Web Design Website

[That Guy]

OK guys just starting a college course in Web Design and we have to come up with a site mock-up for a web design company.

If you were looking at Web Design Companies on the net what would you want to see on there website?

I have got the following:

Company Info - History of the Company and Location

Portfolio - Previous work undertaken

Contact Details - Address, Phone, Email etc..


What else would you be looking for?


Thanks in Advance :)

[mike1337]

Which services they offer?

[TopShopper]

Experience in Ecommerce

[Silent Web Solutions]

If you were looking at Web Design Companies on the net what would you want to see on there website?

I have got the following:

Company Info - History of the Company and Location

Portfolio - Previous work undertaken

Contact Details - Address, Phone, Email etc..


What else would you be looking for?

Client testimonials
Prices if they offered set packages
List of services
A reason why someone should select them over their competition (USP)
Proof to backup everything you state

I hope this helps.

In the web design industry there are so many different avenues or roads you can go down and technology that can be used that each web design company may be slightly different depending on their own skills.

[Matt1959]

portfolio, portfolio, portfolio plus a physical address and a landline phone number

[bcmedia]

Generally I agree with everything stated, but I think Mat overshoots with portfolio, portfolio, portfolio.

As a designer, you can be expected to provide everything from marketing spiel to logo design - so well written content with a call to action on each page is essential. But I'm not a marketing man you may cry - well boo hoo, neither is Bob the chuffing builder who wants a site for under a grand :) So that part is important - once your successful you can faun the work to your marketing dept :)

Further to this, a plan to get people to your website is essential - portfolio, portfolio, portfolio is nothing short of a complete waste if it goes unseen by visitors or unsold by a good supporting sales person.

The website can be a small part of a bigger picture - if done right it can be the entire business (which can be dangerous in its own right) or in other cases it can still be done right but utilises a different role within the company to create success.

Further to the "portfolio, portfolio, portfolio" comment - a fantastic looking website is nothing outlandish - just like their are millions of beautiful people out there, there are millions of stunning sites. So you need to support your portfolio with exactly why your work is so good. My USP is simple - my sites make my clients money, good money at that. So that's what I'd be considering.

Putting up a pretty face simply isn't enough in my opinion.

[webhostuk]

Client base already you have supported.

[bdw]

Further to this, a plan to get people to your website is essential - portfolio, portfolio, portfolio is nothing short of a complete waste if it goes unseen by visitors or unsold by a good supporting sales person.

Yes, but the question was, "what would you want to see on their website?" It was actually not about SEO or how to drive people to yor website so I would agree that the Portfolio is the most important page.

[bcmedia]

Yes, but the question was, "what would you want to see on their website?" It was actually not about SEO or how to drive people to yor website so I would agree that the Portfolio is the most important page.

My point being is, what I would really want to see on my site is visitors - my point was not about SEO, but about the reason for planning why you should have a site and what should be in it in the first place - Rather than give an ABC answer with exact guidelines I was trying to point the fella in a direction that would make him think of the problem in a wider context and thus maybe come up with something new, original and exciting for his project rather than an about page, a portfolio page, a testimonial page and contact.

[bdw]

Well I thought that ThatGuy explained his requirements quite precisely and unambiguously. He asked about what website content should be on his site mock up and that is what his college project is about.

You're right of course in a real website situation but a plan to get people to his website is not part of this project AFAIK and college projects require you to provide what you are asked. He'll get no marks for talking about anything else. :p

(I am quite sure that his course will cover marketing and SEO as well.)

[KidsBeeHappy]

Problem with portfolio is that it can show what the customer requested, rather than what the designer wanted to do. If clients asked for a complete dogs breakfast of a websit, and even if you told them that it looked terrible and they still wanted it - that then bears reflection on the designer.

And I am sure that there are web designers who will tell you that clients frequently ignore suggestions/recommendations because thats not the route they want to go down.

When assessing portfolios you are assessing the client's request as much as the designers ability.

[Kev Jaques]

Problem with portfolio is that it can show what the customer requested, rather than what the designer wanted to do. If clients asked for a complete dogs breakfast of a websit, and even if you told them that it looked terrible and they still wanted it - that then bears reflection on the designer.

And I am sure that there are web designers who will tell you that clients frequently ignore suggestions/recommendations because thats not the route they want to go down.

When assessing portfolios you are assessing the client's request as much as the designers ability.

Yep, clients can be reluctant to test things as it involves more cost.
Re Portfolio - This is why it's always good to add in some personal portfolio items where the designer has full control.

[bcmedia]

Well I thought that ThatGuy explained his requirements quite precisely and unambiguously. He asked about what website content should be on his site mock up and that is what his college project is about.


Possibly he did, but what I did was offer a different angle for him to think about what content to put into his site. I seem to recall from University, that up 60% of your grade could come from the written over practical application, which means the reasoning behind the design may actually be a large part of the final grade (I concur that I am speculating, but this was the case when I did design - I seen some real turkeys get firsts because the written part was well done, even if the practical application was sh*te).

Besides, as a student learning a skill in a saturated market, surely trying to instigate some lateral thinking shouldn't be frowned upon, because that's all I was trying to do.

[That Guy]

Thanks for all you input guys you have given me allot to think about.

Will update you with designs and site mockup as and when they are done :)

[Alessandro]

A before and after would give the potential customer and example of how their existing site/offering could be changed.

Include a bullet point list of the actual changes and associated post benefits, and you will have an interested customer.

Tha's my 2 penneth anyway :D

[bdw]

Possibly he did, but what I did was offer a different angle for him to think about what content to put into his site.

You're right, I suppose that angle could be used. You could also explain that having ten paragraphs of useful, relevant content on the home page and perhaps other pages is good practice for SEO where content is king - could get you extra marks.

You could also include some pages purely for SEO purposes and explain this too. I do this on my own website. When I identify an obscure search phrase that people are using I often create a page just to capitalise on this and attract traffic.

I suppose it would all be down to the project brief.

But hey - that's enough, do your own project! ;)

[fisicx]

OK guys just starting a college course in Web Design and we have to come up with a site mock-up for a web design company.
What part of web design are you doing? Is is graphic design, programming, UX, usability and accessibility, styling, copywriting, CMS management, ecommerce....

Your website should reflect the type of webdesign services you are offering. Agree that the portfolio is important but remember that you are trying to sell a service so make sure your sales copy, calls to action and offer details are prominent. No matter how good the layout, if the copy is weak then the site will falter.