Well finally got around to creating a new Web site. My original was a best-efforts put together in a couple days. This one is still best-efforts, as I'm anything but a Web designer, but I think it's much better than the original.
I think a big reason the site now looks pretty good is the age-old tradition of ripping your work apart. One of the things behind my success in PR has been that I have very thick skin. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I don't take anything personally at all.
When I write a news release I get whoever is editing it to be as vicious as they can in their critique. I did the same thing with this Web site and I was glad I did.
Below are the three iterations my site has gone through.
This first one is the original. It's not bad, but it lacks flow and polish. The color scheme is nice though and it's fairly easy to navigate.
Yet despite the fact that the original site was ok, anyone who knows me, knows that I'm rarely satisfied with 'OK". So I attempted to create a new site. This lead to second (and brand new) version...
This site had a little more 'punch'. However, just like writing a news release, when you work on something long enough you start to lose your objectivity. I thought this site actually was kind of slick. Yet when I ran it by some friends, they hemmed and hawed. Some even sneaked in the question "Do you still have the old site on your computer? You didn't delete the files did you?"
Now, for those new to PR (and even for you vets), hesitation is bad. People don't like to be critical. They know you put a lot of work in to something and so they try to provide their opinion to you in a way that doesn't hurt your feelings.
This is when you have to get in their face. Push them to trash your work. You'll know their honest opinion when you hear it, trust me. And it's only when you get their truly honest opinion that you can then go back and fix things.
It doesn't always mean their opinion is right, but you need their honesty. If something doesn't sit right with them, odds are, others will feel the same way.
So after getting some truly honest feedback the consensus seemed to be that the site colors were aweful. Now remember, I'm no web genuis and I created this site off a template. So having to change the colors was the last thing I wanted to hear (because it meant I had to go and learn how to modify a CSS stylesheet, which meant more work).
But if you are going to do something, do it right. So I went back and did the modifications and the site, which is now live, now looks like this...
I modified the color scheme to a black, white and blue. I stripped out the messaging 'stand out be heard' graphics for a more subliminal imagery stamp (which changes on each page).
When I showed this iteration to people everyone's response was thumbs up (and yes, it was their honest feedback).
In reality I knew the second site was not good. I had broken the two-color rule of designing (well actually the template broke the rule) and it was silly of me to think it would work none the less. Yet, not wanting to spend an extra day fixing things, I deluded myself.
Once I had been set straight and committed myself to the extra design work (and learning process) the final result is now something I'm really happy with.
The rule I live by still stands, trash your work. Rip it apart. Subject it to every criticism. If people hesitate in telling you their views... push them to be honest even if they think they will hurt your feelings. You can't get the best result possible if people are worried about hurting your feelings, so develop a reputation for having a super thick skin.
Am I finally satisfied with my Web site? Not 100 per cent. I'll keep tweaking it and building it out over time. But all-in-all I think it now is at a stage I can live with for the time being.
I think a big reason the site now looks pretty good is the age-old tradition of ripping your work apart. One of the things behind my success in PR has been that I have very thick skin. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I don't take anything personally at all.
When I write a news release I get whoever is editing it to be as vicious as they can in their critique. I did the same thing with this Web site and I was glad I did.
Below are the three iterations my site has gone through.
This first one is the original. It's not bad, but it lacks flow and polish. The color scheme is nice though and it's fairly easy to navigate.
Yet despite the fact that the original site was ok, anyone who knows me, knows that I'm rarely satisfied with 'OK". So I attempted to create a new site. This lead to second (and brand new) version...
Now, for those new to PR (and even for you vets), hesitation is bad. People don't like to be critical. They know you put a lot of work in to something and so they try to provide their opinion to you in a way that doesn't hurt your feelings.
This is when you have to get in their face. Push them to trash your work. You'll know their honest opinion when you hear it, trust me. And it's only when you get their truly honest opinion that you can then go back and fix things.
It doesn't always mean their opinion is right, but you need their honesty. If something doesn't sit right with them, odds are, others will feel the same way.
So after getting some truly honest feedback the consensus seemed to be that the site colors were aweful. Now remember, I'm no web genuis and I created this site off a template. So having to change the colors was the last thing I wanted to hear (because it meant I had to go and learn how to modify a CSS stylesheet, which meant more work).
But if you are going to do something, do it right. So I went back and did the modifications and the site, which is now live, now looks like this...
I modified the color scheme to a black, white and blue. I stripped out the messaging 'stand out be heard' graphics for a more subliminal imagery stamp (which changes on each page).
When I showed this iteration to people everyone's response was thumbs up (and yes, it was their honest feedback).
In reality I knew the second site was not good. I had broken the two-color rule of designing (well actually the template broke the rule) and it was silly of me to think it would work none the less. Yet, not wanting to spend an extra day fixing things, I deluded myself.
Once I had been set straight and committed myself to the extra design work (and learning process) the final result is now something I'm really happy with.
The rule I live by still stands, trash your work. Rip it apart. Subject it to every criticism. If people hesitate in telling you their views... push them to be honest even if they think they will hurt your feelings. You can't get the best result possible if people are worried about hurting your feelings, so develop a reputation for having a super thick skin.
Am I finally satisfied with my Web site? Not 100 per cent. I'll keep tweaking it and building it out over time. But all-in-all I think it now is at a stage I can live with for the time being.
Comments
Post a Comment