Hey all, I'm about to begin designing a youth ministry web site. I'm fluent in HTML, Java, PHP, Perl/CGI, and CSS...but I'm really not the creative kinda guy...as in...come out with a cool looking template/design. I know there're a million "free templates" around, but I'm really just looking for some innovative ideas to start from scratch. It's been a while since I've done any web design, so I'm just lookin' for new ideas and tricks that might've come up over the past year or two. Thanks a lot! -Jeremy Mancini

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What I do when I am planning a website is first draw out the basic layout on a piece of paper, and then keep redrawing it until I am satisfied.

Do you have a website editor? Microsoft frontpage is quite useful, you should try it. Macromedia Dreamweaver is also good. But the staple of a creative website is good graphics. Do you have a graphics editor? My reccommendation is Paint Shop Pro, because it is a powerful tool which is easy to use, with a very good price (100 dollars, 50 dollars after mail-in rebate).

Good Luck!

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I think you should use a graphics program like "Adobe Photo Shop" to layout the appearance of your website. Then you should get a program called "Image Ready" to slice the website. So that you can code it into php, or html, or what evers. SO yeah but first you should get a good host. So that your site will always be up and running.

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ImageReady comes with Photoshop, which i recommend getting instead of PSP (PaintShop Pro). Since you're fluent in all those programming languages, you wont be needing any WYSIWYG programs. As for looking for some creativity, stop by the graphics section of this forum, I'm sure you'll find some interesting things in there.

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I am amazed, I thought I was the only person who still used a pen and paper when planning websites

As you say you want something contemporary then shades of blue and grey can work quite well together, with some simple gradients or small images here and there. Or you could go entirely the other way and do something using Flash. It's quite simple and there are loads of tutorials if you've never used it before. The ActionScript it uses is very similar to JavaScript, and I have seen some very impressive designs, that are also quite quick and simple to create.

I am a bit one-sided on the ideas side as I tend to over-use computer generated artwork and other such stuff, but just have a look at similar sites and see where you think they are effective, then do something similar on your design.

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Admittedly, using a pen and paper can help you sketch out a map of what you what you want on the website - for both content and design. I think this is a good time to refer you to this Ping Mag article for a simple, yet amusing process on developing a website. Happy reading!

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I usually either draw up what type of design my template is, or sketch it quickly on mspaint. Make sure all of the features are there and that it's easily navigatable.

Some innovative ideas for you..

If you're going to have multiple items, try and categorize them on your navigation area.. put them in categories of how they affect people, or something to the effect.

Make sure you experiment with the colors of your design to make it blend together well, it's awesome when you see a website with colors very pleasing to the eyes.

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if you are designing a site for youths my advice is make it so the kids will like the look at it you know teanager look type of thing sop they wont loose interst in it make it look stylish and use colours like black and red colours that bind together welkl and look cooland i would recomend using photoshop for itas you can make lots of effects and put some music in the back of the site so when they vbiew the page they get music comming out there speakers

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I am in the paper and pen group as well.

also, important, plan your content before you start programming - and I would not worry about the creative site, a simple and clearly structured website can be fun as well.
As long as it is not cluttered!!!

But as always it is content that draws people to the site. And content has to be aided by the layout and determine the way the site is organised.

So, what goes on the page, determines how you structure the page.

I am sure you know all this. (-:

But it is good to hear this again and again. Content counts. and then presenting. So don;t wory if you are not creative. When you know what you want to present, you will know what the best and easiest way to present it is as well. and hey presto....

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I like the pen and paper as well, but I always make my images first to determine the theme. I think reds can be a bit too dramatic, so I agree with the neutral colors. However, you want to add interest to your site, so add bursts of a bright color as well. Don't use the red and black. For one, it's extremely tacky and overused, and secondly, it evokes the wrong feelings. Thirdly, it's hard to read. Remember that you'll probably want a light colored background (white is usually the best since pastel colors would attract more of a female audience) and enough contrast that you can read the page without well...killing your eyes.

Programs (you can get free 30 day trials of these)
Dreamweaver (optional) - I only use it to organize colors and templates. Most of my work is done in Notepad.
Adobe Photoshop CS (CS2) - My absolute favorite photo editing software. It's incredibly powerful, easy to use, and fun too

Since you're doing a Christian site, I would work around the cross for your logo. Use straight lines and gradients to make it glow sort of. You want something modern. People are going to see the images of the site before the content, so you'll want them to spend more time on that. Use textures and brushes to your advantage but remember the audience you're targetting. I'm 15, so I'll tell you that teens like having interactivity with sites. They don't like reading content as much as discussing content. Comics, funny images, and jokes or things like that will urge them to come back. Keep different sections for children, teens, and parents so that you will get a wider audience.

That's all I've got now. I'm creatively dead

 

 

 

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