This section contains evaluations of each software I experiment with, acting as a reminder of the pros and cons of each. To browse through experiments with the below software, please visit the 'Experiments' section.

WIX

WIX website builder was very easy to use and only £3/month minimum to add a domain, remove ads, etc. Embedding video content and uploading images was extremely fast and image content could be manipulated into different angles and sizes. There are a wealth of fonts, buttons and colour ways to choose from. WIX's easy-to-use formatting and design makes website building fun, and it is enjoyable to trail different layouts and content types as a result. I was able to make simple, translucent stamp-style buttons (though they appeared a little flat as no texture could be added) and choose from a wealth of easy-to-read fonts.

While the website was relatively customisable, there were some elements that remained static; embedded video content could not be rotated or resized and it seems that pop-up windows are unavailable to create. This could be due to my inexperience with WIX, however, it feels like more simple designs are favoured by the software. Additionally, images and in-text words cannot be hyperlinked to other content. This meant that WIX's pre-existing buttons and icons must be used, which creates a standardised aesthetic for the website. I also hope to add animation onto the homepage, with the box opening and 'panning' inside, but I am unsure whether WIX would be able to handle the required renders, as there are currently no accessible options for such.

WIX is a good, solid option for website building. However, as I am looking to create something that is more experimental and future-proof, I would like to trail some more unconventional designs that are not available to create using this software. I will certainly look to WIX again if I am resort to a low budget, self-created website.

Home page

Stamp-style button

Home page

Overview

About page

'About' page unable to exist as a pop-up

Home page

Stamp-style button

1/6

SQUARESPACE

Squarespace is very similar to WIX, though more expensive at £16/year for the domain alone, and each optional extra being an additional cost. It is a simple to use website builder that is well-navigated and relatively customisable. I was able to very quickly create a gallery using one of Squarespace's preset add-ons, however, images and videos had to be contained in separate galleries. This made things somewhat difficult, especially given that I want to create something that resembles a digital collage. Using free space to hold a collage-esque gallery was much harder to navigate and much more fiddly than on WIX.

I also found that Squarespace was more limiting than WIX in terms of customisation, and slightly less enjoyable to use too. Manipulating pages to fit your design vision was a lot more clunky as there was a lot of back and forth between settings menus. While there was a wide range of templates available, each tailored to the type of content your site was to contain, I found them all to look rather corporate and uninspiring. Many followed a white background, minimalist style that did not resonate with Don't Ask, Just Come, and I found that the options I had to choose from were functional rather than design-minded.

For creating simple designs, within a template, and in an extremely quick fashion, Squarespace would be the obvious choice. Yet, for my vision of a more experimental, unconventional digital space, Squarespace is not an option I would consider.

CARGO COLLECTIVE

Cargo Collective has a very inspiring range of templates available, I browsed through their selection for a long time, finding myself applying my content to their range of unconventional designs. I chose a blank template, as the other options, though extremely enticing, felt specifically customised and individually branded. I want to create something that feel entirely unique to Don't Ask, Just Come, rather than attaching the archive to a preset theme. Though I did create a new design idea for the Don't Ask, Just Come based on the inspirational websites I have documented in the image gallery below. The design negates the need for pop-up windows, instead displaying the homepage box idea alongside the 'About' section and the archive itself.

I found that Cargo Collective had a good range of option for inputting images, automatic randomisation and allowing visitors to manually move the images themselves. I enjoyed the variation and interactivity this provided. However, Cargo Collective was difficult to use without the templates to help format things. I was unable to comprehend how to create columns and embed video content, and unfortunately the live help aid was unavailable at the time due to the pandemic. I hope to return to Cargo Collective in the future; the builder required some prior knowledge of HTML, which I do not have, though I am willing to learn. That, however, will take far more time than I currently have for the project proposal. So I am keeping Cargo Collective in mind for a forthcoming execution of Don't Ask, Just Come.