UPDATE
We have refreshed the Eldo Web Design site since this post. You can read about the new site below
All aboard the new website train. They say that good things come to those who wait and this wait has been long overdue. Eldo Web Design finally has a shiny new website. The site has been in the oven for around five months now. It’s seen many changes during its development. It’s had a full screen video, about six different main images, half a dozen different fonts and many more elements that you’ll never ever see.
I am my own worst client!
As ‘creative types’ we love having the freedom to create what we want. With that freedom though comes many other things – too much time, too many options, indecision and no one to rein you in when you start doing crazy, elaborate over the top things.
I’ve really enjoyed this redesign though. It’s been hard work and I would have given my right arm to have just taken three weeks off and cracked on with it. But realistically that was never going to happen. I built the site in small chunks, one or two days here and there. You can’t just dip in and out of building websites. There’s too many global elements, classes and constants that are very easily forgotten after a short break. Then you waste valuable time getting back into it trying to remember what went before and things start to get messy (I hate messy).
It’s the little things…
One thing I always try and include in my designs and builds are ‘the little things’. I’ve popped quite a few bits in here that genuinely make me smile and hopefully the users too. The dynamic greeting message dependant on time of day, the welcome back message if you return within a period of time, the ‘misses you’ message when you click away or go to a new tab and the subtle page titles in the header images to name just a few.
I’ve tried to keep the site personal too. Eldo Web Design as a business is getting bigger and I work alongside other designers on lots of projects (Designers Assemble!), but it is still Eldo Web Design. There’s a background image using my desk that I work from, the beach huts photo is my own taken just a short walk from my home. And of course, the mention of my family.
But it looks so different…
Yep. That was always the plan.
If you search for other web design agencies you’ll struggle to find a site that looks and functions like this. Maybe that’s for good reasons, maybe no one will want to hire Eldo Web Design if I don’t have a ‘typical’ web design agency site. Maybe. But that’s a risk I have to take. Eldo Web Design is not about churning out sites, offering packages and off the shelf designs.
I’m not trying to appeal to the masses
Time will tell…
Over the next few weeks and months I’ll be monitoring the site closely. Watching how users interact, where do they click? how far do they scroll? does having a full screen header mean people ignore the rest of the page? All these questions and more will be answered and I can see if my gamble has paid off.
I’ll write a follow up once I know the outcome and share the sites successes and its failures. Until then, I hope you enjoy it. If you want to say hello or tell me how much you love or hate the site, just use the form in the footer. All feedback is welcomed…
