Web Design

Web design is what tiggers, er, spiders like best! Now, of course, in most major cities these days you can’t swing a dead keyboard without hitting someone calling themselves a “web designer”. So, you may be thinking, just what makes you special? Well, let’s see:

Once, in one of the strange, random outbreaks of that rare commodity known as “spare time”, the founder of Spider Silk Design dropped into a little wilderness centre up near Temagami, and was impressed to discover that unlike many businesses of that sort, the range of services this one offered was very flexible.

For those who were absolutely new to wilderness trips, there were fully planned, guided, outfitted trips, where all you had to do was show up with a sleeping bag and a change of clothes, and the company took care of absolutely all the rest — canoes, tents, maps, food, planning, a real live guide to go with you, the works. For those who had some idea what they were doing but were new to that specific area, you could have a consultation in which they would evaluate your level of canoeing expertise and what kind of experience you were after, and suggest a route, give you pointers about how best to navigate it, and then leave you to do it on your own. For those who were inexperienced but eager to learn, there were classes on canoeing skills and wilderness survival. And those who knew exactly what they wanted to do, where they wanted to go and exactly how to do it could simply show up and say “Hi. I want to rent a canoe.” Or whatever other piece of equipment they might be missing.

This, she thought, is an excellent way to run a business. So later, when she decided to start a business of her own, she tried to follow the same principle. Many web design companies offer only the equivalent of the fully guided and catered canoe trip — they simply create sites from scratch. And that’s great, if that’s what you want. But what if it isn’t? What if you already have a site, created by yourself or someone else, and simply want it spruced up? What if you just want a detailed critique of your site, and some design pointers? What if you’re a certified WebGeek who knows HTML and CGI inside and out, and just want someone to create some nice original graphics for you? What if what you really want is someone who will come to your office or house, sit down with you, and show you, step by step, how to create your own web site? At Spider Silk Design, we’re willing to do all that, and more:

Full Site Design is always an option, of course. Just give us your text, and let us do the rest. Sometimes, letting someone else pack your provisions, plan your route, and guide your canoe through the rapids is nice.
But if you already have a site, and just think it needs help, you may want a Site Facelift or Site Critique. We can examine your existing site from both a technical and visual persepctive, and either suggest improvements, or make the improvements ourselves, whichever you prefer. We can optimize your graphics for faster loading, clean up the bloated, buggy code generated by many popular HTML editors, reorganize your site so that it’s easier to navigate, and turn even the worst case of “clown pants” design into something that is actually pleasant to look at.
If you’re not at the point of being able to create your own site, but would dearly love to be, ask about a Step-by-Step Tutorial. We can come right to your office or home and show you how to construct a site from scratch, including both HTML and the principles of good design. And if you’re already familiar with the basics and want a more specialized class on, say, tables, frames, forms or something like that, we can do that too.
And if you already know the technical stuff — if you perhaps even have your own web site development business, and are simply lacking in the artistic skills to create original artwork for your sites, we can provide the Web Graphics to make your sites come alive.

Whatever your choice, you’ll find us helpful, friendly and affordable. We won’t snow you with a lot of technical jargon or make you feel like a cyberschmuck if you don’t know what a doctype declaration is. We won’t try to sell you on a higher level of service than you really need. What we will do is our very best to provide the help you want in making your Internet presence the best it can be.