Each organisation will have different goals from their website, which will affect the design and content of the site.  Whatever your goal, bad site design will detract from your goal being achieved.  Ensure your website designers do not just want to show off their technical skill.  For most business websites we recommend following these simple Do's and Don'ts.

Do's...

• Err on the side of simplicity - if a visitor wants more, they can always request/download it
• Keep content relevant and up to date
• Have fast loading pages (our websites are all fast loading, unlike most content managed website, as we optimise image size, and pre-publish the site, rather than relying on dynamic links to the CMS)
• Select a design and text that can be easily read
• Make contact details easy to find
• Make the site search engine friendly - this is often seen as a black art, but we help you get 90% of the way there with simple guidance.
• Have bookmarkable pages (no frames)

Don'ts...

• Avoid gimics that distract the visitor from whatyou want them to read:

...or worse still...

Text that jumps out at you or moves around when you hover over it.

Hit counters - usually designed to look like a milometer on a dodgy used car - and just as reliable!