Web Design
“We contacted Christian to redesign our web site. It was very easy to work with him. He listened to what we desired in our web site, gave us helpful suggestions and delivered a beautiful result - exactly as we envisioned it!”
- Tim Horn (www.cheltenhampres.org.uk)
I have been a freelance web designer since September 2006 and before that I had almost five years of designing personal and fan web sites as a hobby. I have previously worked for a web design company and to this day I have completed web site projects for numerous small businesses and organisations.
I thoroughly enjoy web site design and I find it very rewarding bringing to life a concept that a client has trusted me with. I believe that is it vital that clients are involved with the project and regularly contacted so that they can actually see how their concepts and ideas are being developed.
I enjoy keeping my clients up to date with the project and reguarly discussing with them the next stage of development. I also value the importance of simplifying how I discuss the project with the client to ensure they understand fully my intentions and targets for their web site.
I deliver attractive, user friendly web sites with an aim to reach and even exceed the expectations of the client and with each project I intend for the client to not only see the end result but experience the development of the project and understand it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are qustions I have often been asked when meeting with a client to present a project proposal or to discuss the project that is being worked on. To view the answers to the questions, simply click on them to reveal the content.
How long would it take to complete a web site from start to finish?
Alongside my University course in Cheltenham I am able to complete a web design project within five or six weeks. This is of course an estimation as each and every project will have different requirements and some may need more content and depth to them than others.
How does a web site get listed and ranked on search engines like Google, Yahoo!, AOL, etc.?
With each web site I create I carry out a procedure called Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Search Engines like Google and Yahoo! uses spiders (online search bots) to scan through pages within a web page when it is submitted for search engine listing. When pages are scanned the spider looks for keywords within the codes of the pages and this amongst many other factors can determine how well your web site ranks when it is eventually listed.
What is the difference between static pages, dynamic pages and CMS?
To put it simply, static pages are web sites that only require the user to read images and text and navigate between pages. Dynamic pages can further the level of interaction between the user and the web site.
CMS stands for 'Content Management System' and in most cases is a behind-the-scenes log in system that allows you to update content on the web site without having to even touch the web page layout/design. CMS is extremely useful for those wanting to update content on a regular basis e.g. news and events, without wanting to affect the design.
What is CSS?
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and is used to separate content from style. CSS helps web pages to load quickly and also allows the web designer to edit things like font colour, font size, background colour, image borders, etc. from a single file instead of having to edit every page of the web site.
CSS also helps greatly when submitting a web site for listing. Because CSS takes all the styling of a web page and places it into an external file, this means that when a search engine spider crawls/searches through the code of a web site, it can easily identity key words that will ultimately allow the page to achieve a higher search engine ranking.
What is XHTML?
XHTML stands for 'Extensible HyperText Markup Language' and is basically an upgrade from HTML. XHTML is still in development and the main advantage of the coding language for web pages is to provide better cross browser compatibility.
Do you use XHTML and CSS for your web sites?
Yes. I now aim to build my web sites in XHTML 1.0 Strict using CSS. Building web sites in XHTML 1.0 Strict is arguably more difficult than building in XHTML 1.0 Transitional as it requires further styling options to only be defined through the external CSS files and not in the web page itself.
Although this procedure for building my web sites is often more time consuming, it serves to seperate style from content within a web page and will ultimately assist in achieving good search engine listings. Websites I create will also download very quickly and any styling options I need to change once the site has been built will be relatively easy to carry out.
Can you design full flash web sites?
I could but for many reasons I have always avoided this. There are many disadvantages of full flash web sites. For example it means that every user has to have Flash Player installed on their computer. Also a flash web site is likely to run slowly on computers with poor RAM or 56k connection speed. Also when it comes to search engine optimisation it is very difficult to achieve a high result for a web site as when a search engine spider crawls/searches the page with the full flash web site on it, it will not detect any of the keywords within the flash movie that is acting as a web site.
Some of my previous projects have included flash banners or flash navigation which can often really compliment a static/non-flash web site so this is often the approach I have to using Flash within web sites.
How experienced are you with using programming languages such as ASP and PHP?
I have more experience using PHP however I am familiar with using ASP as well. My strength in web design is 'design', otherwise I guess I would be a web programmer or developer! In most cases I am (and have been) able to install PHP or ASP into the web site in some way or another and edit the script(s) to work accordingly in both style and functionality with the web site. I have previously used PHP/ASP for photo galleries, content management systems, random image/text displays, voting polls, contact forms, and database integration.
How experienced are you with integrating audio and video into web sites?
I have previously integrated audio and video into web sites, whether it has been for downloadable or interactive listening/viewing purposes. I use a range of software that allows me to compress audio and video suitable for downloading and/or streaming from a web site. I am also experienced in 2D animation design using Adobe Flash and After Effects. Whether it be live footage, animation or a combination of both, I am able to integrate this either within banners and navigation or separately as video files. I am also familiar with creating 3D Animation, particularly with using stop-motion techniques and clay modelling.
|
Examples of previous work
GO TO FULL WEB DESIGN PORTFOLIO
Salsa Squad
 Paul Healey initially set up Salsa Squad three years ago with a starting number of only seven attendees. The establishment is now extremely popular with over 50 people attending the weekly Salsa lessons in Cheltenham.
Cheltenham Evangelical Presbyterian Church
 Tim, the pastor of the church in Cheltenham wanted a new web site with a fresh design for those who visit and attend the Presbyterian church. He has received lots of positive feedback from people attending the church.
Keibudo Karate
 Keith Boardman, founder of Keibudo Karate was in need of a re-design for his web site to attract new students and current members to his already well known karate club in Torquay and Exeter in Devon.
Awesome: Ordained Ministry for Women
 ‘Awesome’ is an network of ordained women across the UK preparing one another for ministry. Tamsin Merchant wanted a fresh, user friendly design to welcome fellow ordained women to the site.
GO TO FULL WEB DESIGN PORTFOLIO
|
(00 44) 7731431206 