There are many ‘Web Design Myths’, usability and design constraints that clients request having once heard that this is best practice. Most of these have come from the good old days of web design or even from constraints imposed on printed media. It is very often the job of a web designer to gently dispel these myths and dissuade clients from forcing them upon their site designs.

One such myth is the myth of the page fold, the point at which a user needs to scroll down to access content on your site. It was said that users would not scroll the page down meaning all content on your homepage should sit above this virtual line. The term originates from newspapers where the attention grabbing headlines would appear ‘above the fold’ so as to be seen on the newsstands.

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“Everybody who knows what they’re doing in web development and web design is now pretty much on board [the web standards] train even though not everyone [...] shares exactly the same understanding.” Jeffrey Zeldman.

Anyone thinking of going into web design or development should watch this video of Jeffrey Zeldman, one of the people credited with founding web standards. Click here.

(Si – NOW I understand why you keep banging on about AA this and AA that! Jim)

If you’re thinking of buying a quality second-hand car, but can’t decide whether to go safe and buy one from a dealer (and pay a premium for doing so), or to chance your arm and buy privately (and risk picking up a lemon), we’re working with someone who may have a solution.

UsedCars2U is the UK’s first website that supplies fully serviced used cars directly the consumers’ door, at no extra charge. In so doing, they’re aiming to cut out the middle man. All of UsedCars2U’s cars have had one owner, come with a warranty, full service history, 14-day money-back guarantee and undergo a 120-point pre-delivery check… All the benefits of buying from a dealer but for about 20% less, AND without having to leave your sofa!

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AOL launched their new look site today and, all in all, it looks pretty good. Have a look what they’ve done with their visual identity – they’ve given it life by creating a family of backgrounds against which the logotype can sit (you can choose one at the top of the page). It’s a novel approach. Hit refresh and you get a different look.

It’ll be interesting to see what they do with this – I wonder if they intend to keep the variety or if they’re using the new site to see which of their new logos generates the most clicks and repeat visits. In the past we’ve launched sites with different Home Pages to see which ones work best, but that’s always intended as a selection process and eventually we pick a winner, based on visits, click throughs, purchases etc. We’ve also given our own visitors some interaction on the DNA site, enabling them to choose a background (but that’s just for fun).

We’ll be watching this space…

(Opinion: Jim Green – MD)

A lot of articles have been written about how consumers in general make decisions about purchasing a product or a service. One thing is for certain, social media and the ability to read other people’s recommendations is playing an increasingly significant part in most consumers’ buying habits.

In a recent survey by Nielsen, 90% of people said they trusted recommendations from people they know (perhaps not surprising), while an impressive 70% trusted the opinions of other consumers posted online. These were followed closely by brand websites, editorial (invariably someone’s PR) and brand sponsorships.

The Internet has given the consumer the ability to post information online without having to go through a third party. Such “straight-from-the-horse’s-mouth” communication is clearly very powerful, demonstrating the potential of social media as a marketing tool.

Be warned though, social media can be as destructive as it can be helpful. Marketing a service or product through blogs, forums, social networks and other online communities necessitates losing control. One has to be a) supremely confident in the quality of what’s on offer, and b) willing to take the good with the bad!

OK, well this might be a bit of a techie rant against the Microsoft machine and its shoddy, market dominating browser, Internet Explorer, but firstly its a valid one and secondly its more about recognising the huge achievements of a lesser known browser, Opera. There are a myriad of different browsers and different browser versions being used all with different capabilities and different ways of displaying the same website content, this makes our jobs as web content creators very tricky.

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Search engines exist to provide relevant, useful search results for their users. They are not there to benefit companies who are proficient at optimizing websites. If you think you have thought of a clever way to fool them – forget it. They are not easily tricked and, if they catch you, they will probably ban you. For businesses that depend on leads and enquiries from their websites, this can literally prove fatal.

If you want to drive people to your latest, beautifully designed website, concentrate on the following tips for generating web traffic, and don’t cheat! Click here.

I know this may be old news now but with Christmas being upon us many companies, ourselves included like to send a fun greeting to the people they have been working with over the past year. Many have chosen to go down the ‘eco friendly’ route of sending out an email greeting, animated Santa’s, Christmas tunes, throw-able snowmen and so on. Using our HTML wizardry we have increasingly been able to send these rich media greetings directly to your inbox which was fast becoming as capable as a web browser such as Internet Explorer (or Firefox for the more discerning web user) for displaying sounds, animations and even video content until the release of Microsoft’s Outlook 2007.

In this latest version of the favoured email client of the business world Microsoft decided to replace the HTML rendering engine with that used in its Word application!? But isn’t Microsoft Word a desktop publishing package with a terrible HTML export option bolted on to it I hear you cry? Well yes; this means that you cannot display rich-media content such as Flash, audio, video or even the humble animated gif in any email within this new incarnation of the Outlook Software.

I know Microsoft have never been one for conforming to standards where web content is involved but for myself and other rich media content creators this appears to be a huge step backwards, begging the question why? The official reason seems to be consistency for its users between its product suite but surely this kind of ‘Nanny-ing’ won’t only frustrate developers but ultimately put off customers by seeming to vet the content that is available to them and ultimately inhibit user experience. Frustrating, but for now Microsoft know they have the lions share so we, as content developers have to conform to allow our customers to reach their audience.

(Opinion by: Simon Farrow – Web Development Manager)

We are pleased to announce that our new website is now up and running. Designed to allow a much more user-friendly and simple navigation through our latest projects, the website offers a detailed description of our work alongside extensive imagery so you can see what we’ve been up to. The projects can also be ordered by category and be presented in a thumbnail or list view for quick browsing.

We really value your opinion, so have a look and let us know what you think www.dnaadvertising.co.uk

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the new Princess Yachts International website, which went live in conjunction with this year’s Southampton Boat Show. The data-driven Flash website features videos and detailed specifications for twenty of Princess’ luxury yachts, plus ‘the Princess experience’ walkthrough, an interactive historic timeline, distributors map and up-to-the-minute interactive calendar. We dispensed completely with the old layout and navigation, building this site from scratch to bring the web presence in line with the Princess brand identity and corporate communications, which include the latest brochures and advertising campaigns. The website is now live at www.princessyachts.com.

At DNA we love our cars, so redesigning the website for the Volvo dealership, Cambridge Garage, was a project we really wanted. The website went live in July with a great response from the Volvo team in Portsmouth. In fact, they were so pleased with our handy-work they asked us to redesign their corporate newsletter as well! The clean, image-driven design reflects the progressive style being championed by Volvo Cars UK, as it aims to target a more youthful and diverse customer group than before. And yet at the same time we were careful not to lose the heritage and personality of the Cambridge Garage, which has been operating itself for over 70 years.