Web design is usually the first stage of a project. At this point, the project is not a web site at all, but layers of pixels within a graphics package. The first goal to achieve at this stage is to create a design with visual appeal. A recent study by Carleton University in Ottawa revealed that it takes as little as 50 milliseconds for a browser to decide whether they like a site. So if your site doesn't look good, the chances are it is not reaching its sales potential.

For most web designers, once they have produced an appealing design their job is done. At Developmen, once we have created a design our job is only half done. A web site that is truly successful needs to meet all the following:

Clearly shows what your company has to offer

• The site's navigation(s) need to be intuitive (you'd be surprised at some of the navigations we've seen)
• Points of contact need to be clearly visible
• Points of sales need to be simplistic and intuitive
• Site should not be cluttered with useless or marginal information
• Text should be inviting to read

It might sound simple, but how many sites do you see that encompass the above aspects while looking good at the sometime? However, we do understand that not all web sites need to meet some/all of these aspects - some sites need to be more art than sales.

Many sites suffer from lack of design variation, a lack of imagination and/or development ability. For this reason, we feel it is important to design individual sub-pages for some of our projects. These can help your site from getting stale and we make sure they are not too different from one another, so as not to confuse potential customers.