PHD Web Studio

A well-balanced website that includes:

1. Strong Branding: Your website is a reflection of your other marketing materials i.e. logo, business cards, corporate identity, etc., thus the website can only be as good as your strong marketing presence. A clip art logo and a homemade perforated edge business card is not necessarily the running good start to a good website project. If this is the case, you may wish to consider taking 1 step back first and spending a little bit more time on these efforts, first and foremost.

2. Understanding Your Business & Audience: Same as with your corporate identity and branding, it is critical that you have a profound understanding of your business, target audience and even your competitors before proceeding with a website project. Especially when having recently undergone major restructuring, inheriting a business, purchasing a new business, etc.

3. Planning Site Architecture & Wireframe: If you don't know where you are going, you are bound to end up somewhere else! Proper planning and thought process pre-design is critical to your website project. Think about what features and sections your website today should have, however also what you would like to do in the future. Your website should be built with room to grow down the road.

A napkin sketch is a great way to start with wireframing. Not sure where to start? Don't panic --PHD Web Studio offers professional website architecture and wireframe services. In fact, it is HIGHLY recommended that you consider getting assistance from your website developer with this stage in the process, so as to apply common web principals to the flow of the information as well as think about idea that maybe you wouldn't have thought of before.


4. Compelling Design: A professional and well-done look and feel for the website can make all the difference with that first impression. Your design and the feeling that people get when they first come to your website is a reaction that can make or break the next stages in them committing to explore deeper.

Leave it to the professionals! We can all do a thing or two with a computer, however Graphic Designers (web designers) take years of schooling and have a special talent for creating web graphics. Work with your designer and the wireframe in order to make that first impression the best it can be!


5. Proper Infrastructure: Coding & Back-End: There are two types of code -- Good Code and Bad Code. Bad, bloated code not only produces a broken and inaccessible website, however can also be detrimental to your Search Engine Ranking. Once again -- leave it to the experts. Coding is like trying to learn a new language. You can attempt to learn French and perhaps speak a word or two, however try and put an essay together or throw you into France and see what the reaction is!

Beware of nephew programmers or daring designers.


6. Content Management: Google (and not to mention your customers) want to see new, relevant and fresh information on your website. A static site is only as good as a temporary and outdated brochure. A content management system is key to taking your website to the next level and away from that online brochure and into a full-fledged marketing tool.


7. Content Is King! Can't say it strong enough -- Content is King! Not only keeping it up to date and fresh, but also speaking to your proper target audience in a way that they'll understand as well as telling them the things that they want to hear. Remember -- all that "fuzzy" content about who you are and how long you've been in business is only a small piece of what people wan to hear about (if at all). Speak to how your business can help them. Remember that it's all about the girl!