Our lives are progressively becoming based online with every new technological feat. In time a consumer hard drive may be more for temporary storage for processing rather than storing your data. Even then there will be one aspect of computing that will remain the same - no backups can mean instant disaster. If your computer caught on fire right this second, what would you lose (other than some singed hair)? Most people know the importance of keeping a backup of their information, but very few actually have an efficient method in place to minimize the loss of work. So here are a few helpful hints on getting your data stored safely so that you can sleep better at night…you were having trouble sleeping because of this, right? (more…)

Last year I wrote a post about hiring a Web developer and what to look for in a general sense. In this post I will be going over some more specific tips in actually hiring a developer as an employee. If you are looking for a freelance or contract developer then these tips will still apply - so read on!

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Over the past year, the online service known as Twitter has exploded onto the social networking scene. Twitter allows you to tell the online world what exactly it is that you are doing at that very second. While you may think “great…another social networking feature to further divulge my personal business to the entire world”, Twitter can be a practical tool to help convey short point of interest to your Web site’s visitors. (more…)

When we begin a new project, our clients are always excited to begin promoting their services and/or product via their new Web site. One challenge that always presents itself with our clients is their desire to place everything on their home page. Their rationale is that if their potential customers happen to visit their Web site, the client wants them to see everything they have to offer as soon as the page loads. The client’s fear is that if their customers are not presented with all the information up front at once, then they will navigate away from the page. In reality, the opposite is true.

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I spoke on the phone with a client today who is ready to proceed with a Web site project for their business. Their company is growing rapidly and they know they need to expand their presence to the World Wide Web. They already have a domain name registered and want us to create a clean, professional Web site for them. The problem is they have no clue on how to get started.
Getting Started: An Outline

The first suggestion I always make to our clients that have no idea where to begin is to create an outline. An outline is an invaluable tool that can help you figure out exactly what to put on your Web site and where. Your top level items can serve as the main pages featured on your Web site, while the second-tier items are sub-level links that will appear on each main page (figure 1).

A well-constructed outline limits what and what is not considered a top level category. The same holds true for a Web site. You don’t want all of your links to be placed on the home page. You want your pages and information to be organized in a way that your audience is able to easily and quickly find what they are looking for.  You want your broadest categories to be links on your home page, to which your audience can then navigate downward to find the exact bit of information of interest to them.

Write Your Text

You have created your outline and you now understand how your Web site will be structured. What’s next? Writing the text for each page of course! Your primary concern should be making your text clear and to the point. Your audience is not going to spend minutes, even seconds reading every bit of text. Break your text up into sections, divided by clearly defined sub-heads. This way if your Web page requires scrolling, the viewer is still able to quickly glimpse at what is contained within the text.

The More Content the Better!

Providing us with as much information and content as you can about your company and/or product is always the best way to go. The more we know about who you are and what you are trying to accomplish, the more successful we will be in creating a Web site that truly represents you. The other day I had a client send me their company logo and a whole CD full of photographs and promotional materials to use when designing their Web site. This is extermely helpful from a design standpoint in that I am now able to pick and choose visual elements from the library of material thay have provided me with.

Let Us Do the Rest

Knowing what you want to say on your Web site and how it should be organized is half the battle. Once you have figured that out, we take it from there and use your thoughts and words to create a visually stunning, accessible and professional Web site.

I hope this article will help you get started on that Web site project you have been putting off indefintely. Call or e-mail us and we’ll be happy to guide you through the process from start to finish!