Web Design
by Sarah Fox

I was one of the early entrants into the WorldWide Web, typing out and uploading my first HTML page in 1996. That was before web page editors were available, when they were all done by programmers. That wasn't a problem for me. I've done computer programming since the mid 1970's, and I've learned at least a dozen programming languages since then, including BASIC, Fortran, Unix shell scripts, dBase, C++, HTML, JavaScript, and a number of highly specialized control scripts for various devices. HTML is one of the simplest languages out there, so it was very easy to pick up the basics.

Since that time, I've authored web sites charitably for numerous organizations and commercially. I also provide website hosting and management on a month to month basis. My rates are slightly higher than the hosting that can be found elsewhere, but what I offer is turn-key management of the website for those who find themselves drowning in the technical details. I am as close as a phonecall or email to these clients, and I can resolve most issues within the hour. That means greater reliability and less down-time for the website, which is essential for any business. After all, nothing looks less professional than a website that disappears from existence, if only temporarily.

I also offer web-site design without management. I provide this service for clients who are able to manage the day-to-day details of administering a web site but are not skilled in programming and graphic editing. The only thing I will not do is to re-edit a page of mine after it has been modified by a web page editing application. The reason this becomes a problem is that I hand-code all of my web pages. It's simply faster and easier for me to type all of the code, rather than to sort through menues to insert links, images, etc. I guess I'm pretty old-school.

My work product is generally pretty simple in appearance. I don't like distractions, clutter, and sound on the pages I design. Obviously this web site (Graphic Fusion) is an example of my work. Behind the scenes, you would find that it is modular, scaleable, and dynamically generated, so as to simplify the task of editing and adding pages. My business clients have almost universally expressed a desire for simpler websites than the Graphic Fusion site. I accommodate their requests. The websites I author for them are typically from 5 to 10 pages and are written entirely in HTML, except for JavaScript buttons.

What makes me particularly good as a web designer is that I can also do the photography and create the graphic content. A single person with a single vision does not need to waste time and effort with design meetings, and the photographer will always return with the photos the graphic artist and programmer want, with no need of a re-shoot.

A few other examples of my work are...

  • wonderfulhome.info: This is a website I authored for the sale of a couple of homes in Columbus, Ohio. Notable features include the clickable blueprint, which links to web pages for each room of the house. This site also shows some of my early architectural photographic work, when I had fewer flashes and considerably less wide angle capability than I have now.

  • farrellpiano.com: I put together the Farrell Piano website for a Floridian piano technician who wanted me to make all the technical complexities go away. He wanted something very plain and simple. He emailed me all his own photographs, and I did the necessary editing on them. He decided he would not need active management of the web site and would be content to leave it in a static state, merely paying for the monthly hosting.

  • adoptohio.com: Adoption attorney Susan Eisenman, of Columbus, Ohio, hired me to do redesign her website, using a combination of my photography and a few client photos she provided. The drawings for the button panel are my own design. I host this site, and it is under my active management.

Please contact me for a free consultation regarding your web design needs.


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