Website is back up......almost :)

A

Anthony O.

New member
I have had my site down for some time now because I wanted to give it a complete makeover and I now have it back up....well at least my home page :chuckle:



I am constructing everything this time from scratch.....each page, each link and also the FLASH content. I am learning this whole process as I go along which is why it's taking me so long.



Each page is being constructed in Photoshop as well as all the graphics. I am creating animated links/rollovers in Adobe Image Ready and these are then imported into Adobe Go Live. The FLASH animations are all created using Macromedia but I may use Adobe's FLASH creator instead....it's not as powerful but alot easier to control.



The title bar use see on the splash page is only temporary. It will be replaced with an animated one soon and my links will be activated when a cursor is passed over them....at least that's my intended goal!! :chuckle: Oh yea....it will have sound effects also :spot



I may be adding my own forum plus instructional videos/articles and an on-line store...but those are all pipe dreams at the moment. My main goal is to get the rest of the pages done and uploaded. All my text is complete it just now needs the graphics done.



You can view my "in the works" home page at and tell me what you think.....also let me know looks OK in your browser. I still have Ultimatereflections.NET but that page is parked for now. It may turn into either a forum or my store later.



Thanks,

Anthony
 
I like it. I used to do a lot of web design, mostly Flash. And I can tell you, for most websites, flash is definetly a turn off for viewers. Just my opinion, but for quick straightforward business purposes, you want to get as much information to the customer as quickly as possible. Flash has a tendency to bloat some stuff, and while it works great for band sites, design sites, etc, it's just too much for a professional business site. But if you need any help with anything, drop me a PM, I'll be more than happy to.
 
Hey thanks guys.....appreciate that.



The FLASH content will just be two items....my business name and then a quote. My name will have a rolling shimmer to it but it will only happen once as the page opens.



On the other it will roll onto the page, most likely from left to right and then stay put. So the animation is only happens as you log on.



The other animation comes from just the links, ya know rollovers with color changes.



Thanks for the helping hand...I may give you a PM when I get to this point :cry:



Anthony
 
Bill D said:
Looking good. As you progress with it,just a reminder, see post #13 here
Click to expand...



No problem Bill, I understand. I will only post up pages that I have finished but I will make sure there is nothing about phone numbers or contact info. If anyone wishs to see the whole site they can go there on their own.



Thanks,

Anthony
 
Opens up in Firefox and looks good as others have stated.



I'm sure you'll get the hang of things quick enough and roll out a class A site. Web Programming is easy once you get the hang of it.



Keep us up to date as you progress.
 
DanoWatt said:
I like it. I used to do a lot of web design, mostly Flash. And I can tell you, for most websites, flash is definetly a turn off for viewers. Just my opinion, but for quick straightforward business purposes, you want to get as much information to the customer as quickly as possible. Flash has a tendency to bloat some stuff, and while it works great for band sites, design sites, etc, it's just too much for a professional business site. But if you need any help with anything, drop me a PM, I'll be more than happy to.
Click to expand...



I couldn't disagree more. I worked 8 years for a company that is an authorized training provider for macromedia, written their curriculum and beta tests new version of their products. They are heavy into multimedia consulting and development with macromedia products as the backbone.



Flash enhances the viewing and marketing experience by engaging the user. We produced heavy Flash sites, CBT's, web based voice recognition, Flash e-mails, games etc... for large corporations in their marketing efforts and internal uses.



Take a look at Mini Cooper's website. That's a Flash site! HERE



I find most people are turned off by the complete opposite - crappy sites done in MS Front Page that looks like a Word document with clip art. That's not professional in my opinion. That's a good starting point, but not something *I* would stick with if using it as a major component in my marketing. Although not a pro, I have professionaly designed tri-fold glossy brochures with a theme. I get calls from people based solely on the brochure compared to the neon green 8x11 Kinkos flier with the tired Porsche clip art they had from a pro place. Those places may be better than me, but it was keen marketing that got them to call me instead.



Coming from the inside of the website, macromedia, multimedia industry, I know what businesses are looking for in websites from the corporations we did business with - and it is Flash!



From the sound of it, Anthony is on the right path and when he's finished I'm confident his Flash site will great, engaging the user and promoting his business in an incredible fashion. It will only enhance his reputation and sell the viewer who might have looked at another website.



Again, just *my* opinion. That's cool of you to offer a helping hand to Anthony.



Good luck Anthony! Looking forward to it!
 
Hey thanks Spilchy for that morale boost.....greatly appreciate that :2thumbs:



Funny you mention this because I just got a new idea for my opening page but it will require alot of slicing in Photoshop to create links and such. I don't want to give it away now because I may not even be able to do it...but if I do it will be awesome!



I will keep you all up to date on my progress.



Thanks,

Anthony
 
Spilchy said:
I find most people are turned off by the complete opposite - crappy sites done in MS Front Page that looks like a Word document with clip art. That's not professional in my opinion.
Click to expand...



Couldn't agree more! Give me a page with some action, not a static POS full of text.
 
Being enrolled in a web design class two time I can give some input on the subject. I have been taught that flash is good if that is what the company wants to use and give their users an experience most websites dont give them. However, web users decide in under 1 second of viewing a website whether the site is good or not and whether they want to keep looking. Flash is often a turn off for visitors because it may take too long to load or there are animations that might look flashy but have no purpose and might just annoy people who want simple web browsing and easy navigation. From the looks of your home page I think it looks great. You're not over-doing anything and it looks great. Can't wait to see the finished web site, looks great so far! Most people don't understand that people don't care about a website being flashy and full of animation. Sure a website has to look professional, but your website will indulge visitors based on your information and your portfolio of your work. All in all, I say that you are using flash to an extent where it is not annoying or distracting, it's just right :2thumbs:
 
Spilchy said:
I couldn't disagree more. I worked 8 years for a company that is an authorized training provider for macromedia, written their curriculum and beta tests new version of their products. They are heavy into multimedia consulting and development with macromedia products as the backbone.



Flash enhances the viewing and marketing experience by engaging the user. We produced heavy Flash sites, CBT's, web based voice recognition, Flash e-mails, games etc... for large corporations in their marketing efforts and internal uses.



Take a look at Mini Cooper's website. That's a Flash site! HERE



I find most people are turned off by the complete opposite - crappy sites done in MS Front Page that looks like a Word document with clip art. That's not professional in my opinion. That's a good starting point, but not something *I* would stick with if using it as a major component in my marketing. Although not a pro, I have professionaly designed tri-fold glossy brochures with a theme. I get calls from people based solely on the brochure compared to the neon green 8x11 Kinkos flier with the tired Porsche clip art they had from a pro place. Those places may be better than me, but it was keen marketing that got them to call me instead.



Coming from the inside of the website, macromedia, multimedia industry, I know what businesses are looking for in websites from the corporations we did business with - and it is Flash!



From the sound of it, Anthony is on the right path and when he's finished I'm confident his Flash site will great, engaging the user and promoting his business in an incredible fashion. It will only enhance his reputation and sell the viewer who might have looked at another website.



Again, just *my* opinion. That's cool of you to offer a helping hand to Anthony.



Good luck Anthony! Looking forward to it!
Click to expand...





I think that it all depends on how you use it. Before designing my company's website I spent some time doing userbility studies, I also mixed marketing techniques into the design... not just to 'sell, sell, sell', but to make the site easy to read and make people want to read it.



I have seen some great site that are built with Flash... but usually people have told me about them and provided a link - you don't often find them on a search engine.



Until google and yahoo can read flash, then for my site, flash is only used for stuff that I don't mind being invisible to the engines.
 
Well my site is now back up and pretty much complete.



I need to fix a few things here and there, mainly place some borders on some text but it's up and running. My original idea I wanted to do was just too graphic intense and it was cauing me to bang my head against metal poles :wall So I had to go with something more simple. I'm still working on the concept but it will be a few months until I have another makeover.



I'll have another site up soon which will be more on the retail side and also alot of detailing tips and information.



Anthony
 
Hey....



Thanks alot Lee :)



I'll be adding alot more to that section in the coming days.



I see you're here in San Antonio eh? Where abouts?



Anthony
 
Anthony,

I'm not there yet, but will be visiting to buy a house at Easter time (15 - 23 April), looking to move there in June. I have to fulfill some residency requirements for my son to get in-state tuition at Virginia Military Institute and allow my daughter to finish her junior year in high school. If I get a job sooner, I'll come down before my family. This is basically a faith thing (sound familiar?), I decided it was time to come home after 25 years away with the military. I retired from the Navy in 2000 and stuck around here, but now I just need to get home. I know that it is not as I left it in 1979, but I am looking forward to the adventure. We are looking at properties in the Northside school district, near to the medical center and near to where my brother lives.



Later,

Lee
 
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