Web Site Design Principals

A business web site needs to accomplish several things before a person is interested in doing business with you. First you need to establish your creditability so, remember your web site is your "personal" representative. How you present information and the appearance of the site influences the buyers confidence level. You want to present the feeling that you are honest, professional and capabile of delivering the product/service they need. Your web site design affects the user's decision to stick around or continue surfing.

If your web site is poorly constructed, uninteresting, information is difficult to find, there is no information about you personally and maybe you site is just plain ugly ... you loose.

Studies show when a visitor enters your site you have 15-30 seconds to create your initial impression. Notice my 2 waiters, waiter #1 has a black suit and tie, waiter #2 is far more casual. How long does it take you looking at my 2 waiters to figure out who has the $150 dinner to serve you and who has the Blue Plate Special? That's about as long as it takes your visitor to determine his initial impression of your value and creditability.

Again, using the waiters as an example, the waiter #1 could also be serving you a $25 dinner but you feel that you are getting top notch service because of the presentation or his appearance. The only difference between the 2 waiters is one is neat and cleaned up, which presents the impression of quality ... plus awareness of the small details, as one waiter had the bread knife sticking out of the bread, the other has the knife laying in the basket. They both carry a towel, however one knowing that a clean white towel will present a better image of "class" then a checkered towel. Even if they are both serving you exactly the same dinner at the same price, you will feel that the quality is higher with waiter #1.

Now that you understand the importance of developing creditability with your visitor, lets explore some of the methods used in developing your site to the maximun potential.

What makes an Effective Business Web Site?

Even though this marketing media is still young, it can and does work well to create new and successful businesses. You will find that conscepts used in brochures, television or radio ads are approached in a different manner. However in all marketing the bottom line is the same, you want to create a desire or need for somebody to purchase what you have to offer. Before you begin a site there are a few things you need to clearly define to accomplish this result.

How to Get all of your ducks in a row!

Questions for you to consider:

Have you written a detailed definition of your product or service?
Who is your target audience?
Who are you and Who will benefit from what you have to offer?
What exactly is your product or service with detailed and clear information?
What can you do to brand your product or service?
Why do they need your product or service?
What visuals will spark an positive emotional response?

Ask Yourself...

Some questions for you to be prepaired to answer include:

What is the project?
Is there content for the site, or will that be written by the designer?
How many pages will need to be created?
Are there images and/or design that need to be used, or will they be created as part of the project?
Will there be any Flash, multimedia, programming or scripting required?
When do you need your proejct completed.

Please contact PNW Web Design at Sandy@pnwwebdesign.com to evaluate your needs and for a quote.