this is why . . .

Posted on by Julie Stiles Mills

I don’t know who is lost. Or who survived. I don’t know the name of the biggest loser. I can’t tell you the name of one “real” housewife, whether they are from Hotlanta or PoDunk, Alabama. (Is there really a PoDunk, Alabama?) I have no idea why Kim Kardashian is famous. I don’t know who can dance or what ridiculous thing Michael Scott did this week. (I had to Google Steve Carell to find that name.)

I don’t watch a lot of TV.

Yes, I read a lot. And I blog a little. But over the last six months or so, this is something else I’ve been doing for fun:

www.pragmaticcom.com

I’ve been working on my business website on and off since before my surgery, but I finally put it up on the internet yesterday. And it’s still not done. I’ve got pages missing, PDF downloads to format and upload and most importantly, more content to write. This site replaces an embarrassing predecessor, thank goodness. And if you like to view source code, no laughing. I’m an admitted hack, and I started with a template from www.allwebco.com. You’d think, starting with a template, that it wouldn’t be so much work. I use Dreamweaver, but I work on the code page because I’m such a control freak. Besides, I hate all the clicking that goes with using the mouse. I’m a keyboard girl.

So, if you have some time, I’m looking for opinions. First impressions. Feedback. Suggestions. Anyone get error messages? Did it take too long to load/display? See things that just don’t look right? Typos? Visible code? Pages too wordy? Does the organization make sense to you? What about the banners? Do the images make sense for the pages they represent? (I bought the images on www.dreamstime.com and built the banners in Photoshop.)

Be brutal (in a nice way). But be honest (I think).

2 thoughts on “this is why . . .”

  1. Hey, I looked at it quickly. I’m intrigued. This is right up my alley–the communication part, not the computing part. I think what you do is fascinating. I think it’s a clean look and I like the succinctness of your statements regarding philosophy, services, and so on. Under services offered, you do have a misspelling of communication. Look in the paragraph on coaching. I’ll take another look at some of the other parts later. Thanks for letting us know.

    Elle – Thank you for checking it out! I remembered you have a communication background and I really value your opinion! I REALLY enjoy what I do! It’s almost not work. Almost.

    I spell checked that page and actually found 3 spelling errors. oops. (by JSM)

    Reply

  2. Great improvement over the last site! I don’t think I can stress that enough. It’s so much more clean and professional looking, not to mention more clear navigation.

    I didn’t get a chance to go through it in-depth just yet, so I can’t report anything broken or out of place. I think the only thing I could say that I don’t love – but can’t say that it’s terrible in the least – is that your picture fades with the banner image changes. Other than that very minor critique, I think it’s great. 🙂

    Amy – Great improvement is RIGHT. I actually hated the old site so much I renamed the index file so as to cripple the front door, while still leaving the resources available to me on all the other pages. And I “gave up my darlings” as my sister the writer would say. (All the “com” words in the nav bar.)

    I NEVER even noticed that the photo fades when the banner changes – THAT’S why you are so good at what YOU do. It fades because it’s layered on each individual graphic. Because I’m a hack. And don’t know Flash?

    You can tell me the truth about the communication word compilation graphic. I already know. It’s a stopgap. (by JSM)

    Reply

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