YonYonson have created a site to showcase the horror movie Heretic, written and produced by Mod Scientists. The chilling atmosphere is achieved with a dark, full screen background and a little twist of interactivity.

The brief was to create an immersive experience, and a truly scary context in which to integrate material drawn from YouTube, SoundCloud and Flickr.

We’ve used CSS3 to make the site fully responsive, adapting to display on different screen sizes, browser types, and mobile devices.

Pete and Beth of Mod Scientists have documented the making of Heretic on their website, and here’s a quote from way back before the script was even written:

“Our vision for Heretic is simple: we are going to write and produce a truly terrifying horror movie. We are going to make the movie broadcast quality and get a cinema release for it.

We believe this will be an incredible Journey; not just for us but for every person involved in making Heretic: cast, crew and investors, and we want to take as many people as possible on the journey with us.”

It’s a huge achievement to make a full-length film under your own steam: we’re thrilled that Pete and Beth have managed to break through many barriers to do this, and proud to have been involved.

Needless to say, we can’t wait until Halloween, when the film’s released.

View the site: www.hereticmovie.com

So you’ve decided you need a professional online presence and chosen a web designer to build a site for you. You may be wondering what the web design process will be, what to expect from the designer, and what they will expect from you.

The next few articles will explain this process, starting with this one: your first meeting.

Nominate one person from your organisation to make decisions and communicate with the designer. This will help the project to run smoothly. Decide on the most suitable methods of communication. Meetings may be face to face or virtual. Skype is a great communications tool if distance is an issue. However, phone and email communication is perfectly adequate.

Good beginnings make for good endings, and the first meeting is an important opportunity to establish that each of you understand the ultimate goal of the project, and manage one another’s expectations. Neither of you should promise something you can’t provide, but blue-sky thinking at the start of the project is great. Chances are you and the designer will be overflowing with ideas at your first meeting because you want the website to be the best it possibly can.

It is advisable to do some preparation before going into the first meeting. The designer may provide you with a questionnaire or, for larger projects, ask you to write a brief. This will differ for every project, but here is a basic list of things you should consider:

• What is the purpose of your site?

• Who will be using/ viewing the site? Describe your intended audience.

• Do you already have your own logos/ branding, artwork or colour scheme?

• Do you have a basic idea of the pages you’d like (the sitemap)?

• Do you have any content already prepared? eg. videos, text, images.

• Research the websites of your competition.

• Are there any other websites that you particularly like?

• What’s your budget?

• What’s your timescale?

You will receive a proposal from the designer comprising a project plan and contract. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Having a website built can be a learning curve, and there may be both technical and design terms you have not heard before, so make sure you’re clear about what is being agreed. This will help nip any misunderstandings in the bud. Make sure you know the cost of the website, and that you understand what this price will cover and the services that are being provided.

There are a couple of things you can do to help ensure the project is delivered on time:

1. Make yourself available to communicate and give feedback during the course of the project.

2. Content creation is generally the first step in building a website, as it influences the overall design. So if you are responsible for the content, keep the project on track by sending it to the designer in good time.

The first meeting is likely to be spent project planning, brainstorming and getting a feel for how you and the designer will work together. You won’t come away knowing what your site will look like, but you should feel that you have established what your needs are and have a good idea of the direction in which the project is heading.

Every business should have some sort of web presence. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to dive straight in there and blow your entire marketing budget on a new website, especially when you’re just starting up.

Creating an online presence through social media and blogging is a great way of getting your message out there, especially if you are strapped for cash. This will also give you time to find your feet, build a network, and consolidate your business plan, making what eventually appears on your website much more relevant.

Having said this, your own website is your home on the web. When talking to potential clients, an easy to remember web address can make all the difference. Saying “sorry I haven’t got a website,” when one is requested, may produce some funny looks, almost as if a business isn’t real until it has a website.

A well-designed website is a massive opportunity to establish your brand’s identity; it’s your chance to really stand out. Your site can be as simple as a one page ‘hub’ to draw together all your online activities, or as complex as an ecommerce site, so you’re open for business 24/7.

You can also perform Search Engine Optimisation with your own website. Despite the popularity of Facebook, you have no control over where your page will appear in search engine results, and most people still use Google and other search engines to look for businesses and services.

Don’t underestimate the value of your own time. Using a do-it-yourself website builder will soak up days of your time. A poorly designed site or a free template site that’s been half-heartedly filled in could reflect badly on your business, and may do more harm than good. Also, watch out for tricky pricing schemes. What starts off at £4.99 per month can easily run into £400+ per year when you include extra features and VAT. These “extra” features are usually desirable if not essential. And how long do you plan to have the website up (5+ years?). You could end up paying £2000 or more, for a second rate website, built using a template, and you have done all the work yourself! Many web design companies do not advertise fixed prices, and will prefer to give you an individual quote, because the cost of a site really depends on your requirements and budget.

A well-deployed, bespoke website is a valuable asset if used as part of an overall marketing strategy, but it isn’t a panacea, a one stop solution or guarantee of success. If and when you do go for a website, make sure it’s high quality, and that it works for you. Ticking ‘get website’ off your To-Do list and then forgetting about it is not enough. Take your time, do it right, and remember that a website is just one part of the marketing jigsaw.

Welcome to YonYonson’s first post! This blog will be a client’s guide to web design. There are plenty of blogs out there for web designers, but not so many written especially to help clients through the web design process.

Why would a client need a guide to web design? They’re paying us to design the site after all. From our experience, clients get excited about the design of their website and enjoy being involved. That being the case, good communication is essential and it is important that we are speaking the same language. We’ll talk you through the process, explain design concepts and technical terms, and offer advice on preparing content for your website. If you would like us write an article on a particular topic, get in touch and let us know.

If you’ve just stumbled upon this blog you might be wondering, “Who is YonYonson?” Well, YonYonson is actually two people, David and Charlotte. We specialise in designing and developing clear, stylish, easy-to-use websites. We’ve created sites for small/ medium sized businesses, arts organisations and media professionals throughout the UK.

We use a variety of digital design tools and programming languages including:
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, SQL, ActionScript, WordPress, Moodle, Dreamweaver, Flash, Adobe Air, Photoshop and Illustrator. Both of us are keen photographers and enjoy working on our own art projects.