I don't know if I'm going about my web design right or not. I mean, it seems to be working for me, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm making things more complicated than they need to be.

I am very happy with the look of the website I've created. However, I haven't typed much of the content at all because I found that I could get better effects with my graphics by creating pages in Photoshop and Illustrator, then saving them as JPEG files and placing the pictures to fill each page of my website. While it seems to look okay, it gets a little cumbersome going back and forth to make edits. I know it would be a lot easier to simply open VSD, type in the edits and upload.

The only thing is that I don't think I can get the same look of my website if I built it in VSD. Other than the hassle of editing my pages, am I creating other problems by designing this way? I'm just trying to make things easier and functional.

Thanks!
Amy

Amy,

Well for starters you'll have zero search engine visibility if you're making even your text in photoshop. Spiders can't crawl images.

There are some things you can't manipulate in VSD, those are the only things you should be doing in Photoshop (in my opinion). Any of the effects that can be created directly in VSD will look better created with VSD, than if you do them in photoshop, compress the images, and add to your page as a graphic.

How about a link to your site so we can give a more educated suggestion?

If it's not online yet then just create a temporary URL, or at least a screenshot.

Hi Chad,

Thanks for your response. Here is my website:

www.k12artsquared.com

Thanks!
Amy

Amy,

I like your site! It loads quickly so you clearly have done a good job of compressing your images. I do feel like you would get much higher quality imaging on the text if it wasn't an image. Compare the sharpness and brightness of the text on your site with the text on mine:

http://www.DisneySubmarines.com

See what I mean? Also, search engines can't find you. Not sure if that matters for what you're doing or not. However, if you're happy with the quality (and it's really not that bad...) then really it's your call. If you decide you want to learn how to use more features within VSD you can do that too.

Of course using real text as text also opens up a whole can of browser compatibility worms...

Chad,

I really like the Disney site! It's very crisp, clear, and well-organized. You have quite a bit of text, and you did a good job of putting it all together.

I'm sure that I will replace all of my text with real text typed in VSD. I want it to be neat and clear. The jpeg images that I used are okay, but I want the sharper and brighter text like you have on your site.

Thanks so much for your help.

Best Wishes,
Amy

Be sure to use a web core font then :-)

http://www.coffeecup.com/help/articles/ … isaligned/

Hi Chad,

I wanted to send you an update on my website. I recreated the site and got rid of all of the jpeg images. I know the work will be worth it because it is so much easier to update the site through VSD.

Thanks for your advice

Amy
www.k12artsquared.com