webdesign articles


Design With Purpose





If your website is falling through the cracks, the chances are that the site has no message, no central core to build traffic or a core readership. Websites that try to do everything usually fail.

We begin every web site evaluation by helping you define your web site goals. You can do this yourself.Knowing what your site is supposed to accomplish should be the first step in your design process. Your website success starts with understanding your site's purpose and goals.

Start by grabbing a notepad and pencil and begin brainstorming your website's purpose. Write down everything that comes to mind. Some common goals include:

  • direct sales
  • customer support
  • branding
  • lead generation
  • information/community service
  • solicit donations
  • indirect sales
  • expanded brochure
  • establish credibility with online presence
  • online advertising
  • ???

Now ask yourself what is most important? Prioritize your web site goals so you can prioritize your web site's needs. Sometimes your list will not be linear, it may look more like a bubble chart or be structured more clearly. Your priorities should be reflected in the site organization. Do you lead with you top priorities or are they shyly hidden within your site map?

It's time to get real. Once you understand your goals go to your site and see how close you are to achieving them.

  • If you expect to make online sales you need to offer online ordering. Printable forms just aren't enough.
  • If your site's purpose is to provide information and your site has no content, you can't meet your goals.
  • If you need to get potential customers to contact you - is it easy or do they have to click a link to find a phone number or email link?
  • Does your text content effectively communicate your site's purpose?· Do the images on your site reflect your purpose and your site text?
  • Do you link to websites your visitors would actually be interested in or are your links only reciprocal link building schemes?

Your website content should reflect your site's purpose and nothing else. Start a blog if you want to offer your poetry, opinions or family photos. Don't try to sell widgets and cats on the same site. Focus your attention and you'll grab the attention of the search engines and your target audiencealike. A web site evaluation that doesn't begin with these basic questions is doomed to be useless.

Don't waste your time fixing anything on your site until you know what it is supposed to do!

JoMarie Thomson of Crucible Designs has been designing websites since 1997. She offers website success strategies on JoMaries Dot Com for do-it-yourself website makeovers.


MORE RESOURCES:

EQuicknews

Web Design Tips
EQuicknews
Launching а website іs bоth exciting аnd potentially rewarding. A wеll planned site can have а positive effect оn уour business, wіth online sales bucking thе trend in an othеrwisе downbeat economy. Creating a website can аlѕо bе a daunting task, ...

and more »


HigherVisibility Named Eleventh Best Web Design Company by topseos.com for ...
Press Media Wire
The independent authority on Search vendors, topseos.com, has named HigherVisibility the eleventh best web design company in the online marketing industry for the month of February 2012. Their position in the rankings of top web design companies is ...

and more »


Indiana Web Design Company Radically Changes Approach to Web Development
DigitalJournal.com (press release)
Steve Schmidt, President and Web Strategist of the Indiana web design agency cites, “There are two main problems with Web design companies: 1.) They quickly jump into execution mode without fully considering what suits clients best in terms of their ...



Crumpler C List Celebrity Backpack Reviewed by Intown Web Design
PR Web (press release)
Intown Web Design review of Crumpler C List Celebrity Backpack acknowledged the backpacks design and functionality. These backpacks by Crumpler were noted as some of the best backpacks for photographers. Overall, these backpacks were exactly what I was ...

and more »


Positive Web Design Utilises Brand New Wireframes For Clients
PR Web (press release)
The team at Positive Web Design has announced that they will be creating pre-designed wireframes and templates in order to speed up the development process for new clients. Positive Web Design, a web design and development firm well-known for its ...

and more »


5 Top Trends in Web Design for 2012
Caribbean Media Vision
In the world of web design, what is considered to be up to the minute and trendy can quickly become outdated and old fashioned in just a short amount of time. It is important for anyone with a website to stay up to date with their web designs and make ...

and more »


SEO.in Named Fourth Best Android Development Company by bestwebdesignagencies ...
Press Media Wire
The independent authority on web design and development, bestwebdesignagencies.com, has released their list of the best Android development companies for the month of February 2012. SEO.in has been named the fourth best Android development company ...



Positive Web Design Now Able To Build Websites In Variety Of Programmes
PR Web (press release)
Positive Web Design has recently adjusted its design procedures and is now in a position to offer clients websites built in a huge variety of programmes. Positive Web Design, a website design and development company based in Chelmsford, Essex, ...

and more »


Austin Web Design and Internet Marketing Company, Boom Consulting, Publically ...
PR Web (press release)
With Boom Consulting's all-inclusive web design, web development, and Internet marketing packages or a la carte offerings, even companies with the tightest of budgets can afford to have an eye-catching, multi-functional Web presence that's essential ...

and more »


In Naples, Web Design Is Most Important
Present tense Magazine
In Naples web design is taken care of. Search top companies that will provide you with cutting edge ideas, formats and styles to revamp your website. Online search engines have become increasingly popular when searching for contractors.

and more »

Google News

home | site map
Webdesign-box © 2006