Keeping in mind that your website is your brand, it is important to understand your business goals and objectives. Far too often companies develop websites that are not in keeping with their established brand. Visitors to your site will quickly size you up and move on if you do not communicate the information they expect to find.

This discovery process is key to connecting the departments in your company that are responsible for different aspects of day to day operations. Getting input from Marketing, Sales, Customer Support and others will insure no aspect of your customers needs are left un- represented.

The Look. Much like choosing the decor for your 'Brick & Mortar', or the offices in your building, the templating and color palette must again reflect your Brand and Purpose. A Restaurant website will have a completley different set of design parameters as say an Insurance Company. I have been on many National Chain food sites that would be better suited to selling Insurance. It is important that your Web Design Company understand marketing and sales to best serve your interest. It is not enough to simply plaster a logo on a stock template. Your customers will see thru it and move on. You are a unique company and your web must reflect that in order to generate conversion. ( You will hear Web Conversion alot from our company. We believe it to be the single most important factor when designing a web prescence. It is one thing to drive traffic to your site, but converting them to customers is the ultimate measure of success. It is more cost effective to raise your conversion percentage than drive more traffic. This is a statiscal fact.)

Functions. There is an endless variety of functionality that can be implemented in your site. Do you need a form for vistors to fill out and send to you via the web? Or maybe an online poll that displays real-time results. Forums, photo sharing, video upload, newsletters, blogs, calendars and user registration are all types of functionality. You can book reservations, download documents, the list is endless. Using interactive media will set you apart from competitors and allow you to gain valuable insight to your visitors. This is Web 2.0, and it is now the standard for modern websites.

The Budget. Knowing your budget will be the deciding factor in the complexity and functionality of your site. Many of our clients chose to implement the web design in stages. Bringing the most important features to the forefront and adding the other features in increments. This is actually the smartest way to proceed if budget does not allow for a full version from the start. All of the navigation and design layout is prepared with the upcoming add ons in mind, making a seemless transition for your visitors. This prevents starts and stops or downtime during the upgrades. It is a great option for developing on an annual budget.

Revue & Edit. We initially build in a "Blind Site" which is actually published from the internet but is only visible to those who have been given access. This serves two important purposes. One, we do not have to interfere with an existing site you may have, and you can actually see the progress of the site live from the web. You will have ample opportunity to make adjustments to the content and layout.