New Website Design

So yesterday evening, having dismissed my first choice of website design, I had a play around with my back-up option. Time was short, but I didn’t want to leave the website overnight with a design that I wasn’t at all happy with- it’s amazing how many orders come through in the small hours and I didn’t want to be putting potential customers off. I had the same immediate problems to overcome- although there is no logo allowed on this design, (it simply states the name of the store instead) the slide-show on the homepage was showing the sample store’s photos not mine, even though I’d put together a slide-show for the other design, which I’d expected to follow through.

After replacing the slides with the ones I’d designed earlier, I then added another one for good measure- my store’s logo. I played around quickly with the colours so that they were near enough to my usual ones, and then took a look at the temporary finished result. I have to say that disappointment didn’t really describe how I felt, more discouraged and despairing, but the outcome was still an improvement on the first attempt so with dinner needing cooking I decided to leave it and go back to it today.

This morning I wake with a thumping headache again, and once again it proves stubborn to shift. Everyone else appears to be well and happy so far, so perhaps we are actually nearing the end of this very dreary time of illness. With our eldest daughter home on a scheduled day off today, Mike sets off to work after giving me very strict instructions to stay in bed for a while longer! Heeding his advice is difficult- I’m feeling so much better the last thing I want to be doing is lazing around in bed any more, but on the other hand my head really hurts, it’s dull and raining outside, and my biggest girl won’t be back for another hour or so as she has a driving lesson.

Two hours later and I’ve had enough of sitting in bed, although I have been enjoying taking the chance to read, so I head downstairs for some enforced breakfast. My daughter arrives back home and she’s looking very pleased with herself so that obviously means she’s had a good lesson. After loading the washing machine and listening to her tell me all about where she’s driven around today, and with my head finally beginning to settle, I log onto the computer to continue with the website.

I start by taking a look at the website as it was left yesterday to see if I can play around a bit more with it and get it more how I’d imagined. At the moment it doesn’t give the impression of a more sophisticated site that shouts ‘buy your doll’s clothes from here!’ it just looks amateurish and more like it’s telling people not to bother wasting their time, never mind their money. The spaces for the main photo of each item is pre-sized, and my photos don’t fit well. Because the main background for the site is coloured, there are white edges around the pictures where they don’t fit. I try using the portrait style photos of each item instead, but they’re still the wrong size although they do look marginally better.

Despairing, I take another look at the website designs on offer. My third choice that I had dismissed days ago now looks totally inappropriate, my experience so far has shown me the features I need the most on the site such as links through to all my other pages, showing what payment options I offer, and of course no set sized photos. I try out a couple of the sample stores to see what they are like, and notice one I hadn’t even considered previously. It’s called ‘Chocolate’ so it really should have appealed on that basis alone! More importantly though, it shows all the design features I know I want, and still includes a slide show on the homepage, which I’ve actually grown quite fond of.

Taking the plunge is easy this time- I’m so downhearted by the two previous attempts that this one surely can’t be any worse! I’m also prepared for the immediate issue of changing the slide-show photos which I set about doing immediately, and this design also incorporates my logo again. Although I once again have to resize it, it’s allowed space means it doesn’t look quite so squashed up and insignificant. I check the site online, and so far it looks good, if a little odd with the standard choice of colours. An hour later I’ve fixed the colours, set a background colour that will show up down the edges on wider screen computers, and changed all my photos back to landscape- my preferred option, and luckily the one that looks better on the site, although either suits.

Looking at the website once again I feel very satisfied with what I see. I’m sure in the great scheme of things, it doesn’t rate very highly for sophistication but it does look a little more professional and has finally achieved what I set out to do- I now have an appealing looking website with the features I want to show, and showing my doll’s clothes to their best advantage. I just hope all my potential customers agree!