Marteal Designs, Web Design, Ithaca New York

process

Websites don’t grow on trees. There really is a lot of work that needs to be done to make your website work for you and your customers. A wholistic process of defining goals, organizing content to meet the goals, designing an interface to present that content and engage users topped off with a long-term plan for tweaking your content is the key to success.

put on your thinking caps

Your website is built on ideas and understanding. You need to start with a solid concept for a blog or business website. Together we’ll seek out a supreme understanding of what you want your website to do, who is the target audience, and what time or money resources are you will pour into this thing. Our first step to websiteedness is to ask, and answer these difficult questions.

where’s the beef (or TSP)?

Now that we know what you want to say and to whom you want to say it, we’ll figure out what you will say. People’s time is valuable so every pixel and word on your site must work toward meeting your goals. In this phase, we’ll plan and write the content for every page so we will know just what the design will need to support. A text-heavy blog about local issues is very different from a portfolio site for a photographer.

“Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.”

Jeffrey Zeldman

get your face on

In a lot of ways, the hard part is done. We have a very clear outline, most of the copy, and some of the images to be used are identified. Now we pick up a pencil and begin the iterative process of sketching interface layouts, until we get to one that will help your content fulfill your goals. At the same time we will begin working with colors, themes and the feel that will be the base of the website design. The design will develop to convey the quality and attitude of your business.

launch, listen and learn

Can you feel that? The XHTML, CSS and content management programming is done. All the content is in, the site’s been tested, and it’s time to “Make it Live!” But that’s not the end of things. Websites are ongoing projects. You need keep them fresh, get feedback, track your visitors and adjust as necessary.