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So you think you are ready for a new website? Wanting a website is only the first step in many. I have written this guide to help customers realize the initial steps that should be taken before we start the actual creation of a site. These are great strategies to use for any web design company, and is certainly a cornerstone to the commitment of quality Fusionstream offers.
- Realizing a website can leverage your business - A website can be a powerful tool in your business's arsenal. Depending on your industry, a website can do things for you that your traditional "brick and mortar" business cannot. For example, at 2AM, if a customer wants to get information on your products or download a form, he or she can do it with disregard to your normal operating hours. You may even be able to sell a product 24 hours a day!
- Determining what parts of your business can be digitized - A contact Form with intelligent choices for your customers to choose from is like having a digital assistant forwarding your emails. Product information, videos that demonstrate things, manuals and phone/address info are all things that can be easily added to a website. Answering the top 5 or 10 questions your typical customer asks is a great way to add content to your website. Smart maps allow your customer to get directions from anywhere (like google maps) is yet another useful feature.
- Marketing - What message do you want to display to your customers? There are many factors to consider when creating the "look and feel" for your website, long before you ever see a design. Colors invoke moods that can benefit your products and services. Check out a few color descriptions from this Wikipedia entry on color psychology:
Red |
Passion, strength, energy, fire, love, sex, excitement, speed, heat, arrogance, ambition, leadership, masculinity, power, danger, gaudiness |
Blue |
Seas, men, productive(interior) skies, peace, unity, harmony, tranquility, calmness, coolness, confidence, conservatism, water, ice, loyalty, dependability, cleanliness, technology |
Black |
Absence, modernity, power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, style, evil, death (Western cultures), fear, anonymity, anger, sadness, remorse, mourning, unhappiness |
Choosing colors that match the message you are trying to sell. Red invokes hunger, white is seen as innocent and pure, blue is seen as a color that represents technology (just like this website).
In addition to colors, there are many other aspects of marketing to consider, like choosing an appropriate domain name for your company; using proper images that are relevant to your content and message; using language that is used by your customers (versus some other formal term). Identifying your target audience and using themes, colors and verbiage that they can identify with is key to launching a website that will be successful.
- Prototyping your website - Making a 'rough draft' of a website doesn't require the efforts of a Photoshop master. You can sketch out the things you want on a website prior to any actual development. This is an excellent way to learn a few things prior to the actual web design/development process. This is often called a low fidelity design. Doing this can allow you to run your design by potential customers, asking them if they would know what to click on when looking for a certain thing. This helps you identify the proper customer language, so that the buttons on your website are named optimally. If you have access to someone familiar with photoshop, then higher fidelity designs can be created.
At this point you have a better grasp on how to move forward with your website design and development. The lingering questions of what and how are in much clearer focus, allowing you to move forward with your ambitions with much more confidence.
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