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Gordon Richards had a Web site for his company, TreeQuest (www.treequest.com), but he needed
help integrating the e-commerce features. Because
selling items on the Internet was an integral part of his
vision for the site, Gordon started looking around
for company that could provide both the hosting
and programming support he needed to create the
site. He hired Sandpoint.com to host and recreate
the site. Ken Lenz of Sandpoint.com redesigned the
site to make it easier to use, while James Byrd of
Logical Expressions, Inc. wrote the ASP and
programming code for the e-commerce elements. Although
the programming isn't complete yet, the redesigned opening page shows what just a few simple
changes can do to improve a site's usability and load time.
The first thing Ken did was change the logo.
The old logo was a JPG file that used an outdated
font. Ken redesigned the logo and saved it as a GIF
file, which made it smaller (only 4K) and retained
more detail. He also reduced the size of the entire site, so
it would work better for visitors using 640x480
monitors. Whereas the old site used a sort of
haphazard color scheme, in the redesign, consistent use of
colors, gradients, and fonts make it easier to
understand and navigate.
- The old logo was 14K; the new one is 4K, which downloads more quickly
- The old "blocky" layout didn't tie the site elements together well.
- New navigation is easier to use
- Ad placement is consistent
Toolbox:
Redesign by:
Ken Lenz, Sandpoint.com
P.O. Box 1487, Sandpoint, ID
208-255-1634
Programming:
James Byrd, Logical Expressions, Inc.
311 Fox Glen Road, Sandpoint, ID
208-265-3646
Hardware: Site running on a Windows NT server.
Software: Front Page 2000, Adobe Photoshop, IIS 4.0 (ASP), Visual Basic 6.0, VI 6.0
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