The Scriptiest Philosophy is three-fold:
- Clarity Through Simplification
- Time Is Money
- Agile Construction
Clarity Through Simplification is basically a design concept. A good website will be simple. Easy to navigate and easy to understand. It will be appealing while not overwhelming. This is not Abstract art, it’s Communication Art. People should not have to guess what your site is about.
Images are important but well formed text will clarify the message. A quick glance at page one should tell a visitor everything they need to know to get started. A cool header is great to catch their attention, but don’t forget to spell things out a bit with some text.
Design for mobile first. More and more people only have mobile access to the internet. The same principles apply to a mobile site as to a desktop or tablet sight. The message must be clear without the user having to navigate anywhere.
Be clear, be concise, constantly trim the fat. If a design element doesn’t add to the or clarify the message then why does it exist?
Time Is Money has to do with how long it takes you to do a build. Being efficient is not just about money. If it takes to long to build then maybe you need to re-think your design. Don’t get so hung up on a beautiful idea that’s too difficult to realize.
When you’re working for yourself, no one will get upset if you take three hours to do something. But remember that for every hour you work the less money you make. As you gain experience you’ll learn efficient techniques. Don’t under value your time.
Minutes are like pebbles on a mountain it all adds up.
Agile Construction is all about building with future growth in mind. All things start small. Even a simple one page website can blossom to a full content filled monster with one quick decision. Take some time to anticipate how a layout will react to unexpected content. If a client decides to use a different image size or crazy long text (happens every time) how will this affect the layout. Will you need to make a minor tweak or will you have to re-work. Ideally a good design will not need any tweaking. The layout will adapt.
If sales are slow then the message will need to be improved. Maybe more content, user interaction, a rotator may be needed. Guess who’s got to do the work. It’s not being lazy, it’s working smarter. A good website will be forward compatible.
Things change; be ready for it.