WebSites That Work

walt Schaefer photo I'm Walt Schaefer, the Walt behind Walt's WebWorx. Website design is a new profession. 10-12 years ago, no one had even heard the term Website Designer. As such, most of us who now design websites came from other professions.

I am no exception. I enjoyed a 20+-year career as a management consultant so I tend to view each website design project from a business management perspective. I think not just in terms of pretty pictures, colors and slick animations. I think about how the website can best benefit your business. Moreover, I want to understand your business so I can be sure your new website will make a positive contribution.

Form Follows Function

I work with one overriding philosophy, "Form Follows Function". My first concern is what will work best for your business. No matter how fancy, pretty or exciting your website might be, if it doesn't deliver the function that is best for your business, it fails.

Standards Compliant Sites

Unlike just 5 years ago, web designers today have a clearly defined set of standards to build to. Standards-compliant websites pay huge dividends for their owners. They display correctly in the broadest possible range of browsers and devices, both current and future. Websites built to accepted standards are far easier to modify or add to in the future, potentially saving the owner thousands of dollars.

Think Big - Start Small

Because I believe in the potential value of a website for virtually any business, I encourage clients to think big but start small. No website is likely to pay huge dividends the first month. Some of the major search engines can take several months to list a new site. And, you will learn from operating your site what the real payoff elements are. Finally, you can solicit feedback from customers and site visitors to learn directly what they want from your website.

So don't blow your budget up front on an elaborate site. Start with something small and workable, something that gives you a quality web presence at a reasonable cost. Then, as your new website returns dividends (increased sales, new customers), you can reinvest in your site. Minimal risk, maximum gain; a tough strategy to beat.

 

my approach ...

In most businesses the customer comes first. In my business my customer's customer comes first. All too often what appeals to my customer is not likely to appeal to their customer. A successful website owner will learn to set aside his/her personal likes and dislikes and focus their website on their customer.

A good example is the rarely popular background music. One of my favorite songs is Lynnard Skynnard's Freebird. Aren't you glad I'm not making you listen to it now? Besides, what on earth does Freebird have to do with website design? 'Nuff said!