Philosophy:
On the home page, I state that I write and edit my code line by line for best efficiency. Let me explain what I mean. While working at Focus Publishing, I was told to update their website using Microsoft Frontpage. When I looked at the code instead of the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) view, I was shocked to see multiple instances of things like: <span class="bold"> </span>, <STRONG> </STRONG>. What you're looking at is code that is being applied to blank spaces. Most of the 128kb file was filled with instances of that: wasteful, utterly meaningless code. I was still learning HTML at the time, so I took my work home with me one day and rewrote the page from scratch. My index page file size was only 33kb, about 25% the size of the original file. This doesn't matter as much today as it used to, but for someone using a modem, that's a noticeable difference in load time.
Many web designers use programs like Frontpage or Dreamweaver. They use these programs because it is faster to design a webpage with a program than to write the code by hand. For them, it is most important to get a functional website done as quickly as possible, especially if they charge by page and not by hour. I'm not berating them. My website company is freelance. I don't do this to make a living, I do this because I love it.
For me, making a website is about getting the code done right. This means: there's no wasteful code, the code is standards-compliant, the design looks the same in all browsers, the design is adaptable for those who need large fonts, the design is easy to use, and the design looks good. I can spend hours figuring out exactly what colors are right for a site. I am, in short, a perfectionist: I'm not happy with a site until it's the absolute best I can make it.
So, if you want a functional site done quickly, I might not be the right designer for you. But if you want a site that is unique and are willing to spend the extra time for a truly unique web experience, then maybe I'm the right designer for you.
