There are plenty of people out there claiming to have the skill to develop web pages; some of them actually do. The challenge facing you as a client is to find a design firm that not only has the "mechanical" know-how to code pages properly, but also possesses the necessary design sense, communication skills, and understanding of all of the issues involved in developing an effective presence on the Web.
We do. And it shows in the principles we uphold in planning, designing, building and publishing web sites:
Listen carefully. We listen to your needs, we offer suggestions and advice, and we plan and build web sites that go beyond merely satisfying the basic requirements.
Keep it simple. We aim to build simple, clean, uncluttered sites that visitors will absorb quickly. We generally counsel our clients against pointless "bells and whistles" (Flash animations, music, and the like) that merely prolong download time and serve no useful purpose to visitors to the site.
The pursuit of simplicity doesn't mean we can't do clever stuff like e-commerce sites. We can, but we still aim for the simplest implementation.
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
– Albert Einstein
Content is king. The best-designed web site in the world is pointless unless it carries valuable, worthwhile information that is engaging and meaningful to visitors. We couple our understanding of what makes good web page copy with many man-years of business management experience to help you develop a site that promotes your business, products or services successfully.
Information forms the heart and soul of Web site success. To succeed, you must provide, and continue to provide, meaningful content — information that will help turn prospects into customers, customers into repeat customers and repeat customers into ambassadors.
– Roger C. Parker, Relationship Marketing on the Internet
Compatibility. Not all web browsers are equal, and what works in one, may not work in another. The growing range of "internet enabled" devices like PDAs (personal digital assistants) with limited web browsing capabilities make it ever more challenging to develop web sites that can be read in a wide variety of users' equipment. We adhere rigorously to web standards as published by the W3C to ensure sites are compatible with the broadest range of browsers and other devices.
Usability. A critical factor in the success of a web site is how easy visitors find it to use. Usability is a combination of
We know all the ways to make pages download faster; we make sure that information is organised into logical blocks or sections; and we build clear and consistent navigation schemes that visitors will grasp intuitively.
Accessibility. The Web isn't only for able-bodied people with 20/20 vision. So we need to provide access for visitors who have, for example, motor control difficulties or impaired sight, and who perhaps use assistive technologies such as screen readers to "view" web sites. We follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by the W3C to ensure that sites are accessible to visitors with disabilities.
Transform gracefully. Notwithstanding our "keep it simple" philosophy, there's nothing wrong with using technologies that will enhance the experience of a web site for visitors whose browsers support those technologies, as long as other visitors are not excluded and are not delivered a "broken" version of the site. This concept is known as graceful transformation, and our own site provides a few examples:
Optimise for search engines. The best web site with the greatest content in the world is about as useful as a mahogany frying pan if no-one can find it. We'll advise you on a stack of things you can do to promote your site and to get your web address known. But crucially, we take time when building the site to prepare suitable "metadata" for each page and to optimise the text itself to achieve the best possible position in search engine results.
Test for quality. We build quality into our sites as an integral part of the design process. But we like to make sure. So:
We guarantee that before handing a site over to you, it will meet all of the functional requirements that we agreed for the project. In the inconceivable event that you later find a design-related error, we'll take immediate steps to rectify it at no charge.
Value for money. We don't believe you should have to pay extra to get the kind of care and attention to detail exemplified by these principles: we see it as being part of the job. Added to our already very competitive rates, that makes our service even better value for money compared to the offerings of other web design firms.
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Not sure what we mean by some of the terms on this page? Then please ask us and we'll be happy to explain — we like to cut through jargon.
Now, would you like to see some examples of our design work?