How did you get into web design?

By accident really. I started out at university about 11 years ago, when the Internet was the big unknown. It was far more exciting than computer programming, and I found the design process to be very visual - make a simple tweak to your code and you can see the effect it's had in seconds. I did develop sites for friends, family and favours for years until circumstances forced me back into web designing as a serious career move.

Do you remember the very first site you designed?

Yes, although I am cringing at the thought of it! It was a bit of a hobby thing for me still at the time, and I hadn't a clue about optimising graphics, accessibility and keeping things toned down and tasteful! Sadly, there are a lot of sites out there at the moment which are reminiscent of my first site, and with all the information on web design, there's no need for it!

You are doing a lot of small business web design, is this a specialization for you?

I write websites for the small business market for several reasons. Personally, I'm not a graphics guru, I don't program in Flash or write all-singing all-dancing pages and this rules me out of the bigger-budget projects to an extent. Business-wise, a lot of small charities and businesses don't want bells and whistles, they just want a clean, well-programmed website that is within budget and does what they need it to do.

Where do you get your art for these webpages?

Artwork is either based on what the client supplies or is an extension of the information they provide me with.

What will be the next big development in webpage design?

There's a lot of hype about 'web 2.0? or the Social Internet. I think it has its place but it's not what everyone wants - see my small business users. More interesting to me are developments such as AJAX which can provide a lot of functionality and added value to a website.

Have you ever worked with website templates?

I do get some of my ideas from templates - if I see designs I like, I will always look at the code to see how it was done. I do get disappointed though when a fantastic looking site turns out to be little more than 'table soup' - there's no excuse for using tables for anything other than data presentation, especially considering that CSS is so straightforward with hundreds of tutorials freely available on the Internet.

What website template providers have you tried?

I tend to look at OSWD.org and OpenDesigns.org for inspiration rather than the 'sell them by the bucketload' sites as I feel that I learn more this way. The code tends to be more user friendly too, and you can search for sites that are written in XHTML and CSS rather than using tables.

What do you think about Flash technology?

I think that Flash does have its place - there are some amazing websites that implement Flash in really creative ways. However, I don't believe in Flash for the sake of it and actually use a FireFox browser plugin to block Flash, so I as the user get to choose when to view it.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Flash?

If used properly, Flash can provide visitors with a great experience, but when used for the sake of it, such as with a lot of cheap templates, I feel that it's a waste of space. If a client asks me about Flash, I explain that it's not currently particularly search engine friendly or accessible to website visitors using alternative browsing methods.

What are your sources of inspiration?

I see a lot of websites everyday, and as previously mentioned, if I see a feature I like, I try to see how it is done. Other than the open source sites I mentioned above, there's nowhere I particularly go for inspiration. I do tend to have my 'stock' code, which if you look at the sites in my portfolio, you probably can recognise where it's been used. I don't see much point in re-writing code if not necessary though.

What are your favorite website designs that you did and did NOT design yourself?

I do quite like http://www.littlefishwebdesign.com itself - two years ago, when I relaunched myself into web design and had little exposure to the web design industry as a whole, I had to relearn more recent CSS and XHTML techniques and the LittleFish website was the result. Other sites I like are http://www.tfbbk.co.uk, which again has a simple design and http://www.aquavivahealth.co.uk which is currently in development.

What was the toughest project or customer situation you've encountered?

I don't like turning people down, but sometimes you get a feeling about someone that tells you that however much you quote for the work, it'll cost you twice as much. One person I recently turned down e-mailed me 27 times and phoned me for over three hours whilst still telling me he wasn't sure which designer to go with. I have very reasonable rates but this potential client still wanted me to knock something off the price and I knew he would take months and months and far too many hours for the money he was paying until the design to be approved. I let the situation continue and learnt a valuable lesson from that - always value yourself and your work. As a self-employed designer, I can't afford to spend that amount of time chasing contracts.

What are your interests and dislikes in webpage design?

It's not so much likes and dislikes in webpage design as in webpage designers - as in any industry, there's good and bad people, and most people wanting a website have no clue of what they should and shouldn't be asking for. My golden rule which I tell to anyone who listens! is always ensure the domain name is registered in your name and that you are given all logins and passwords. With UK domain names, Nominet charges 10+VAT - approximately $23 at the current exchange rate - and requires both the old and new registrant to sign to authorise a transfer. Several of my clients have been held to 'ransom' for their own domain name because of this system when trying to leave their previous designer.

Thanks, Emma, I enjoyed hearing about your experiences and your expertise.

Helen Walker

Helen Walker graduated with a degree in Mass Communications and Sociology. She worked as a newspaper journalist for two years after that. Having always been interested in cyberculture and its impact on society, Helen switched to online journalism and joined Design Interviews blog in July, 2007. Ever since she's been interviewing web designers and administrating the blog. Helen is a keen movie-goer and she is also a panda lover.


Look for me on:
- Twitter
- VIRB
- Facebook

Get in touch with Helen: helen.walker4@gmail.com