A lot of individuals or companies, small and large, choose to go on-line with very little thought given to the impression their on-line presence has, kind of like throwing those old sneakers up on the power lines… “what’s that about?”
Having a web site is like having a virtual salesperson – someone who is able to get into any home, office or company – anywhere in the world. If you were hiring someone for this position you’d probably think twice if they arrived for the interview wearing an aquamarine coloured suit and a flashing bow tie – shouting when they spoke! Sadly, someone did hire him – there are web site equivalents to this salesperson; a page with an aquamarine background with blinking text… ALL IN UPPERCASE! What if that salesperson wore a mask and was too big to fit through the customers door and spoke a language your client couldn’t understand. On web sites, this occurs all the time – splash pages that provide no information at all just a pretty picture and an enter here button, opening pages that include large sound files and huge graphics that a visitor might not have the connection speed to be able to download or content that requires specific plug-ins or a design that only works in one browser – and it’s not yours!!
Build it right and they will come… and they will keep coming back, and will probably refer their friends and associates! A good web site has been carefully thought out, careful consideration has been given to the impression your on-line presence will have. A web site needs to be designed in the visual sense, as well as the structural and navigational. Presentation, structure, navigation and content – a successful site has all four! And a site can be appealing by what it has, as well as what it doesn’t have. All the bells and whistles are nice but not if it takes away from the purpose of the web site. Visitors to your site want a quick loading, easy to navigate site, that provides them with the information they’re looking for. Bells and whistles are okay, but they should provide functionality and appeal, and when used properly they can make your site more of an experience for your visitors!
Going the do it yourself cookie cutter route can be a dangerous path, first it doesn’t do anything to set yourself apart from all those other web sites and if you get into trouble with the HTML or CSS or do I use Flash or HTML 5 issues, it may cost you both financially and time wise.
If you’re thinking of creating a new web site or redesigning your existing one give Luckham Creative a call! We have the skill and the expertise to get your site built, and built right!
