a site should be appealing simply because they contribute positively to the experience of a visit to your site: when the experience of visiting a site is enjoyable, it is more likely to be revisited and shared with others.
To be appropriate goes back to honoring the purpose; your site will be just as large and complex and graphics-intensive as it needs to be and no more. The web has matured, we're no longer competing for "coolness," so we can set aside that distraction and get down to exploring the more enduring possibilities of this incredible communications and social networking medium.
And conscientious because I think it is important what I am putting out into the world. The client may be providing the content, but I must be able to stand ethically behind everything I do.
Finally, about the cost— my services are affordable because I am committed to an appropriate scale: your site and my business are only as large as they need to be. You will not be financing a bloated site nor my plans for world domination, so both our costs are held to a minimum.
Do about creating your website, I think you'll like working with me.
Roland Barker
