Fort Wayne Web Design

Quality web design is one of the most crucial factors in the creation of your site. After all, first impressions are everything. If your site doesn't grab a customer's attention immediately, chances are they're not going to stick around long enough to see what you have to offer. Think of your Web site as your window to the world. You're going to want a Web site that is reflective of who you are and what you do. Customers who are not familiar with your business will associate the quality of your Web site with the quality of your business.

Some of the key fundamentals of web design we incorporate into all of our sites are listed below:

Color Schemes and Font Selection

No Web site is worse than one with a turquoise background with large pink fonts. Careful attention must be paid when choosing a color scheme and font family for your new site. Complementary, easy-on-the-eye colors will look best.

Page Layout and Navigation

Your Web site should be presented in a clean, concise, easy-to-follow manner. Navigation through your site should be intuitive and user-friendly. Have you ever been to a site and have had trouble finding information or even gotten lost? So have we. That's why we ensure it won't happen on our clients' sites.

Screen Resolution

While the lucky few cruise the web with their 21" flat-screen monitors, many of us are still stuck with our 15" monitors and an 800x600 screen resolution. Translation: scrollbars. We take this fact into account when we design our sites. That way, your site will look great regardless of monitor size and screen resolution.

File Size

Let's face it. Nobody likes to wait. Inexperienced web designers will not optimize your graphic files to their smallest possible size without losing their integrity. Have you ever visited a site just to tap your fingers waiting minutes for the pictures to load? Never worry about that with one of our sites.

Building a New Site?

We begin with a consultation to determine the functional needs of your site. We then identify the technical resources required to meet those needs, and work out with you an estimate for the best cost/benefit approach.

We act as your agent in obtaining a domain name and web hosting provider.

We then work with you to identify the content for the site, including decisions about navigation schemes to accommodate the needs of all potential types of user so that clear and efficient access is provided regardless of prior experience with the site or differing objectives of different visitors.

When we construct the actual pages to your specification, we work closely with you to achieve the "look and feel" you want for your site. We implement the required infrastructure and code to give the site its functionality. This may include database design and connectivity, javascript and ColdFusion programming.

We do this in a work area of our own site where you can watch and critique the process. Only when you are satisfied do we transfer the work to the 'live' site and open the doors to the public.

Goals and Strategies

The first step in designing any Web site is to define your goals. Without a clearly stated mission and objectives the project will drift, bog down, or continue past an appropriate endpoint. Careful planning and a clear purpose are the keys to success in building Web sites.

• What is the mission of your organization?
• How will creating a Web site support your mission?
• What are your two or three most important goals for the site?
• Who is the primary audience for the Web site?
• What do you want the audience to think or do after having visited your site?
• What Web-related strategies will you use to achieve those goals?
• How will you measure the success of your site?
• How will you adequately maintain the finished site?
• How many pages will the site contain? What is the maximum acceptable count under this budget?
• What special technical or functional requirements are needed?
• What is the budget for the site?
• What is the production schedule for the site, including intermediate milestones and dates?

These are big questions, and the broad conceptual issues are too often dismissed as committees push toward starting the "real work" of designing and building a Web site. However, if you cannot confidently answer all of these questions, then no amount of design or production effort can guarantee a useful result.

Know Your Audience

The next step is to identify the potential readers of your Web site so that you can structure the site design to meet their needs and expectations. The knowledge, background, interests, and needs of users will vary from tentative novices who need a carefully structured introduction to expert "power users" who may chafe at anything that seems to patronize them or delay their access to information. A well-designed system should be able to accommodate a range of users' skills and interests. For example, if the goal of your Web site is to deliver internal corporate information, human resources documents, or other information formerly published in paper manuals, your audience will range from those who will visit the site many times every day to those who refer only occasionally to the site.

Do You Already Have a Web site?

We can provide services ranging from complete redesign and reconstruction to minor face lifts or addition of new functions or pages using your existing designs.

We will meet with you to understand the desired changes or extensions and analyze the existing site to identify what will be required to accomplish them, including the impact on existing code or systems that are to be retained. If continued operation of the site during upgrade is required we will develop a plan for phasing in the modifications without interrupting use of the site.

Maintenance Plans

Some sites require little if any maintenance, others need regular updating or supervision. Often this has more to do with functionality than size.

We offer pre-paid monthly maintenance plans in various ranges that provide a savings for sites that require them. For sites that require only occasional work we are available by the hour on-call.