HITS HAPPEN™... Creating your website doesn't have to be a complicated, nerve-jangling process. We will help make it a pleasant and rewarding experience for you. As a professional, you realize that your website is another extension of your image-- no different than your corporate brochure, business card, or receptionist. Such first impressions will be long remembered. Strong "gut-level" impressions of your website will be based on: "look and feel" what it says how it says it how well it works designing your website "look and feel" All aspects of the way that your website looks and navigates can subtly influence people's perceptions and emotions. The use of colors, fonts, graphics, even empty space are important. We do custom graphics (3D) and logo design. So, ask yourself, "What image do I want to convey?" Every aspect of design impacts how people will respond to the information that you are presenting. All the design elements (for example, colors, graphics, fonts) combine to create a "look and feel" that communicate more than just the words on the page. Look and feel can communicate seriousness, playfulness, hipness, conservativeness. Just about any "ness" you can name. Your web designer should be knowledgeable about these issues. what it says What is the purpose of the website? Is it intended to generate phone calls to your business? On-line orders? Is it an informational site with a database? You  must decide what information should be available within the website and what not to include. Do you want your site visitors to return again and again? If so, you must provide ever-changing information, entertainment, or offer a database of information that will draw visitors back to your site.   how it says it Face it. A large chunk of the hundreds of millions of pages available on the internet were produced by nonprofessionals. For them, details like design, spelling, and grammar are not critical. For you, it is. Your website is a reflection of you. how well it works Your website must be logically organized, easy to navigate, even fun. Links should work when you click them. Pages should load quickly. You should know where you are in cyberspace. promoting your website Once you have actually built a website, visitors  will not suddenly begin browsing your site as if by magic. Too many people naively believe that simply placing web pages on the internet automatically causes people to look at them. There are hundreds of millions of competing pages. You need to provide potential visitors with a way to find you in this cyber-jungle. There are several primary ways people will find your website: search engines links promotion via other media For your website to be successful, a promotion strategy is necessary. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising Once you have a new website (or even if you already have an established website, but wish to get more visitors or create more online orders), a tried-and-true means is to use pay-per-click advertising, such as Google Adwords or Yahoo Overture. We can set you up with Google or Yahoo ads that score at the top of your chosen search keywords. search engines It is true that all the popular search engines will eventually find your website and index its pages into its database. But if someone is searching a particular topic and your website comes up number 14,267 out of 19,628 pages, you have a better chance of getting them to find your site by dropping fliers out of airplanes. There are thousands of search engines available today, though most people use the biggest ones, now numbering about 15. You probably used one to find your way here. It was not by accident that this website rated highly in the search engine you used. Knowing how to make your website's URL (website address) appear high on the list of a search engine takes knowledge and skill. Obviously, we know how this works. At Innovative Software Design, we are experts at making your website highly rated by search engines. We do this both by our knowledge of how search engines work as well as intelligent determination of "keywording" your site to optimize the likelihood of it being found. links You know 'em. You love 'em: links. These little underlined words that jump you around the web. Sometimes, if your site is good enough, people will voluntarily provide links to it without you having to do anything. Most of us have to get linked the old-fashioned way: solicit them. The good news is that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of sites that provide long lists of links to sites, often categorizing them to make them useful. Usually you can be added to these lists by simply requesting to be linked. We provide this service along with the search engine submission service. promotion via other media Once you have a website, it is imperative that you use it as a calculated part of your overall promotion strategy. Use your URL (your domain name) as part of all your advertising. List it on your business cards. So, if you think you are ready to build a website, your next step is to find a web designer who can accomplish your goals. You should consider Innovative Software Design. Here's why... Copyright © 1997-2007 Innovative Software Design. All rights reserved