In this weeks edition of our new series Web 101, the basic things you should be looking at if you are thinking about a new website, redesigning your current site or just want to be sure your website is as good as it can be, we look at your websites look and how it relates to your company.
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While we strongly suggest that your website be designed by a professional, your input on the design is essential.

Nobody knows your business like you do. You know what past marketing programs were successful. You know what you competition has done which was successful. Your designer needs to know these things too.

If you’ve been in business a while you probably have a corporate identity. You have a logo, letterhead, brochures all designed to immediately bring your products or services to mind. Your website should be part of that identity.

Even if you don’t have a corporate identity, you probably have a logo and color scheme. It is important that these be communicated to the designer, if possible, with the exact PMS or hexadecimal color numbers.

It is also helpful at this stage to provide the designer with the URLs of some websites which you really like with notes on what it is about each that you find attractive. It is also a good idea to also come up with sites you don’t like. These all give the designer some good guideline to start from.

Once the design is presented, it is up to you to look it over carefully and let the designer know what you like, dislike or just want tweaked a little. That way, the end product will be not only what you need but what you want.