Web Design Critic
- 7 Comment
Hey guys, I just sat down with a solid web designer and we chatted for hours about web design, and photoshop, and all this other “geeky” stuff.
This guy is probably the best web designer I’ve seen in a very long time. Aside from Hai, who’s my personal web designer.
Not many of you know this but I’m pretty good at web design. I started designing web sites back in 1999 and I’m very savvy when it comes to photoshop.
My favorite tools to use for web design are:
1. Dreamweaver. Which is a web development application originally created by Macromedia, and later purchased by Adobe.
2. Photoshop. Used to edit graphics and images.
I’m also very savvy when it comes to PHP and Perl code. Although I’m a lot better with PHP.
So what’s the purpose of this blog post?
To inform (or remind) you that learning web design is still critical. Yes, there are a lot of cookie-cutter web sites out there that look great and function just as good as original ones. But what if you want to update it? What if you want to change the color scheme, the layout, the font, etc?
The first business I ever started was 15rounds.com, a boxing web site that is still in business today, after 9 years online (since 2001). I learned web design by starting the web site, going on forums and blogs, and portals and pushing traffic to the web site, organically. Not via PPC, but rather via SEO. Back in 2001 there were only 4 boxing sites out there, today there are over 1,000. But still one of the most respected new sources in boxing is still 15rounds.com. I’ve personally interviewed Mike Tyson, Oscar de la Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, and many others. In fact, one summer day I spent the afternoon hanging out with Mike Tyson at his house in Phoenix (circa 2005).
I love the story of 15rounds.com because I didn’t spend a dime on marketing, such as PPC or banner advertising. It was strictly article writing.
You want to know what the coolest perk of 15rounds.com was? It wasn’t the thousands of dollars we were making every month from this web site, it was the media credentials. I got to sit RINGSIDE for every, single fight. Keep in mind, to watch Oscar de la Hoya in a mega-fight, it could run you upwards of $15,000 for a seat. I was getting them for free because I was part of the press.
Today the web site is updated around 10 times per day with the latest boxing coverage around the globe.
Back to web design…..Okay, so that could’ve never happen if I didn’t know web design. I was 20-years-old at the time and I didn’t have a single penny to my name, therefore I had to learn how to do this all by myself.
Moral of the story: LEARN WEB DESIGN!!
Bonus: If you’re open to having your web site evaluated by me, with open and honest feedback, then post your web site and I’ll give you a free evaluation of your website. I’ll tell you what it needs, what it’s missing, and everything else you need to have in order for your web site to convert or keep the reader entertained!
Post your web site on this blog for a free critic.
7 Comments on this post
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Chad Olsen said:
I’ll send you my web site when I’m done desiging it. I’m getting good at this stuff and i realise ur right about web design.
I’m being coached by ANKUSH! Dude he rocks! It took me awhile to realize that he’s the same dude on your DVD, the truth!
That kid is young and I hear he makes a lot of money on the internet..he showed us his site.I can’t log into successrate so can you have someone resend me my login info.
C.O.
February 25th, 2010 at 9:08 pm -
Joshua Sands said:
Ever since you told us to learn web design on your webinars last December, I downloaded dreamweaver for free. I got 4 web sites with you….i don’t want you to critic me because I know my site is nowhere near your level. hey i’m also good at photoshop just like you.
February 25th, 2010 at 9:10 pm -
internet marketing gurus said:
Sometimes our own critics are more powerful then others about our work, because we know the nook and corner of our design.To critic our own we need to give some gap after designing, like for 2 or 3 days.
March 17th, 2010 at 6:02 am -
internet marketing gurus said:
I believe that critiques are one of the hardest things to do in a clear way. This may be partially due to my personality, because I hate to tell people that they did this or that wrong or their work is mediocre, but it’s difficult to criticize someone’s work.
April 5th, 2010 at 9:14 am -
promotional items said:
Thanks for this helpful post Preston. A network of designer friends can be awesome for this type of feedback. Another angle I’ve been musing lately, and will write on soon, is the skill of self-critique: how to be your own critic. I’d say it’s best to have others’ critiques as well as learn how to be critical of your own work.
April 16th, 2010 at 6:15 am -
internet marketing gurus said:
Likewise, learning how to put aside personal attacks and rudeness and find the value in bad criticism takes a lot as a designer. But it can be thoroughly worth it. It takes a considerable amount of passion (and interest) to level really harsh criticism at someone.
May 3rd, 2010 at 1:12 pm -
internet marketing gurus said:
Take into account the source of the critique and engage in conversation. Try to throw some design principles at them and find out whether they know what they are talking about. Dont simply accept what they say.
June 25th, 2010 at 7:15 am