Your web site development - how does it work?

In the early days of the Internet, a Web site was often a simple copy of the company brochure, word for word, photo for photo, with a link saying "e-Mail us for more information". Those days are gone, and your company web site is now a powerful tool for interacting with your customers and also for collecting valuable information for you.

Web sites are much more flexible than many people imagine, and can be created with a wide range of ultimate purposes. For a business, at some level the purpose of the Web site will always be to increase sales, but that can be done in many different ways. No two web sites are the same and, for that reason, we don't use common templates or offer set packages but quote for each client individually.

The correct approach can ensure trouble-free website design. Put in some thought and preparation before you approach a web design company - asking the right questions not only saves time but also allows you to decide whether they inspire your confidence.

• What are your objectives? Do you want to sell directly from you website or do you wish to use your website as an on-line brochure, producing leads to sell in a more traditional way? Do you want your site to be a source of up-to-date information to back up your existing literature, a shop-front for selling your products on the internet, a meeting place for your customers, or the main expression of your business to the world at large?
• Determine a budget. You don't need to spend huge amounts of money on your web design but, clearly, a larger budget will create more than a smaller one. Be realistic about what you are trying to achieve.
• Become familiar with the Web. Spend some hours 'browsing', make a note of sites that you like (or don't like) and show these to your designer. From our point of view, knowing what a client likes can save a lot of time and is a great help in stimulating discussion and preventing misunderstandings.
• Determine a deadline. If you need a site urgently, make sure the designers that you speak to understand this and be prepared to work with them providing feedback and approvals as quickly as possible. Be wary of delaying tactics - a design company should be able to begin your work within a reasonable time scale but be suspicious of a company that offers to start your site tomorrow and have it finished quickly. Neither are likely to pay sufficient attention to your needs.
• Should you ask several designers for quotations? Of course, but the best approach might be to decide on a budget and ask several designers what they can do within it. The wide range of options that exist for designing a site make it almost impossible to compare like with like where price is the differential. By setting out your budget first, you will avoid unpleasant surprises when the invoices arrive and you can concentrate on design factors.

E-Commerce

On-line sales are becoming an increasingly important part of web sites. Ordering goods and services via the Internet is becoming more popular as customer confidence increases due to familiarity and advances in security.

An E-commerce application (Shopping Cart software) provides your customer with a tried and trusted method of sending sensitive information - like Credit Card numbers - directly to you or your Bank.

Transactions can be performed in many ways, simply giving your visitors a contact number, your prices and a description of your products and services might be quite sufficient. If your business is in retail, though, it would probably prove beneficial to provide a safe method of ordering goods while the customer is "in your back yard" and researching a purchase.

There are many types of Shopping Cart software, ranging from very simple methods like PayPal to sophisticated stock control and tax reporting packages such as Actinic. Grafixation have installed many of these applications into clients' web sites and examples can be seen via our portfolio page.

A smaller volume of sales can be handled by other methods. Contact us if you'd like to talk this over in more detail.

Usability Compliance

Usability is all about making your site as simple and intuitive as possible. If your site is easy to use, visitors will remember your company for it. Conversely, if it is awkward then visitors will have a negative, frustrating experience and will simply go elsewhere. Our team can review your site and provide a detailed analysis of usability, together with practical recommendations for improvement.

Feedback from your Web site is essential if it is to function usefully and correctly. If your visitors don't find your contact details without hunting for them, there's a possibility that they will simply give up. Your details must be easy to find or displayed throughout your site, and we can also design a page which provides specialised contact.

Accessibility Compliance

Accessibility is all about making sure that your web site works for the widest possible audience. Ensuring your website is compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) legislation should be seen as a priority, and we always take compliance issues into account when developing a new site.

We can also assist you by carrying out an audit of your existing site. Following the completion of our audit, we will create a detailed report recommending improvements to the site, which our designers can implement if required.

Web site usage statistics

If you require details of your site visitors - where they are from, how many pages they viewed, whether they are a new or returning visitor and where they found the link to your site - there are many services available. Some are free, and some are provided by a web hosting company as part of an account.

Perhaps the premier marketing tool offered by Google is Analytics. It will prove helpful to both the marketer and the webmaster. Google Analytics gives you a daily snapshot of your web site; it analyzes your traffic, where it comes from and what it does once it enters your site, and you can monitor up to three sites for free.

Google Analytics is extremely valuable in analyzing your marketing - you may be placed on a waiting list for this highly 'in demand' service from Google.

We develop attractive, intuitive, customer-focused websites that are accessible and easy to use. All our websites are designed to a very high standard, ensuring the same functionality across various browsers and operating systems. Our efficient and innovative interfaces are designed with search engine rankings in mind and we perform thorough research into keywords and phrases which will bring qualified leads to your site.

Whether you have a new web site to develop or want to redesign your existing one, we ensure that your project is finished to the highest standard, within the agreed time frame, and to budget.