WEB DESIGN

Why do you want a website?

Take a moment to think about why you want a website for your business. Is it because you think you ought to have one? Or your competitors are selling online? Or you have money left in your marketing budget? Or is it because you are interested in harnessing the power of the internet to grow your business? This is the first decision you need to make because it affects everything from your likely success online to your choice of partner. If you just need a brochure site that you don’t expect many people to visit, you should buy the cheapest website you can find. Although, you may think to yourself, "why would I bother?"

Our clients generally don’t want websites, they want a way to promote their businesses, get leads, simplify supply chains, and perhaps even sell goods or services online. These subtle differences are lost on many web design companies: they are the difference between a website that is an asset to your business (perhaps even your primary sales outlet), or a pretty distraction. Oh yes, we have a website… A website, if built and marketed properly is an extremely powerful way of expanding your reach and can dramatically increase revenue.

Websites that work

We all know the websites that make us feel like special customers, that invite us in and take care of us. They look great and they’re easy to use. We also remember the sites that confuse, frustrate and push us away forever. It’s all down to the vision and professional skills of the designers. We know what works because we’ve been continually experimenting for 6 years and each member of our team has personal experience running an online retail site.

No templates

The internet is a visual medium and your website has to make an impact before it can start to do business. That’s why we take special care over the visual design of every site we build. At the same time we don’t let the ‘look and feel’ swap the fact that accessibility and ease of use are the most important factors to customers.

We start every website design with an in depth discussion with our client and an analysis of their competitors. We then start with a blank screen and design a website that will become an effective online sales tool. We don’t use templates – everything we do is bespoke.

We have helped many business realise their online goals. We can advise and guide if required or follow the brief that your marketing team has produced. Ultimately, we’re ready to listen to what you and your business wants. And we can build it.

Exactly what your business needs

We don’t have web packages; our sites and software are bespoke. This means that you aren’t limited – we will take the time to listen to what your business wants to achieve online and design the best solution. The first step is to arrange a call to discuss your project – if you can think of it, we can do it. We will also have some useful suggestions.

Frequently asked questions about web design

Can't I just use Microsoft® Word to design my website?

Nowadays there are more and better web design programs to choose from than ever, and increasingly one is able to pick them off the shelf and make a reasonable looking website without much practice. You don’t even need to understand HTML, you can just drag and drop images and icons into place with a “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editor. So why, you might ask, spend your money with a professional web designer?

Well, there are several reasons. Firstly, by designing your own website with a WYSIWYG editor alone and without editing the HTML code you will produce a website which may look reasonable, but is unlikely to rank well with Google or other search engines. There will be large limitations to the content your visitors can view on your site, and they will not be able to interact with the site and make full use of dynamic content. Also, such a site is unlikely to look as good as a professional one, and probably won't conform to current best standards. If you wouldn't use Word to design your company brochure, then you shouldn't use it to design your website.

In order to sell to customers online you need to understand the many security implications involved with collecting information and taking payment over the internet. It is not acceptable, for example, to ask customers to enter credit/debit card details into a non-secure web page.

My cousin/brother/best mate/Our IT department say they can build a website. Why should I pay a professional design firm?

It really depends what you want. People rarely just want a website. What is the point in a website, even if it looks great, if it never attracts any visitors? Or after attracting visitors, if the site is so difficult to use that they simply leave, without taking time to explore, or buy?

It is true that anyone with a little spare time and the right inclination can create a website and find somewhere to host it online. What they may well lack is the experience to build a website with any dynamic content (information drawn from a database), the cornerstone of successfully selling online and managing large, complex sites. Also, they are likely to be a single person: What if they are ill, or find themselves out of their depth?

They may not know anything about search engine optimisation (SEO), optimising graphics, accessibility laws and many other areas of design, development and implementation which all come together to create an excellent website.

PurpleFishes has a team of people, meaning your project moves quickly, is completed by experts, and delivered on time and budget.

What experience do you have?

PurpleFishes has been designing sites for over 6 years. Over that time we have developed an extensive portfolio, with previous clients including the University of Leeds, the NHS, various online retailers and local and national businesses of all sizes. We also have experience designing for non-profit making organisations and have designed for charities and schools.

During this time we have honed our skills not only as web developers, but are now in a position to provide both start-up and established companies with full-service design, development and consultancy.

Why not ask to see samples of our work, client testimonials or case studies?

How well do your clients' sites rank in the search engines?

We write all our XHTML code to maximise clients' ranking in search engines. However, a well written website alone is not enough to secure first page results, particularly for competitive keywords which can return millions of other matches. In order to produce better results a site must seek links from other well ranked pages.

This can usually either be arranged on a reciprocal basis where you provide a link back to the other website, or without having to provide a link back to the linking site. Triangular linking is also gaining popularity - where site A links to site B in return for a link from site C (site C normally being controlled by site B).

As search engine positions are constantly changing, please contact us for examples of our work. We'll be happy to show you results for several clients.

Will you explain things to me in clear English?

We will do our best to explain our services to you in straight forward English, and explain the meanings of any common abbreviations or jargon. If you ever feel that you need something explaining again we will be happy to oblige and we realise that the world of computing and the internet can seem like a daunting place.

How will you support us after we have gone live?

We offer all our clients a tailored support service to make sure that their website is correctly maintained and continues to fulfil its roll. This might include:

• Search engine marketing
• Pay-per-click management
• Analysis of visitor statistics
• Security audits
• Updating the website at regular intervals
• Email campaign management
• Customer experience improvement
• Revenue enhancement -increasing conversion rate, basket size
• Process reengineering
• Developing links to your accounting software
• Automating your dispatch process

See the consulting section for more information.

I don't know anything about selling online, can you advise me what we need to do?

We have years of experience selling online and can tell you everything you need to know to start up. We will happily provide you with a list of tasks that you need to complete before selling online, or even organise the details for you.

We can also provide:

• Dispatch and order fulfilment
• Virtual customer service
• CRM systems
• Electronic Direct Mail (EDM) systems

Do you use templates/Will our site be unique?

Yes. All of our work is bespoke. We enjoy our work because we take time to understand our clients’ needs, and produce the solution that they need, not what we think they need, not what is on the shelf.

Who owns the site and domain once you have finished?

You will own the domain name (www.yoursite.com for example). Once the site is completed and ready to “go live”, and the final balance paid for the work, the ownership of the entire site will pass to you.

Certain e-commerce tools are sold on a licence basis, and as such remain the property of PurpleFishes. However, once purchased you are entitled to use the tools for as long as you wish providing you renew your licence.

Can you guarantee a completion date?

Yes, provided that there is a timely supply of content for the website.