• Meta tag generator
• Color Picker: hex
• Popup Window Code Generator
• International Currency Converter
• Fotosizer: a simple batch image resizer

More will be added over time, however in the mean time if you would like to suggest a utility feel free to leave a comment and I will add it to the list.

Perhaps it is a question of getting a colour just right. By sitting down with a web designer colours can be minutely adjusted, compared and choices made on the spot.

Or perhaps it is a question of getting a sign up, or check out, sequence just right. Sequential things like this cannot be easily demonstrated with static screen shots. Far better to sit down with a web designer who has access to the site in development mode to walk through the options. Some changes can even be made and viewed on the spot.

And then there is the issue of networking and associated services. Perhaps as well as needing a web designer you are also looking for someone to design a new logo for use in print media as well as the web. Or maybe you have an excellent business you would like to move online but realise that the services of a professional copywriter / editor are required to maximise the impact. Or marketing services – who doesn’t need those?

It is not uncommon for a website designer to have contacts, some who will be local, in all these allied areas. I certainly do, and my clients appreciate the trust factor that always accompanies a personal referral.

If you live in any of the following surburbs of Melbourne (Victoria), congratulations: you’re local!

• Boronia
• Bayswater
• Chirnside Park
• Croydon
• Knox region
  
• Lilydale
• Mooroolbark
• Ringwood
• Wantirna
• Wonga Park
• The Dandenongs

If you live in nearby areas such as these I would be only too happy to meet in person with you to discuss you website needs. Preferably over a coffee!

The difficulty arises when you ask “Why?”

It is a reasonable question, but a bit of an awkward one. And the reason is simply this: there is a great danger that website owners will make the assumption that a site that delights a visitor, will, of necessity, cause them to take some meaningful action.

Once again, why?

We all see a myriad of things in our daily lives that we might consider delightful, but that does not mean that we take any action as a result of the experience. For the most part we simply enjoy it and move on.

A reality check. In the end it is the task of all business websites to persuade their visitors to take some action. So while it is perfectly reasonable for a business website to delight its visitors, that in itself is not the end goal. The end goal is driven by a good old fashioned marketing thing called a “call to action”.

In summary, of course a website should delight and engage its visitors. Having done that however, if you want them to follow a pre-determined course of action, you are going to have to ask them – clearly, persuasively and nicely.

If your website is an important part of your business and you would like to sharpen the focus of your content, I can recommend Michael Gladkoff of Word Nerds. Effective copywriting really is one of the most effective drivers of a business website.

While images may delight – words can compel.

Consider the following:

• In the end, the new business idea will need to be marketed, and for that a brand identity will be required. Perhaps paradoxically, this is the place to start. Over time the brand identity (visually expressed as a logo) tends to get embedded in many different media that become part of the marketing mix. To avoid costly reworks it makes good sense to embed it right at the outset. It also helps to avoid a diffusion of the brand’s identity through inconsistency.
• Secure the services of a competent graphic designer to create that all important logo. There are two main reasons for this:

The first is that a graphic designer with particular experience in logo development will have a well developed ability to delve right into the essence of the brand and be able to give those often esoteric elements visual expression. If you would like to be put in contact with a graphic designer skilled in the art of logo development, contact me and I will be happy to provide a recommendation.

The second is that a graphic artist will understand the requirements of all of the media in which the logo may ultimately be used and will design the logo to satisfy those technical requirements. As mentioned earlier, this can save costly reworks in the future.

• Having sorted out the logo it is now appropriate to move into discussions with a website designer. There are two possibilities here: either the web designer can build a graphical theme based on the logo design, or the web designer can integrate a theme developed by the graphic designer. Individual circumstances will dictate which is the best approach.
• Upon completion of the website it is normal to launch the new online business with some sort of marketing campaign.  Often there is an offline component to this campaign such distributing fliers or 3-fold brochures to existing customers or prospects. Once again this will require the services of your graphic designer.  And because they will have already set the key design elements in place at the logo development stage (including fonts and colours) the resultant brochures will be designed to support the brand.

What they were referring to was that their web site was not attracting significant search engine traffic. Essentially, the reason is that their web sites are not visible to search engine spiders. In fact any content past the first page is generally not indexed at all. Needless to say this all but cripples the web site.

The fundamental problem is there is no standard way of creating a URL (web address) that specifies which pages to load into a particular frameset. This has a couple important consequences for your frame based website:

• Web search engines do not index framed sites. Search engines (like AltaVista, Google, etc) will stop indexing your site as soon as they run into a frameset. The only pages to get indexed are the default pages loaded into your frameset (i.e. your “home page”). The rest of your site is ignored.
• Visitors can only bookmark the home page. This is because the address in the web browser window does not indicate which pages are currently loaded into the frames of your frameset, when a visitor thinks they are bookmarking a specific page of interest, they are typically just bookmarking the home (frameset) page.

In summary, this is why TOSD does not design web sites with framesets! Making life hard for search engines is in nobody’s best interests – particularly the site owner who is desperately trying to increase their traffic.