Web site design
Your business is unique, and your web site should be, too.
From look-and-and feel, to navigation, to syntax, each element of a well-designed site connects your customer to your business, drawing them in, informing, engaging, and moving them toward purchase of your product or service.
That's why I custom design your site. No templates. I start by getting to know your business and your customer. Then I noodle around until I find the right combination of elements. Something that is exciting, enticing and motivating while still being intuitive and clear. Frankly, custom design is a lot more fun to do than simply plugging text and links into a template. And the results are a lot more fruitful for your business or organization.
To create the right site for you, I may use:
HTML
Flash movies
CGI scripts
Javascript
Animated graphics
Custom photography
Clip art
Feedback forms
E-commerce tools
SQL
Domain Management
A domain is your dot-com address (mine is maccoll.com, for instance). If you're already got a domain, great, I'll work with that. If not, I'll make recommendations on the best domain name for your business and obtain it for you. With your new domain, you will also have your own email address. No more telling your customers to contact you at megsmom@aol.com. Wouldn't it be more fun to be president@mybusiness.com? Cool.
Site hosting and maintenance
Sometimes all you need is a static web site - the equivalent of a brochure. But other businesses require something more dynamic. You may be adding new inventory, creating new programs, or providing rich new content for your customers on a regular basis. If this if the case, then let me manage the site for you. I'll ensure that your site continues to look wonderful, and take the headache out of getting new content online each week. But if you're a computer whiz and would like to manage it yourself, we can do that, too.
E-Commerce
Whether you have a bricks-and-mortar retail establishment or not, we can get you selling online. If you're not ready to make the commitment to credit card transactions, we can use alternative options like Pay-Pal or even create sales modules that allow you to receive payment off-line.
E-newsletters
E-newsletters are a powerful marketing tool. A good e-newsletter accomplishes three things: gets the customer to open them; entices the customer to read them; inspires the customer to do something for your business - buy, register, forward to a friend. I'll help you create appealing, engaging e-newsletters that garner results. Plus, our e-newsletters are totally trackable. Each newsletter gives us valuable intelligence about what products are working for your business, what promotions motivate your customers, and what kind of customer your business really speaks to.
Identity design
Identity design is the art of translating the ineffable qualities of your business into words, fonts and colors. Think Coca-Cola's red script and "The Real Thing" tagline. Good identity design reinforces and enhances your business's brand by clearly communicating your business's core competency and traits. But good identity design also communicates at the intuitive level, giving your customer non-verbal signals that distinguish you from your competitors and draws the kinds of customers to you who are most likely to come back again and again.
Marketing plans
You've acquired your domain. You have a beautiful logo and pithy tagline. You have a compelling web site. Now what?
A marketing plan is your strategy for acquiring new customers and retaining the ones you already have. Will you acquire customers through paid advertising, public relations efforts, word-of-mouth viral marketing, paid search engine placement or search engine optimization? How will you entice your current customers to spend more time and money with your business? Promotional discounts? Mailings? How much money should you spend? What does success look like? Where are your likely customers lurking right now, and how do you capture their attention? A good marketing plan looks at all these issues and lays out specific action items to obtain measurable results.
