Avoid Land Mines in the Field of Web Design
The Internet Offers Explosive Growth Potential
But Rushing In Without a Guide Can Be Dangerous
Great looking design has very little to do with your success!
After "shopping" around to see what was available for smaller businesses, I was extremely frustrated by the lack of originality and "canned" choices that were shown as package deals for what seemed like enormous prices. Creative Business Services gave us something better...a creative solution to our needs. Client testimonial -- |
As a small business owner myself, I can understand your concerns when trying to choose a web design company. The analogy of land mines and the need for an experienced guide is very fitting.
Large agencies usually have all the resources and skill to do good work, but they also have high overhead and you may need a larger budget before they will even want to talk with you.
But with many smaller web designers, the web sites they create do little or nothing to produce profit. They often lack the planning and marketing needed to make them effective.
Then there are the quick and cheap web sites that leave you to fend for yourself once the providers have your money. The ultimate solution for small business web site design would be to combine the best elements together.
There are a lot of ideas about how to succeed with a web site design, but the pitfall that both web designers and web site owners often succumb to is thinking that their visitors want to be impressed with design skill. The fact is, some of the most successful web sites are rather boring to look at. Then there are many impressive looking sites, even expensive designs, that make little or no money for their owners.
Web design experts seem to agree that for most web site design, "content is king," but that presents another challenge. Some situations require a lot of detail, others don't. Reaching people effectively, with the right level and quality of content, will help determine the success or failure of your web site.
Without qualified guidance, you might believe that just having an attractive presence on the Internet is enough to serve your business needs. The concept of getting a quick fix is tempting too, especially if you can have a professional looking web site in a matter of minutes, and get it cheap. The only winners with that approach are the ones who make a quick buck if they sell you on that idea.
That's what I've done, so my company can provide you with a well planned, custom web site design that targets your market and your business objectives. Your web design investment will be returned several times over because it will be more than just pretty to look at. The Internet is a cost effective and powerful business marketing tool when used correctly; we simply help you take advantage of the opportunities it offers.
When you are considering your web site design, you get to exceed your normal limits. Your local economy no longer matters because the world can now be your marketplace. At a bare minimum, your web site makes it possible to expand your market beyond your local area. This could easily result in you creating more jobs when you hire extra help to meet increased demand. Internet marketing and search engines can bring people who are ready to buy right to your virtual door.
Imagine the potential when pre-qualified buyers come in willingly, then sit down for your presentation so they can be sold on your product or service, your idea, or contribute to your cause. Imagine what can happen when your market area is not limited by any geographical boundaries. Imagine a web design that performs better than you expected.
Effective Small Business Web Site Design
Effective web design must grab your web site visitor's attention, then begin the process of building trust with that visitor. You succeed only by providing the content they came expecting to get. If this opportunity is lost, then nothing else matters. It could be entertaining, exciting, cutting edge, or dazzling, but none of that would matter.
You need a web design company that understands you before they just simply create a web site, or sell you an impersonal web design.
When you decide that you want Creative Business Services to design your web site, you are getting a web designer who understands there is a greater purpose for having a web site. Most of the time, your web site design must generate profit. If it were not for this simple fact, almost anyone could provide your web site design services.
As a web designer, I am more interested in developing solid content that achieves your goals. I do pay very careful attention to graphic design because I was a graphic designer long before I was a web designer. It is very important that your web site has a professional look, and it will. The quality of your web content and proven methods of delivery will determine the level of success your web site achieves. The content quality you need though is not something every web designer has a history of providing.
The rest of this section on web site design contains a lot of information for a simple reason. Many people do not yet understand the Internet. That fact offers both opportunity and danger. There is opportunity because knowledge will empower you. The danger is that there are those out there who seek easy money at your expense if you remain uninformed.
So whether you are here because you want a professional web designer, someone to maintain an existing web site, or you have a web site created by someone else that isn't meeting your expectations, we can help. Contact us right away so you can begin reaping the rewards of an effective web site design as soon as possible.
Next.. Web Design Is For Human Beings.
With my company, you can benefit from the advice and guidance of an experienced professional who understands both the old and the new, the world of web design, the Internet, and effective graphic design. Creative Business Services is the result of more than 20 years of graphic design and marketing experience. The technical expertise is the easy part. Reaching out to that human being sitting in front of the computer screen and getting them to choose you when they could choose your competition, that is a magic found only in persuasive web design.
Web Design is technical, but I can handle that
My web design (or if you prefer the term website design, Internet design, or webmaster skills), include all the web programming languages currently used on the Internet as well as website database integration and website search engine optimization. With the future of your web design in mind, I work with XHTML as defined by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C). Whenever possible, I use strict XHTML for web design. In most cases, the web design requires a web design standard called transitional XHTML to achieve the desired results. XHTML is simply the next generation of HTML for those who are not as familiar with the web design standards. By using XHTML now, a web site or web design will not be antiquated as new browsers favor the use of newer web design standards. In other words, your website will be good now, and it will be flexible enough for the future. Will you keep the same web design for years? Probably not, but all future modifications of your web design will likely build on the platform of the web design you start out with. At least if Creative Business Services in Grand Rapids, Michigan does the web design, you will be able to use it as a foundation for all future web designs and changes to your web design.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and Web Design
I make extensive use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) so the website design is easily changed and updated. CSS provides better control in web design. Think of CSS in web design as a radio station and the web pages of your website are radios tuned in. All the radios (web pages) are controlled by the radio station (CSS). You don't have to change the music (web design features) in each radio (web page) one radio at a time, you make them all play the same tune (control all the web design features) from a centralized station (CSS). It does require a little more web design planning, but the power of CSS makes even a small website easier to manage.
Scripts and Programming in Web Design
There is also a lot of Javascript used in most web designs, and I prefer to link Java, Javascript, and CSS outside of the web page to further simplify web page design and web updating. This is the same centralized web design principle illustrated above. If the same effect is used in a web design on several web pages, it is more efficient to control it from a single location. This may seem almost too obvious to even mention, but I have seen too many examples in web designs of a duplicate program code simply pasted into many web pages on a website. The problem is that those web design codes usually do have to be modified; then some web designer such as myself has make the same web design changes many times on many web pages when I should only have to program it in one centralized spot on the website. Not that I mind the extra money, I just think your web design should be well planned and the web programming should be more efficient.
Dynamic HTML (DHTML) is an offspring of Javascript for web design that I also use frequently. These web design terms are just web design gibberish to most, but the way they work in web design is that I could dazzle you with all the power and capabilities you could have on your web pages. When you are looking at web design, don't go overboard. Just because you can does not mean you should. I take that to heart. I do web designs that make sense. I use web programming on an as needed basis. In addition to Java, Javascript, DHTML, and CSS, I also make use of Visual Basic Script (VBS or VBScript), CGI, Perl, Active Server Pages (ASP), PHP, Server Side Includes (SSI), Document Object Model (DOM), Java Server Pages and Servlets (JSP), and whatever other acronyms will make your head spin.
Important points about web design from Creative Business Services
Originality in web design is important. Your best interests are not served by selling canned websites that mimic many others on the Internet. It must be something that is uniquely you, distinguishing you from everyone else and making you stand out on the world wide web.
These original features include custom web animations custom website graphics, custom web backgrounds, web copyrighting, professional writing of web content, web special effects, website search optimization, web marketing, website planning, website database integration, training your staff to contribute website materials when needed, and website consulting.
Creative Business Services is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Creative Business Services in Grand Rapids, Michigan does web and website design as a primary business. With web design focused on design, we build websites that communicate your message effectively, websites that are marketing oriented. Even a non-profit website is still a form of web marketing. Graphic design and well planned web programming are important to your website. Updating and website maintenance are planned into the very start of your web design project. An understanding of Internet technology plays an important role in the web development process of Creative Business Services in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When your website and web design require creative writing, custom graphics, animation, marketing expertise, or even the seemingly simplest web design, Creative Business Services in Grand Rapids, Michigan has the experience and technical know-how to create great web design at an affordable price.
