7 Steps to a Heavenly Website
Taking the complication out of Website Design
There are many things to think about when planning a website. This list is meant to be a spring board. It is, by no means, exhaustive, but it should help you begin. A good Web Designer should be able to help you with every step.
1. Plan Ahead- Your website will be a huge asset to you. Don’t make the mistake of rushing through it and just “throwing something together”. Determine WHY you want a website, WHO you want to reach, and WHAT you want to say to them. Then determine, with your web designer, if necessary, HOW you are going to reach them. This planning stage cannot be overlooked. Good planning will bring a successful website.
2. Define Your Audience- Who will be the main people that you attract to your site? This is extremely important. This should define how you write the copy for your web site, how you design your site, and who (and how) you attract people to your site. What technologies will your audience have? (i.e. If you know your demographic will have a slow internet connection, designing a website with lot of large pictures and flash files is probably not a good idea)
3. Keep Your User in Mind- It’s very easy to make a website based on what YOU want to put on it. But the more you try to see the site from the user’s eyes, the more successful the web site will be.
4. Content is King- Make sure that you have content (copy) that is compelling and concise. There are many sites that use 1000 words, when 100 is sufficient. Don’t fall into the trap of rambling. Users value their time, and if you don’t keep their attention, they will leave. If necessary, hire a copy writer. Good copy will set you apart.
5. Look and Feel- Users now have seen thousands and thousands of websites. They have seen the good, the bad, and the VERY ugly. They have been trained to recognize good design. If you do not fit into that category, you will loose reputability very fast. Also, make sure that your site fits into the look and feel (or brand) of the rest of your business.
6. Usability/ Accessibility- The internet is like no other medium because every user that comes to your site may have different technologies (different monitors, different operating systems, different browsers, pictures disabled, etc. ). For this reason, your website must be developed using technologies that will be available to your user. Your main goal is that no matter what device the user is using to look at your website, they will get the same content out of it.
It is virtually impossible to make every site look exactly the same to every user, but it IS something that should be kept in mind during the whole process. Remember, how you see it on your computer is NOT necessarily how someone else will see it.
7. Execute- Find a Web Designer that is capable of walking you through every one of these steps and offering you a professional solution to each one, and one that you can trust to bring them to fruition.
The Importance of Brand Identity- More than a Logo
Branding- Your Company's Biggest Asset
It has been said that your brand is your company's most important asset. Let's break that down.
Your brand is essentially your company image. When consumers think of your company or organization, what are the things they think about? This reaches well beyond a simple logo, to the way your stores look, the way your employees look and act, how consistent your image is across all media that you release, and many other factors.
Our society is becoming increasingly more knowledgeable and therefore more critical about the image organizations are portraying. They have higher expectations than ever before and, with it, a lower tolerance for anything that is below par.
Your Logo is a very tangible form of your brand- as well as your website and any media you release. Establishing a brand should address everything, from your logo, to business cards, to letterhead, to envelopes, and even to your website. Every single publication you ever produce should maintain a coherent look and feel (as well as similar verbiage, and tone in your text).
Here are some ways you can maintain your coherent brand:- Develop a logo that is high quality and really reflects who you are as a company. This does not necessarily mean that if you are a construction business that you should have a house, or that if you are a lawyer that you should use a scale. Developing a logo goes beyond the actual content, to the style and image you are portraying. A cheap logo will look cheap no matter how much it says what you do. Remember, you aren't just saying WHAT you do, you are also saying HOW you do it.
- Use your logo EVERYWHERE- Don't put out a single newsletter, invoice, letterhead, web page, or even email that doesn't have your logo on it. What you are doing here is developing a relationship with the consumer. They are getting more and more familiar with who you are and what you do.
- Use consistent colors on everything you do. If you use red- always use the exact same red.
- Don't stray too far from your image. If you are trying to be classic and reach a more mature crowd, don't advertise like Apple does to younger generations. If you are trying to establish how rugged your product is, don't use elegant fonts and colors to convey your message. The consumer will be confused.
- PLANNING is imperative- If you don't plan your BRAND out, you will likely not have a coherent message. Pick an image and stick with it!
