Before meeting with your designer, you will want to do a little preliminary research ...

This doesn't mean you have to come to the table with all the answers, but you should be able to ask meaningful questions.

• You will need to have an idea of what e-commerce means - even if you don't know details.
• You will need to have a basic knowledge of how to search for something on the internet. (If you need help in this area, visit our Links and Resources pages for tutorials, downloads and information that will be a big help!)
  
  

The important thing to remember is that "this is not rocket science". The essence of web site design and development is the same as any form of advertising. The purpose of a website is to sell your product, idea, inspiration, book, story, information or whatever it is you want to sell or publicize. The designer/developer's goal is to provide you with a platform (in the form of your website) that will make that process as pleasant an experience for the customer as possible.

Getting a general idea of what kind of website you want, how it fits with your product, service or information, and what functions it will need to perform is an important first step. Your designer will appreciate the fact that you have mapped-out the path to your goal, and it will assist the designer in providing you with the tools to get there and recommending the best ways to apply them. While we have often worked with clients through the years who prefer to put their entire trust in their developer (and leave the driving to us!)   We believe that the more knowledgeable and proactive you are in your approach to web advertising, the fewer misconceptions you are likely to have, and the better your chances for success on the web will be.

One of the best ways do your research is to take some time to actually 'surf the net', by looking on various search engines for companies or organizations that provide products or services similar to yours. (If you are selling clothing - do a search using the keyword 'clothes', for example.) Try to put yourself in your potential customer's shoes ... what kinds of "search phrases" or "keywords" would you use to find your product?

Next - go through the first couple of pages of links that come up, and study how the sites work, and how easy it is to get around ("navigate"). Notice colors, layouts and design elements. This will give you an idea of how some other similar businesses are approaching the market, and perhaps give you some insight into what would be good to include in your own site layout and functions, (also what NOT to include). If you sit down with your designer still not knowing what you WANT, it might be just as useful to know what you DON'T WANT.

For more samples of our work,
visit our Portfolio pages.

If you aren't familiar with search engines and web directories, try visiting the links below for a start - these are some of the most visited search links on the web:

Google.com / Search.MSN.com / AskJeeves.com / Yahoo.com / Mamma / Accoona.com / MetaCrawler.com

For more information, visit our RESOURCES page,
where we have placed links to articles and information on website design and function,
search engine readiness and placement which we hope will be useful in your research.