There are two competing forces at play in
web design:
- Graphic Design: Most of the
time, web design is created entirely from the perspective of the
visual…if it looks good; it must be a good site. Unfortunately, where
e-commerce is concerned (i.e. profits and sales as opposed to just
entertainment), putting “looks” ahead of usability can not only
minimize your site’s effectiveness, it can actually do great harm. If
a site visitor can’t navigate, can’t find information, and can’t
perform basic tasks, even the most beautifully designed site will NOT
offset a negative experience. To make matters worse, not only is the
negative experience associated with the site, it is associated with
the BRAND.
- Technical Design (aka
computer programming and most graphic designers): Effective site
design is also a reflection of good communication skills. While some
of the sharpest individuals I know are software programmers and
graphic designers, most lack communication skills and improving them
is not a priority. Survey after survey shows that given a choice of
improving technical skills or improving communication skills,
technical always wins out. What might be entirely logical in the mind
of the folks that brought you DOS, CRM, ATI, ATM, XML, PHP, NAS, VPN,
graphic design, and all variations thereof … just might not be so
logical to the person trying to find a red, size 10, shirt.
The end result? The vast majority of Web sites are seriously flawed.
We've been building web sites since 1998 and through that time both
the technology and the sophistication of web sites has grown
enormously. Although the science of building a web site has changed,
the basic premise has not. Building a web site is so you can display or
sell your product or service in the best possible graphic design
environment.
To do this, we believe strongly that:
- bells and whistles should be used very judiciously...if at all
- content will win your customer every time
- web sites should be built intuitively, so that the customer knows
exactly where they are going, and how to get back to where they were
- there's more than just pretty graphics that make a web site—there
is the code behind the site that must be maximized if your site is to
show up in the search engines and be spidered correctly—your site
must be written correctly, with content showing up in the proper
places
- for the best
possible marketing solution, it is advisable to integrate your web
into your overall marketing plan. If you plan on throwing up a
web site with the expectations that people will flock to it and
you'll become a millionaire overnight—it just won't happen. You will
need to drive traffic to your site—brochure or e-commerce—one way or
another.
If you choose a web design firm with no marketing expertise, you are
setting yourself up for failure. The firm you choose must know how your
customer interacts with a site, how to write copy effectively for
direct response, how to maximize the marketing of your site after it
goes on-line, and must have the technical knowledge to assure you of a
site that is always up, always on, and always working to build your
business.
Let us show you how
differently we approach your project. It will be time well spent.
We subscribe to the
American Marketing Association Code of Ethics and the
Graphic
Artist's Guild Code of Ethics.
Let Carnright Design be your graphic
design team member to help create memorable marketing and advertising
materials and strengthen your brand. |
