I’ve been thinking of having a website built and the guy I’m talking with advised me to visit some sites and try to figure out what I like, what I don’t like.
I just want to have a portfolio of photos of various projects and a little text, maybe a few letters of recommendation from previous customers…just a way for potential customers to learn a little about my qualifications from the comfort and annonimity of their home.
Anybody know of any small carpentry or cabinetry company’s websites they liked the looks of? Thanks for any help – Jim
Replies
Jim, I don't recall who pointed me to it, but earlier last year, someone on this forum provided me a link to a European furniture supplier that had a great website. As I recall, you had to select a language (none offered were English) but the photos and the flow of the whole site were outstanding (not to mention some very foxy models that complemented the furniture).
Tomorrow, when I have a little time, I'll see if I can chase it down for you.
I also play accoustic instruments and I just bought a new violin from a Co. in NM called Folk of the Wood that has a pretty large website, but with some nice features: http://www.folkofthewood.com (I think).
Here's one I saw just today that impressed me a lot. It's not a building or cabinetry site, but IMO it is a very well done web site. It's very quiet, very clean. All the text is in reasonably sized fonts and nicely contrasting colors. It loaded quickly. Finding my way around was easy. There's no black backgrounds, no Flash/Shockwave, no animations, no popups, no banner ads, no miniscule thumbnails. The pictures I looked at were large enough to recognize what you're looking at, and were focused and appropriately lit. There is no evidence of anyone trying to push HTML to the limit - no text disappearing under pictures, no overlapping text blocks. The information density on most screens is quite a bit higher than the industry average, without making any of it look crowded. I recommend it.
http://gardenwatchdog.com
Hi Jim, I think for a web site you have to keep it simple not much text most people want to see photos, the recommendations are a good idea, would you have to ask the clients if you could put up their comments?
Architects usually want their designs acknowledged ( which I haven't done and am going to remedy)
Cheers John
jim, here's two that i like....
http://www.garymkatz.com
http://www.jaytscott.com
i think you know both these guys....
happy friday,
kit
Hey! Is that the guy who bought my dowelling machine? Sweet stuff. Gonna have to visit his shop. Did you tell me you met him at a workshop or something kit? I forgot all about that.
Thanks you guys. I'm checking out everything you post. (nice instruments, Notcher. Made me want to take up playing just so I could touch them - beautiful)
yeah jim,
i set you guys up on that davis and wells, which he loves, by the way.
jay and i went to college of the redwoods (james krenov's) fine woodworking program together. i think he had it done by a local oly,wa guy, so thought you might be interested. pretty low tech, but nice visuals.
if you have clients looking for hand built furniture, he is the real deal and at the top of his game. he worked for a guy there in oly building houses for a lot of years, spacing out on his name though.
good luck.
jim
being that the program I bought cost me about fifty bucks and not a huge learning curve I "built" my own website (see below my post).
I know squat about puters but it wasnt very difficult to build one myself and my provider is really inexpensive as well. About eighty bucks a year.
a"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is." http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
...come on Andy, let us in on the secret...which program, I'm looking...thanks, Phil.If it is to be.... 'twil be done by me.
phil
Microsoft FrontPage
Be a web builder
Namaste
andy"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is." http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Thanks for the quick answer, what a great place to hang out, now if I can get someone in Vancouver/Whistler area to read my work wanted post...
I have some offers already. a great time to be temporarily "unwaged", but this time i want to find someplace to stay,and more importantly WORTH staying at.If it is to be.... 'twil be done by me.
hows the skiing??????? Geezzzzzzz I wish I could do one more ski trip..
Swoooooooshhhhhhhh
Namaste
andy"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is." http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Nice site but the red on black in your capabilities page is a little hard on these old eyes.
Something like this perhaps?
http://www.ludewigmandolins.com
Yeah, that's nice, Goldhiller, thanks.
Andy - can you tell me what the name of that software is? I've visited your site before and that might work fine, depending on what options I have. (nice house)
Microsoft FrontPage
Jim..I suppose theres real updated versions since I bought the program. Actually, after I built my site I bought a cpl of books about Front Page. If you do in fact buy the program I'll tell you which books helped me the most. Front Page For Dummies is a waste of money by the way.
Just checked out the site I gave you all a link to.Seems the price has gone up from when I bought it but I'm guessing they made it even better.
Be a dummy
Namaste
andy
"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is." http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Edited 3/15/2003 11:42:01 AM ET by Andy Clifford(Andybuildz)
Jim have you checked out Joe Fuscos and Lee Grindergers(sp) I think Lees is woodcarver.com.
I run into a few of them as I continually search for the end of the net and If you want I can shoot ya some that i think are pretty good. Exactly what are you looking for?
Darkworks: We support the US military "We kick your #### and take your gas"
Same request, easy, effective, I don't even know what type? language? etc, thanks, Phil.
Basic, photos, notes, links, etc,...If it is to be.... 'twil be done by me.
Jim-
Go to http://www.homestead.com. They host sites for peanuts, and also have online design software. I did my site there, and I think it costs me $20 a month including the domain name, email, and hosting. I haven't uploaded any pics yet, but it's very easy to do.
Check my site out if you like.
http://www.constructivesolutions.org
Bob
Powweb.com at $7.77 a month and the domain name is like $15 a year.
"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is." http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Edited 3/16/2003 10:05:23 PM ET by Andy Clifford(Andybuildz)
Bob,
Just checking out your site. Nice.
Suggestion: took me some searching find out where you are located. Might want to put something on your home page.bobl Volo Non Voleo Joe's BT Forum cheat sheet
This guy does a great job! helps you set up and run your own site. check him out:
http://www.kolaco.com
His name is David Kolakowski. Very easy to work with.
big bob
Wifey's photo biz:
http://www.ambientcandids.com
Fambly site:
http://www.dykstras.us
A friend's site - she's a managing webhead for British Aerospace:
http://www.webskite.com
People who Web Well don't use Frontpage - real coders do it all manually. Barring that, use Macromedia's Dreamweaver. Wifey did her own, learned HTML coding, etc; Webskite was made with Dreamweaver.
did
I opened the box, and the first thing I pulled out was - well, ya know, it's just surreal being me right now...
People who Web Well don't use Frontpage - real coders do it all manually. Barring that, use Macromedia's Dreamweaver. Wifey did her own, learned HTML coding, etc; Webskite was made with Dreamweaver
Not everyone has time to learn HTML..some of us actually have jobs.....lol....Front page and others like it leave us time for a life and not have to fork out hundreds of dollars if not thousands.....exxxxxxcusssssseeeeeee me for being inauthentic! Kidding by the way,,,kinda
Be busy
Namaste
andy"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is." http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Wus!
didI opened the box, and the first thing I pulled out was - well, ya know, it's just surreal being me right now...
lol"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is." http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Jim,
Just thought I would share this one with you. (Learned this from my fiance' who's pursuing a Master's in e-Business) If you see a site you like, you can right-click your mouse, scroll to [view source] then cut and paste the content (ie.source code) you like into the page you are trying to create , and modify it to your hearts content. Of course this is illegal if the site is copyrighted, but if it's not, can't see why not.
Jon
it doesn't have to say copyright to be copyrighted.bobl Volo Non Voleo Joe's BT Forum cheat sheet
Thanks, everyone. I am taking a careful look at each site you suggest to try to determine what I do, or don't want on mine. The more I see, the better decissions I can make. I really appreciate all of your help.
I hope people continue to post links, or point me towards sites they like in the coming weeks. I've liked something about virtually every site I've visited.
About building my own site - I am hiring it done. I have enough trouble being a responsible husband and dad, keeping up with my profession, and finding time for my hobbies. The last thing I need is another set of stressors.
Thanks for all the advice, keep it coming.
bobl,
You may very well be right, I'm not an attorney so I wouldn't know. Just thought I'd pass it along as it can be a useful tool for creating web pages. (could also be why so many look similar)
Jon
Jim I guess this comes up about once a month now. Searching the site for the
my most recent post on this (The
Woodshed Tavern-WEBSITES ) I
noticed that what I wrote there was a repeat of what I wrote in the discussion
Business-Business
Websites
back in November.
And that second discussion I just mentioned also links back to an even earlier
one with some good information in it too (Business-Do
you have a website?). You might want to check them all
out as part of your research.
As for the text that I am repeating for the third time now (hey there's a
good links on this topic so I think it's worth it) I think you should check
out:
Since that link is about what is considered "the best" or "best practices"
in website design for builders and remodelers I think it's a pretty good reference.
Good luck and keep us informed.
View Image
"Experience is a hard teacher, because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards." ~
Vernon Saunders' Law
Video Shorts
Categories