Bogdan Pop : Web development , Photography , Dj

My company, Raptor Design, has just got a contract to develop a financial consultation company’s website. What they do is this. They have contracts with different banks, here in Romania, they gather information regarding what type of credits, checking or saving accounts each bank has to offer, and then they create all the documents you need so that you are sure you get what you want, and most importantly, at the best rate for you.

Among the site, we need to create a marketing campaign for this company, media documents and so on. This is why few days ago I started looking for related websites, or checking out ads on local TV, newspapers and so on.

This is why I have come upon this website which offers cd rates, from banks in US. Of course, their website is completely different from what I expected such a website to be. It is very much of a information portal, as opposed to a company’s website, which presents it’s services. When I first found it on Google, I thought I found the second type website, the one which my company needs to build too.

However, they are quite good. They show a bunch, and by a bunch I mean a lot, of saving account, checking or cd accounts offers, with their yields right next to it, links to reviews, which are written by clients that have opted for those offers and so on.

Just think of this similarly to those tourism reviews sites. You always check them out before you go on vacation. The same you should do in this domain, before going for a savings account for example. Perhaps this way you will find an offer twice as good as the one you were about to take.

Their website has a few visual artifacts, but I suppose that is due because I am on Macintosh. What I was surprised to see is that their site has partial XHTML, partial HTML sources, so I guess they began a nice and smooth transition to modern technologies, which is great!

So, before going to the bank, or to a credit union, check them out. The information is very useful, or at least it was for me.

Cheers!

I remember this from Spain last September, when I was a bit astonished of how much tiles Spanish people use in their decorating. Today, I have stumbled upon a glass tiles website. It is available in English, and yes, you guessed well, Spanish.

First of all, the website has that black background, which is like hovering above the browser, if you take a peek into its borders. I don’t think that background is such a good idea. I know, they probably thought that the tiles will be a bit more expressive and easier to see, but it looks so ugly up to the point to which it turns the website into a turn off.

Such a presentation website, especially when it comes to interior/exterior design (using the glass tiles). Also, the header, with logo and slogan (which is missing) is not very good, as if you’re coming by mistake over there, you can think this is a website with textures web designers may download and use, as opposed to tiles.

Also, it would have been wonderful if they had also some portfolio of where their tiles have been used, but that is missing. Seeing all those tiles next to each other can’t make you imagine the big picture, the whole design, so these portfolios, or examples, would be very much appreciated.

Now, the source… Oh yes, the source. The good thing is that they have a doctype. I am funy, aren’t I? Well, yes, they have a doctype, and that’s when I see how things go wrong. HTML, table based layout, missing alt tags and the list goes on. The bottom line is that the source emphasizes the poor design, which is definitely very old and outdated.

Conclusion: Great tiles, would love to see them on actual sites (houses, hotels etc), poor website.

Cheers!