Favorite Studio Websites

[mtstudi@pacbell]

Sterling has a great website. You can even eat the donut in cafeteria and drink the coffee.

Launch Sterling Sound

[DSD_Mastering]

Originally Posted by mtstudi@pacbell

Sterling has a great website. You can even eat the donut in cafeteria and drink the coffee.

It's alright.. I'd rather see real photos instead of an artist rendition. Took a while to get in though.

Regards,
Bruce

[Gravity8058]

Matt, look no further!

Gravity Studios | A Chicago Recording Studio | Chicago, Illinois

[Harvey Gerst]

We tried to give the potential customers about everything they might need to know and still keep it simple:

ITRstudio

[Rednose]

Originally Posted by Gravity8058

Matt, look no further!

Gravity Studios | A Chicago Recording Studio | Chicago, Illinois

Doug, your site was on the list I sent my webmaster.
Gotta trade links when I'm done!

[Rednose]

Originally Posted by Harvey Gerst

We tried to give the potential customers about everything they might need to know and still keep it simple:

ITRstudio

Thanks for your valuable time guys, its much appreciated.
Theres some great ideas...some literally made my head spin.

Sorry it took a bit to get back to you, i've been condo hunting for
the past month. Found the pad I dug, but the girlfriend wasn't crazy about my swank 1 bedroom with a balcony view of the city.
Back to two bedroom box for me
Keep in mind my low budget. He qouted me alot more but I told him what I can afford at the moment.
Harvey, I really dug your layout, very simple, to the point and probably in my price range in a stripped down version.
Matt

[SkunkWorks]

I have mixed feelings about Flash sites... as a web designer and developer, myself, I'll admit it's rather hypocritical of me that I enjoy producing Flash based sites while I dislike visting other people's Flash based sites. Probably because when I visit someone else's website I usually want to find information and find it fast and have the content in an easily saveable format (pics, video, text etc.) My own website is done in Flash, the difference being that one of my site's intended purposes is to showcase my abilities in certain web and/or design technologies or implemenations such as Flash to potential clients.

Anyone considering a Flash site for themselves should be aware that they are still very search engine "unfriendly" Mine doesn't even show up on google at all because of my Flash based preloader page (was necessary because my site is just a copy of what was originally a cd based portfolio) and google will not "crawl" it. For myself, I can live with that as I get my business from referals and my site is something I point a potential client to after the fact of already having initial contact with them... that situation would probably not apply to many or most businesses, which are going to desire and/or require search engine presence and high rankings.

[headwerkn]

it might be hypocritical, but i too go straight for the text only or lofi version each time ;-)

[Matthew Murray]

I have to set the record straight: Flash is FULLY compatible with search engines, it just takes more time to develop with that in mind, and in essence more money.

You can build an entire website in HTML/CSS *in the background* behind a flash site. If the user doesn't have flash, they'll see your HTML version without even being prompted.

Google also obviously doesn't see the flash part, and instead crawls the HTML version.

So you guys can hate Flash because certain developers make it obnoxious to sift through (ie. a ten minute intro, which I despise) ... but if used properly and cleanly, Flash can be a quicker-loading, slick technology. And with SWFObject (the technology used to employ the above SEO friendliness), there are far fewer cons against Flash these days than ever.

Sorry, was just itching me. Lots of misinformation gets spread about the difference between Flash and HTML sites ... much like misinformation in the gear world.

[mcguin]

check us out -

ISW Studios, St. Thomas Virgin Islands

To us it's about the vibe of being here.

As we say - "a world class recording studio in paradise"

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by Harvey Gerst

We tried to give the potential customers about everything they might need to know and still keep it simple:

ITRstudio

Hey Harvey is all of that still in a double wide?

[Vandergraf]

Originally Posted by Mike Caffrey

Personally, I hate Flash websites. I'm probably in the minority.

I like a little flash, but when you have to wade through epic productions just to get to the meat of the site (like the dog one), forgetaboutit!

[not_so_new]

There are very few things I am 100% black and white about.... but flash websites are one of them.



Flash BLOWS.

Yes it looks nice but there are many great looking straight HTML sites as well. Instead of getting all cute just present me with a good looking site that presents the info that I want in an easy to use manner.

If I have to wait for your site to load for 2 minutes or download and install software before I get any info I will happily be on my way to some other site that does not make it hard for me to get YOUR information.

It's kind of egotistical in some regards to use a flash site. Here I am the lowly web surfing cat just looking to check your site out to see if I want to be a customer and you make me wait for your fluff?

Let's say I were in a huge shopping mall. I walk up to a store front to buy something and I have to wait a minute before I am even able to open the front door am I really going to stick around? Should I?

Let's say I do decide to stick around and once I get in the front door I am blasted with loud music, flashing lights that confuse me and no clear layout to the store am I going to stay? I might be interested for a bit but I don't think I would stick around long enough to actually purchase something.

That is the Internet and flash sites in my eyes.

Sorry for the rant but flash really gets under my skin.

[dokushoka]

Another huge point against flash is that it does not work on many (most) mobile devices.

[rainy-taxi]

Originally Posted by Matthew Murray

I have to set the record straight: Flash is FULLY compatible with search engines, it just takes more time to develop with that in mind, and in essence more money.

Yeah, more time, more money and customers always want to pay as little as possible.

You can build an entire website in HTML/CSS *in the background* behind a flash site. If the user doesn't have flash, they'll see your HTML version without even being prompted.

Why make up a whole html/css website and a flash site and even having the flash thing overlay the stuff (and using the css for that part of your audience that doesnt have flash installed)?
Its time consuming, makes non-sense and also takes lots of bandwith

Google also obviously doesn't see the flash part, and instead crawls the HTML version.

Well of course you can use metatags but still its unhandy and takes more time to fix. In fact, you are just using a technology with some shortcomings (a technology which wasn't developed for this purpose in the first place) and now try to fix the shortcomings with adding more code, hacks and other stuff...

So you guys can hate Flash because certain developers make it obnoxious to sift through (ie. a ten minute intro, which I despise) ... but if used properly and cleanly, Flash can be a quicker-loading, slick technology. And with SWFObject (the technology used to employ the above SEO friendliness), there are far fewer cons against Flash these days than ever.

Sorry, was just itching me. Lots of misinformation gets spread about the difference between Flash and HTML sites ... much like misinformation in the gear world.

I know what you mean but the thing is, I never saw it as a webdevelopment tool and I certainly dont like the direction, Adobe is heading to now with flash. Flash itself, used as a display tool for Flex content is certainly great and I love that. But object oriented flash? Comon, its an animation tool, or by stretching it, a simple tool for building some more interactive stuff like simple games etc. Makes me learn AS3 instead of just going futher with AS2.

Also, I still don't see the lots of advantages. There is Ajax, DHTML and still plain old javascript to do the majority of animation stuff and making websites dynamic (and of course, old school php and stuff like that) and interactive. Why use flash? Because of its "fancy graphics"? (Just write good css code and be clever with illustrator and you get there) or its "possibilities"?

Imho, just use the tools where they are made for. The reason most flash websites suck is just because its a tool that its used wrong and confuses users. Because the stuff you can create is endless, its usually bad for usability. Webdesign is one of the most difficult disciplines I ever encountred. You need to find the balance between functionality, usability and brand experience. Problem is that most webdesigners always overtend to unbalance it with adding a lot of one of the 3 mentioned things, but not balancing it with the other 2 elements.

Of course, this happens with normal css/php/xhtml ajax what ever sites. But especially Flash based websites suffer from this, because the tool just invites and seduces to make beautiful designs and do lots with animations, media and other stuff. Most of the time, usability is the element that doesn't get the attention its needed, which leads to irritated customers and surfers that just will click away because they like your design but still can't figure out the content.

Give me html/css/php and Im happy :) Not that I hate flash, it has its charmes and good purposes but Im a strong believer in flash for animative stuff and games/ rich content applications (or mobile with device central, which is pretty cool I think !) and stuff like html/css/php/javascript for websites.

[rainy-taxi]

Originally Posted by not_so_new

There are very few things I am 100% black and white about.... but flash websites are one of them.



Flash BLOWS.
etc...

Very valid points and thats what I just mentioned, though from a different perspective. Its usually lots of "emotion", design and animation, but not usability and great content... (or my favourite, SIMPLICITY)

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by dokushoka

Another huge point against flash is that it does not work on many (most) mobile devices.

Great point.

Again if the point of your web site is to show me your products / services / views why make it difficult for me?

[turbo46]

Originally Posted by rcm

This one is pretty nice (it would be hard to make a site or this place look bad)

Allaire Studios- The Studios


+Keep your navigation really simple.

+Use lots of photos that load quickly

+Keep in mind that most of your customers will not get sold on technical specs as much as vibe and a good story

It's located in a beautiful place; Sterling is the best one

[SkunkWorks]

Originally Posted by Matthew Murray

I have to set the record straight: Flash is FULLY compatible with search engines, it just takes more time to develop with that in mind, and in essence more money.

You can build an entire website in HTML/CSS *in the background* behind a flash site. If the user doesn't have flash, they'll see your HTML version without even being prompted.

Google also obviously doesn't see the flash part, and instead crawls the HTML version.

So you guys can hate Flash because certain developers make it obnoxious to sift through (ie. a ten minute intro, which I despise) ... but if used properly and cleanly, Flash can be a quicker-loading, slick technology. And with SWFObject (the technology used to employ the above SEO friendliness), there are far fewer cons against Flash these days than ever.

Sorry, was just itching me. Lots of misinformation gets spread about the difference between Flash and HTML sites ... much like misinformation in the gear world.

Mathew. I realize that, and I should have said something because I knew someone was probably going to bring that up... but that's kind of my point... it requires building a separate site... I was refering to a Flash site on its own. Almost every time I've explained this to a client and how much more work it will require and added cost they usually say forget it... if you have to build an html site anyway then lets just do the html site only, maybe with a few Flash elements in it if it fits the budget. What I said about Flash itself holds true and I use my own Flash site to demonstrate this clients. No misinformation man, relax ;) Peace.

[SkunkWorks]

Originally Posted by not_so_new

There are very few things I am 100% black and white about.... but flash websites are one of them.



Flash BLOWS.

Yes it looks nice but there are many great looking straight HTML sites as well. Instead of getting all cute just present me with a good looking site that presents the info that I want in an easy to use manner.

If I have to wait for your site to load for 2 minutes or download and install software before I get any info I will happily be on my way to some other site that does not make it hard for me to get YOUR information.

It's kind of egotistical in some regards to use a flash site. Here I am the lowly web surfing cat just looking to check your site out to see if I want to be a customer and you make me wait for your fluff?

Let's say I were in a huge shopping mall. I walk up to a store front to buy something and I have to wait a minute before I am even able to open the front door am I really going to stick around? Should I?

Let's say I do decide to stick around and once I get in the front door I am blasted with loud music, flashing lights that confuse me and no clear layout to the store am I going to stay? I might be interested for a bit but I don't think I would stick around long enough to actually purchase something.

That is the Internet and flash sites in my eyes.

Sorry for the rant but flash really gets under my skin.

I agree with you totally... and those are prefect examples of a tired old school and cliche implementation of Flash. Not everyone, thankfully, does it in this way anymore though... in fact. if you are on a well done Flash site without all the standard cliches you probably won't even realize you're on one.

[SkunkWorks]

Originally Posted by rainy-taxi

Comon, its an animation tool, or by stretching it, a simple tool for building some more interactive stuff like simple games etc.

That used to be true, and for me, it still is because that's as far as I'm willing to go with it. But the stuff Flash can do these days is mind blowing as far as back end goes and it does it in a cross platform cross browser way... if a client is willing to spend that kind of dough. That's not something I'm willing to deal with myself though... will stick to the animation and slight interactivity. Just wanted to point that out because I've seen it stated a few times in this thread that the web is not Flash's intended purpose, which I find kind of a bizarre statement... maybe not originally (a decade ago?) I would hardly say that now. I don't think some people seem to realize what it can do these days back end wise or realize most of the time when they are even on a site that's using it as a quite serious back end as well as a front end. Again, I'm not trying to blindly defend Flash. I prefer to stay away from it when possible unless my client is willing to pay significantly more for it.

[Harvey Gerst]

Originally Posted by Musiclab

Hey Harvey is all of that still in a double wide?

The SSL Mixdown room is in Lewisville, but everything else is still in the doublewide.

[bongo]

I tried to keep mine simple and to the point. There's a flash intro, but you can skip right away. I tried to give quick info on the rooms and gear. You can dig deeper if you wish. I'm about to redo the control room, so there will be a web update also.

To paraphrase Nip/Tuck: Tell me what you don't like about my website!


`

[nomatic]

www.hideoutstudios.com

[rainy-taxi]

Originally Posted by SkunkWorks

That used to be true, and for me, it still is because that's as far as I'm willing to go with it. But the stuff Flash can do these days is mind blowing as far as back end goes and it does it in a cross platform cross browser way... if a client is willing to spend that kind of dough. That's not something I'm willing to deal with myself though... will stick to the animation and slight interactivity. Just wanted to point that out because I've seen it stated a few times in this thread that the web is not Flash's intended purpose, which I find kind of a bizarre statement... maybe not originally (a decade ago?) I would hardly say that now. I don't think some people seem to realize what it can do these days back end wise or realize most of the time when they are even on a site that's using it as a quite serious back end as well as a front end. Again, I'm not trying to blindly defend Flash. I prefer to stay away from it when possible unless my client is willing to pay significantly more for it.

Its imho not that flash isn't build for web (in fact, it really is !) but they change their stuff a lot at adobe. Flash is now already fully web2.0 with flex integration and object oriented actionscript. And its also a mobile application development tool. I did some stuff with device central and its really impressive I think.

I don't have anything against using flash on the web, its made for it. But Im still against building complete websites in flash.
One of the other things I really dislike is that flash needs to be installed (and as we developers always have the new versions, our flash content is always newest version, so the user has to upgrade to the newest version too with their player) and also that it hijacks your browsers controls. You can't just press back to go to the previous visited page. The stop control usually doesn't work either. And refreshing means loading the whole flash thingie again (maybe including intro...)

Customers have to come with very valid reasons to make use of flash. Its a bit like CMS systems. Everyone wants a CMS but just a few can actually use it and get the benefits of it...

btw. building a tshirt ordering application in flash at the moment (took apple as the company).

[bkositzky]

Even for a flash site, Chalice has a nice and clean looking page.

http://www.chalicerecording.com/