Balanced approach is best for web design

Are you planning a re-design of your web site? If you are, you should plan now for the inevitable confluence of opinions that are about to descend on you. After all, executing an effective web site is a technical, marketing and strategic exercise all rolled up into one initiative. Whether it’s e-commerce web design or local, branded web design, having a unique website done by a reputable services like website designer in fresno is important because people are used to seeing the same things over and over.

From our work with Wisconsin companies and organizations, we commonly see four key influencers:

Each one has essential input that on the surface may seem to be in direct opposition to one another according to professionals from a well-known Website development agency. You can let these seemingly contradictory opinions confound you, or you can use the input to your advantage. Either way, we suggest you take a step back and apply this folk wisdom to your next web design project.

The wisdom we speak of comes from the old folk tale of the blind men and the elephant. As the story goes, a group of blind men come across an elephant and each touches it to get a “picture” of the animal. Each man feels a different part of the elephant. When they come together to discuss what the elephant looks like, they all have a different description, because none could put his arms around its entire body.

A web site is like an elephant. It is big and its parts are very different but work together well if they are put together with a holistic vision. The various influencers in your company have specific roles or interests in those different parts, and can be blinded to the needs of the whole.

While web site development influencers have their expertise, I would argue they have characteristics that can harm a web development project if their input is not balanced by that of the other parties involved.

Let’s start with web designers, since they are so integral to a web development project.

Web designers most likely do not reflect your clientele. They do not think or behave like the audiences you are trying to reach. Many were trained in design approaches for print and broadcast and not for the unique medium of the web. They are creative and not prone to follow conventions. I call them web site power users, because their world revolves around the Internet; they are too familiar with the web and assume everyone sees things as they do.

Directors and executives typically have a skewed list of favorite web sites. It’s not uncommon in a web site development project to ask an executive what his or her favorite sites are. Beside their favorite sites, executives often will ask trusted peers what sites they like. Those favorite sites, however, might not have approaches that fit the development task at hand. We have also found that executives tend to want excessive “sizzle” in a site, and do not fully grasp the critical importance of high quality content.

IT professionals are the opposite of the designers. For them, it’s all about the technology – never mind branding, usability and corporate business strategy. They like tools, certifications, and hosting platforms. It might require a concerted effort to get this group to become sensitive to the value of the other influencers in a web development project.

Marketing personnel, on the other hand, put too much emphasis on the look and feel of a web site and see the web as an extension of their branding initiatives. They often assume that what works in print works on the web when, in fact, the two media are very different.

Each of the above parties has skills that are essential for a company to succeed. However, it’s rare that one alone has the ability to get its arms around the whole elephant to determine the design of the optimal web site for your company. The lack of a broad, unified approach often paralyzes web site development and results in inferior sites. What could have been a powerful tool for your business ends up as a weak performer.

The secret is to approach web site development from the end-user’s perspective. And what does an end-user want?

Skill in several disciplines is required to satisfy those wants. Among the necessary skills and knowledge sets are design and usability expertise, technology, branding, web-style writing, search engines and business processes.

Is there someone in your company who can put his arms around your entire web site project? If not, you could end up with an elephant with too many trunks or tusks. You will have a web site that is not balanced and one, therefore, that will not fulfill your business goals. If you need expert web design and digital marketing services, you may visit the WebEnertia webpage to learn more about the services they offer.