Getting Started
So you need a website! You may have only a vague idea, or you may already have some graphics and page layouts done. I can work with a site at any stage of construction, and our initial consultation will help us determine what you need.
Before the Consultation
In order for your site to be as effective as possible, I urge you to think about your expectations and the role the website will play in your business or organization. Considering the answers to the questions below will make our first meeting more productive.
Why do you want/need a website?
A website can be as simple as an online brochure or the center of your business. Do you want to provide visitors with a teaser to get them in your store? Sell products online? Become a networking center for your clients or employees? All of the above?
Who is your target audience?
No one knows your business better than you. Who are your customers? What do they like about your business? Why do they come to you as opposed to your competitors? Are there particular colors, products, themes, or ideas that appeal to them? Taking a survey of your customers or even asking "how did you find out about us?" will give you loads of useful information.
What is your marketing plan and how does your website fit in?
Websites don't generate much traffic simply by existing. They have to offer something - products, information, ideas - AND people have to be able to find them. If you want to generate local business, you'll most likely want to complement your website with print, radio, and TV ads as well as online advertising. If you're exclusively e-commerce relying on a nationwide customer base, you'll probably want to advertise on TV and online. Learn about your customers' other interests and consider advertising in related publications and in places they frequent. If you don't have a marketing plan, I recommend you make one!
Are there any websites you particularly like? Any you dislike?
Seeing examples of what you do and don't like gives me a sense of your tastes and helps me design a site that's right for you. Feel free to send me links of example sites at any point in the design process, especially those of your competitors. Studying competitors' websites will help us figure out how to set your business apart.
Who will be responsible for maintaining your website?
Keeping a site up-to-date can be a time-consuming process, particularly if you're often adding new products to an e-commerce site. Some people like to do it all themselves, others prefer to have someone else worry about it. Once I design your site, I'm available for updates at any time, but I'll also make sure you have all the information you need to do it yourself or teach one of your employees.
Keep in mind that unless you're comfortable with HTML and CSS code, you'll need WYSIWYG software to update your site. Most web design professionals, including me, use Adobe Dreamweaver. Most other programs, such as Microsoft FrontPage, don't work that well, have poor CSS support, and insert messy code that makes pages load more slowly.
If you want a site that's easily updated with new content, I strongly recommend WordPress, especially if you don't know HTML or Dreamweaver and don't want to learn! WordPress is the most user-friendly option for non-technical people, and I do complete WordPress sites, including teaching you how to update it.
What's your budget?
Domain name registration costs about $10 - $35 per year. Website hosting starts around $10 a month for a 2-3 year contract and can go as high as $150 a month for e-commerce sites with large databases and heavy traffic. Web designers usually charge hourly for updates. Think about how much you can afford to spend and plan accordingly. More details can be found on my Rates page.
Who will provide the website's content?
I can provide as much or as little of the site's content as you need, including designing graphics and writing website copy. If you're not quite sure how to write for the web, you can send me a list of main points you'd like to make, and I'll write the copy.
Does your business have an existing brand, logo, or visual scheme?
Branding is the art of visual unity in a company's advertising plan. Your website's colors, fonts, and imagery should be consistent with your print and storefront design. If you're just starting out, I can design your logo, stationary, and business cards. If you prefer to use another graphic designer, it's best if we can communicate to make sure the website and the print design work well together.
If you have a brand you're not entirely happy with, a web design project is the perfect time to reexamine how you want to represent your business. As I design the site, we can test-drive new branding schemes before redesigning your print graphics as well.
What kinds of features do you need?
The simplest websites are just collections of files connected by links. That works just fine for many businesses, but you may want extra features such as image slideshows, streaming media, feedback forms, or an e-commerce system. You can also start out with a simple site and add features later as you generate more business.
Where do you see your website (and your business) in a year? In five years?
The Internet is always changing, and good websites change with it. I keep my websites clean and simple so that they're easier to update, expand, or redesign later, but keeping future plans in mind makes it easier to create a site that can grow and change with your business.
Glossary of Web Design Terms
- Browser
- A software program that allows you to view web pages, like Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari.
- CSS
- (Cascading Style Sheets) A type of code that provides powerful formatting and layout options for web pages. CSS controls the appearance of a web page, while HTML controls the structure. CSS-based pages look slicker, load faster, and offer more visual control than clunky table-based designs.
- Domain Name
- Your site's name or address on the Internet, e.g. www.yourcompanyname.com. There are a number of different domains, or categories, of websites: .com for commercial sites, .edu for academic institutions, .org for nonprofits, etc.
- E-Commerce System
- A system for selling products through a website, usually involving a database with the product information and a dynamic setup to deliver the information to the viewer. These can be custom built or out-of-the-box solutions by third-party manufacturers.
- Flash
- A type of media produced with Adobe Flash software. Flash produces animations and interactive site content with relatively small file sizes.
- FTP
- (File Transfer Protocol) A protocol, or set of rules, for computers to communicate online, usually to transfer files, e.g., uploading files to a website.
- HTML
- (HyperText Markup Language) The language of the web. Web pages are written in HTML code.
- Javascript
- A type of web code used for animations, navigation menus, and other goodies.
- Registrar
- A company responsible for registering and keeping track of domain names. Also called a domain registrar.
- Resolution
- The quality of a digital image, measured in pixels per inch (ppi). Images viewed on a computer monitor are composed of pixels - tiny squares each representing a single color, like mosaic tiles. Pixels have no fixed size, but are typically small enough that the eye naturally blends them together into a single picture. High-resolution images, used in print, must be 300 ppi or more. Web resolution is much lower, because most monitors can only display images at 72 ppi.
- Search Engine
- An online program which enables users to search the Internet. Google is the biggest, followed by Yahoo! and MSN.
- Server
- A computer dedicated to a unique purpose, such as making a website available online 24/7. When you publish a website, you copy the site files to a server owned by a web host.
- Static vs. Dynamic
- The two types of web pages. Static pages consist of just HTML and CSS code and don't change unless manually edited. Dynamic pages are automatically generated when a visitor to a site clicks a link or performs a search. Dynamic code sends the visitor's query to a database, grabs the information, and delivers it - for example, a list of search results.
- URL
- (Uniform Resource Locator) An address on the World Wide Web, such as http://www.halfsparkle.com.
- Web Host
- The company that publishes your website and maintains the server it's stored on. Hosts frequently offer domain registration, e-mail, technical support, and a variety of other services.
- Website
- A collection of HTML files, images, CSS files, and other media organized and connected by links and published on the World Wide Web.
- WYSIWYG
- (What You See Is What You Get) Refers to a software application, such as Adobe Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage, that allows users to create web pages without working directly with HTML code. Pronounced WIZ-ee-wig