What is web design about?

With over 12 years of developing websites and working for our clients for many years it is not surprising one develops some ideas and methods about what it takes to develop a successful website.

Far too often people are more interested in what the site should look like than what it should do for their business.

Not a surprise really as it is difficult for a single person in any business to have all the skills require to run successfully all aspects of a business.
So it is possible to end up with a beautiful website which does not help your business. Is yours like this?

As always, a superfluous approach is always the easiest, the quickest and cheapest and the measure of whether a website is successful is very often how sexy it is!

So how do we at EAB approach a new website project, be it a brand new site or a re-design?

First we try to understand the background to the project. What are the main reasons for justifying the project?

Are these reasons in line with the business objectives? Have the objectives been properly formulated? I would argue that a website is successful if it enables a business to fulfil its objectives, therefore the success of the project can only be measured in this context.

In the ideal situation we would look at a number of business considerations such as financial, marketing, operational and technical. If a project brief has already been written we would analyse it with these considerations in mind. We would then work with the client to address any mismatch in order to ensure the website is developed in such a way as to match the stated business objectives. This way only a suitable set of criteria can be established for measuring the success of the project. In this context, the subjective look and feel of the site is only one of many considerations.

Following this business analysis a project brief is created and revised, creating the basis for site design mock-ups and structure. This process will be the subject of another post soon!

If you feel your website isn't supporting your business objectives or has not delivered its promise, why not get in touch?

I offer a free hour consultation followed by a proposal with costed options!

You have nothing to lose!

Please contact me at abottin@eab.co.uk or phone direct on 01727 751446 or skype me at abottin.