1.Thinking
about themes,
colors, fonts
and layout
How do you decide
on a look for
your website?
Fortunately, with
a profesional
website designer
you are no longer
limited by premade
templates, so
you can have any
design look your
imagination can
come up with.
But where do you
start?
You pobably already
have preferences
of colours and
art styles.Perhaps
you have a favourite
artist, or you
have books or
cd cover designs
at home that you
like the design
of.
2.What
are You trying
to acheive?
An idea is to
think about what
is the most important
thing to you about
your family history...is
it that your ancestors
were Swedish,or
that they came
over to the US
on the Mayflower?
Perhaps your ancestors
emmigrated from
Eastern Europe,or
drove wagons across
the US midwest.
Perhaps your ancestors
were descended
from royalty,or
perhaps you are
fond of the fact
that they were
just ordinary,
hardworking folk.
Perhaps you would
like the design
of your website
to reflect your
ancestors heritage
and have all the
buttons, logos
and images using
a matching theme
of design that
will enhance their
story. See some
of our current
examples.
Also think about
what suits your
own personality.Are
you some one who
wants their wesbite
to look slick
and modern,with
minimalist design
and subtle colors?
Or would you prefer
something elegant,flowery,
and old-fashioned?
2.Where
to get inspiration
With finding
inspiration for
your websites
themes, color
schemes, and fontstyles,
the best advice
I can give you,
is to go surf
around the internet
for a few days,
looking at other
websites, (not
just genealogy
websites!). Looking
at other websites
helps you to see
what styles and
colour schemes
you like. Make
notes as you go
along. Perhaps
you like your
text to be large
and perhaps you
think you might
like it to look
old fashioned
as if it were
an ancient manuscript.
Perhaps you would
like the whole
website to look
like an ancient
manuscript! Perhaps
you like bold,rich
colour schemes,or
perhaps you like
very subtle colours.
It's much the
same as as if
you were decorating
a house, or a
bedroom.(Forgive
me those of you
who are more aufait
with the internet
and website design
may find this
less useful, and
may wish to skip
this section).
What I will need
from you is some
names and addresses
of websites you
like, and some
explanation of
why you like them.
You dont have
to like everything
about the websites
you choose. Be
as detailed and
specific as you
can, but don't
worry if you like
something and
can't explain
why exactly. These
are the sorts
of things you
might say in your
email to me for
example:
"I like
the colour scheme
of this website,
but I would prefer
the font to be
bigger and bolder
and more old fashioned
looking like in
an old fashioned
scroll"
"I like
the overall professional
slick look of
this site...but
cant say why exactly
"
"I like
the way the photographs
are arranged on
this website"
"I like
the way the words
and titles and
buttons animate
on this website"..."could
you do something
like that...and
how much would
you charge me?"
Hopefully, you
will find looking
at websites and
trying to imagine
which aspects
of them you would
like to have on
your own site
fun and creative.
I can help you
with anything,
so dont worry
if you are having
trouble to begin
with. It may be
difficult at first
foryou to visualize
what you want.
Over several email
exchanges I can
help you to make
your decisions
if you are having
difficulty making
them yourself.
We can try a few
things out, and
if you don't like
them, we can try
and few other
ideas! You are
also welcome to
suggest artists
(well known or
send me a sample
of an artists
work,cd, or book
cover that contain
design styles
you like.The better
idea I get of
what kind of art
you like, the
easier it will
be for me to design
the site the way
you want it. You
are welcome also
to send your own
drawings or illustrations
if you would like
them to be used
on the site.
4.
How to write your
Introduction for
the title page
The introduction
is important for
two reasons. First,
and most obvious,is
that it is the
first thing your
visitors will
see when they
come to your site.
It will really
help for you introduction
to be as clear
and relevant as
possible to save
your vistors looking
through your site
for ages trying
to find out if
you do actually
have the families
or information
they are looking
for.
It is also important
because the text
you use on each
page of your website
actually helps
the search engines
find your website!
This also means
it helps bring
the right people
find your website.
Search engines
look for the individual
words and phrases
(called "keywords"),
used in your introduction
page, and use
these asa guideline,so
that when some
one types a family
name and location
into a search
engine,your website
will appear before
other less releavnt
one. So it's very
important to use
the most appropriate
words,and also
to repeat the
most important
family names and
locations several
times (if you
can), on this
page. (see example)
So try to write
an introduction
that inlcudes
the most important
names in your
family tree,the
most important
locations and
the important
aspects of this
familys background.
Write at least
a basic one to
start,and then
we can work on
it together to
fine tune it.
5.Do
you want extras
such as animation,sound
and music?
"Extras"
such as these
will cost you
more on to have
on your website.But
our prices are
actually very
low, compared
to most website
design companies.
What can these
extras do for
your website,
and are they worth
it? Why don'tyou
find many genealogy
websites with
special effects
and animation
on them?
The main reason
is simply that
so far, very few
website design
companies seem
to have offered
this option to
genealogists!
The second is
that they are
more costly, and
many people cannot
normally afford
them.We will try
to include these
extras for you,
if you want them,
at aprice you
can afford.
Another important
aspect of using
internet technologyon
websites is that
not every one
has enough memory
on their computer,
or the right software
to see the special
effects and animation,so
you do have to
be careful what
techology you
decide to include
on your site.The
last thing you
want is some long
lost relative
finding your website
but unable to
see the information
because they dont
yet have the technology
on their computer.
We will there
for take great
care to ensure
that any new techology
used on your site
has alternative
options so that
no one is excluded
from visiting
your site and
finding what they
want.
We will soon
be showcasing
some of the great
technology that
Flash animation
has to offer to
genealogy websites!
You can have movies
with sound, interactive
family photograph
albums and slideshows,
cartoons or animated
drawings,music,
sound,or text
effects.You can
have location
maps that people
can zoom in and
zoom out to find
a specific location,or
visual family
trees that your
vistors can scrollup
and down and clickon
names. In the
meantime if you
are iterested
in knowing more,write
to me for a personal
discussion by
email about the
possibilities
for inclusion
of these effects
on your own site.
6.Would
you like assistance
with finding images
for your site?
Not every one
has pictures of
their ancestors
or family crests
toput on their
website.Websites
can look quite
forlorn with few
images on them.If
you would like
more images on
your site,we can
help. As an experienced
researcher,I can
helpyou find more
images and photographs
to enhance the
look of your site.On
some occasions
I can even find
images ofyour
actual ancestors
that you did not
know existed.
Other images might
include good quality
but copyright
free historical
photos of the
locations in your
family tree.There
is an added fee
for this service
but it is quite
reasonable.
7.What
can you afford?
Be as honest
as you can about
this. On some
occasions I can
find ways to give
you the website
you want even
at a low price
range, and I do
have a Monthly
Competition
to allow people
to win a free
website also!
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