Design and web development services: Redesign and redevelopment

In the early years of the Internet, every design decision was a brand new consideration. Web designers weren't yet sophisticated and clients often accepted whatever was handed to them. Unfortunately, many of those early decisions were terrible.

To be perfectly fair, many of our original websites were terrible. It was a new field and the standards were being discovered by trial and error.

Coming back to try again

Fully half of our new clients are now coming to us for their second or even third website.

You might be wondering how long you'll be stuck with your original, marginally productive website. It cost a lot to build and you don't want to abandon that investment completely. It might be possible to use it as a stepping stone to get where you want to be.

We know the value of refreshing the concept behind an outdated site but also of respecting the hard work that's come before us. The best approach for a rebuild is often to evolve the site. This means embracing the best of the old and incorporating it in the new. Not only does this reduce capital expenses, it provides a continuity of experience and branding for your customers. This is vital for their continued confidence in your business.

The process for a website rescue

Code code code

The first step is critical but in some ways the boring part: We overhaul your HTML/CSS code. Most websites come to us with outdated or poorly structured code. There are strong reasons to rewrite the code and it's always worth the cost:

• Search engine compatibility: Automated search engines reward well-coded sites. If they can understand your site then they can rank it higher.
• Maintainability: Valid HTML/CSS code is tremendously easy to work with. Big updates that took hours before might take mere seconds afterwards. This saves big money.
• Compatibility: Modern code works on all modern browsers. Really.
• Finally, familiarization: When we rewrite your codebase we become intimately familiar with your whole site. We'll often find dozens of improvements to suggest.

Bringing the design up to date

• Is the page width still appropriate? Many older websites are narrow but modern browsers can accommodate wider pages.
• Are you using technology appropriately? We often inherit sites that use too much Flash for instance, or frames, or Cold Fusion, or other specialty technologies. These tools are great but only in their correct places. You might be paying a huge cost in terms of maintainability or search engine compatibility.
• Is your navigation usable? Are the navbar labels clear and in the proper sequence? Are the site's pages grouped intuitively? Can we combine information to improve reading flow?
• Is the site attractive? Can we improve update styling to increase the visitor's trust? Enjoyment? Conversion?
• Are your photographs and graphics well-sized? Color-corrected? Sharpened? Consistent?
• How about the copy? Good writing sells.

Looking forward

Once we've put your site back into shape we start to look forward to the future. Every client is different and we work to identify your needs. Do you want to grow your market share? Reach out to existing contacts? Expand your offerings? Whatever it is we'll help you understand how the website can support you. It's our job to manage the website's growth within your business needs.

Keeping It Affordable

Wondering how to get the most out of your budget? The answer might be in doing some of the work yourself. The more design and writing you can do in advance of involving a website designer, the less they will have to do. Do you already have a logo? Corporate colors? Have you already written the descriptions you'll want to see on the website? More generally, have you got a good idea of how you want your site to look and function? Go browse your competitors' websites for examples of what you like and don't like. All this will help us give you the most for your money.