Different and better
We build better websites that sell, so you don't have to.Wouldn't you rather clients come to you? For that you need more than a gorgeous website.
You also need strategy and traffic.
STRATEGY AND MESSAGING
Most of our clients come to us because they like the way our websites look. But they stay with us because they perform.
Our very first client is still with us and we are very proud of that.
Strategy and messaging are the most important part of the web design process and the part that even seasoned professionals often don’t seem to understand. And it’s hard. Defining your messaging strategy is a lot like the game of GO. It is a question that takes a second to ask and a lifetime to answer. But don’t be intimidated, just 2% better is enough, you don’t have to be a million times better, just better.
If you can articulate what it is that you do differently and BETTER than your competition, marketing your brand is just about getting this message in front of as many people as possible, and never in the history of the world have we had more people on the planet or the sophisticated tools to get your messaging in front of them.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE, USER EXPERIENCE AND CONVERSION RATE OPTIMIZATION
We provide a wide range of services to meet even the most daring requirements.
For more complex websites we recommend sketching out how users will interact with it in real life. The organizational structure, the connection between different pieces of information and the framework that helps the user understand those connections. The hierarchy of information, categories at the top, followed by more specific subcategories for the user to navigate through. The navigation and user experience, how the user moves through pieces of content and/or information. Information architecture is all about finding ways to help the user navigate the website in order to reach their goal.
This includes:
HOMEPAGE DESIGN
Your website is your brand’s first point of contact, before a customer, client or member comes to your store or offices, they’ll visit your website. Contrary to the old adage, people DO judge a book by its cover.
Your homepage is a critical aspect of your website, this is where visitors decide (in milliseconds) if they’ll stay or go, so we focus on that first. Once you’re armed with your value proposition/messaging, you need to apply it to every part of your digital presence – especially your website.
We start the process by creating three to five different homepage mockups. Then you choose the one that you “kind of, sort of “ like the best; we’ll then make revisions until you LOVE it. This is a great technique to focus in on what you are looking for and create a complete design that knocks people’s socks off!
INTERIOR PAGE DESIGN AND MOBILE MOCKUPS
Now we need to expand upon the design themes that the homepage has introduced and apply them to the rest of the website to create a cohesive and highly engaging entity. The best way is to identify all key pages and have a designer do mockups of each using the stylesheets from the homepage and the layout of the wireframes. This provides explicit instruction for the engineering team to match them on the development server and serve as templates for the rest of the website.
Mobile optimization is a given. If we use a platform like Shopify or WordPress, the basic foundation is responsive, meaning the design adapts to mobile devices and tablets. But if a client needs something to look a specific way on mobile devices, we also like to create mobile mock-ups. For fully custom websites mobile mock-ups are even more important so the programmers know exactly what to code, eliminating unnecessary revisions and excessive QC.
CONTENT CREATION
Quality imagery, text and video are the most important part of a website. A simple website with gorgeous imagery will look way better than a well-designed website with poor imagery.
“Repurposing” existing content only goes so far. People crave fresh information. Once you have your strategic roadmap, you need to start applying it to every bit of communication that your organization produces including your website. Every single word should propel customers towards your goal. Every single image should get their attention and excite them.
One of the most important parts of a website is great imagery. Even one terrible image will erode your brand and lower your prices; but consistently great imagery will drive sales, leads and engagement.
Video completes the trifecta. We’re not talking infomercials: we’re talking about compelling, interesting, and emotionally-engaging storytelling that can bring your organization to life online.
OPTIMIZE AND DEPLOY
When we launch a website, we want to make sure that it will perform. Branding and marketing is all about the data. Your competitors are tirelessly working to improve their rankings and Google constantly adjusts their own algorithms, so your site’s SEO needs to be analyzed and adjusted all the time if you hope to rank high when people search for organizations like yours.
So, to ensure success we do an SEO Sweep and install Heatmap and Analytics code which allows you to track the performance of your website.
SEO helps get people to your website, but once they are there we want them to buy things, donate, join your community or try your demo. The heatmap software shows you how visitors are interacting with your website. It displays things like their mouse movements, where they click, how far down they scroll. Heatmap tools also record user sessions so you can play back their actions. With this data, you can test out new layout options to increase the amount of engagement, keep visitors on your site longer or to drive them down a conversion funnel.