My philosophy regarding web design has changed drastically in the past few years. When I first began building web sites, I followed the mainstream trends, built for the most popular browsers, and treated the wishes of my clients as the Word of God. Much has changed since then, and I'd like to outline my philosophy so that clients and interested parties might have an insight into what drives my actions as a designer.
First of all, I view myself as a skilled artisan. I expect that you are coming to me because you want to make use of my skills and knowledge regarding web design and building up a presence for yourself and your business on the internet. Your input is of course incredibly valuable, and ultimately this is your project I am working on. At times, however, I may ask you to simply trust me regarding a particular element of your website and to withhold judgment until completion. I will offer explanations as best I can, and will be with you throughout every step of the process, always giving you an opportunity to observe the evolution of your site and give your own critiques, but in the final analysis, if I'm not excited to be working on your project, the odds are good that it will not be an exciting website. Too often have I watched a client overturn my design decisions at every step in the process, only to wind up with a bland, cookie-cutter website, and confusion as to why their site isn't providing as much business or positive response as they anticipated. I have been doing this for a long time in internet terms, I understand the psychology of online buyers, and I am aware of many pitfalls and tricks that you may not be—this should be one of the major reasons why you've hired me instead of doing it yourself.
In recent years a movement has begun building within the internet development community. This movement is a return to the roots of the internet as an accessible medium which separates content and style. With the advent of css, and perhaps more importantly the move towards compliance by mainstream browsers, this once fanciful dream is quickly becoming a reality. I am an immense supporter of this movement, and endeavor to build all sites with an eye towards strict xhtml and css compliance. The style-switcher of this site is one minor perk of this compliance, as is its accessibility in both much older browsers and alternate viewers for those with disabilities. Looking to the future, this sort of dynamic building approach makes sites like this functional on cutting-edge devices, such as PDAs, WebTV and cellular phones, an alternative internet market that is growing by leaps every month. Since the appearance of the page is held in exterior files, they only have to be downloaded once, shrinking file sizes (and load times) of pages dramatically, as well as making changes to the site-wide appearance a snap. Finally, sites built with an eye on xhtml compliance are much easier to modify and maintain down the road, particularly when compared with the classic 'table soup' method of layout that is both confusing and bulky.
My relationship with my clients is tremendously important to me. I pride myself on being easy to work with, and adept at helping to bring a client's vision to life (and often surpassing what they thought their web presence capable of). I do not consider myself a 'geek' in the sense of being socially dysfunctional or difficult to communicate with. I use comprehensible language to discuss technical ideas, while striving never to talk down to anyone. I have taught people with all levels of technical competency, and have had nothing but positive reactions during these interactions.
Finally, I take every site I develop as a reflection on myself. I do not believe in producing sub-par work, even if it means investing my own time to make sure something works properly. There have been a few occasions in the past when I was so distraught with what a product had become through client manhandling that I refused to put my name on it or associate myself with it in any way, even though they were pleased with the final result. I am confident that this will not happen again, through clear communication of both my vision and the client's vision of the project at the outset, before development has begun. I love the process of creation, and there are few things I enjoy as much as seeing the glad look on a client's face (or on their virtual face, at any rate) when they see their site finally realized. This is more than a job to me, it is a source of pride, an artistic outlet, and a calling.