If you’ve been thinking that it’s time for your business to have its own website, we’d like to walk you through the process of getting the project started. By the end of this article, you’ll be armed with the knowledge you need to intelligently request a quote from a few local website development companies. (We’d tell you how to build a website yourself, but we assume you still want to have the time and sanity to run your business.)

Before calling up a web studio, it’s important to assess what your company will need out of its future website. Walking through the seven questions below will help you determine your website’s scope, establish your budget for this project, and understand a bit about the development process.

Seven Questions To Answer Before Building Your Website:

1. What information must your website provide?
2. How often will it need to be updated?
3. Will your customers shop online?
4. How interactive will your website be?
5. When do you need it finished?
6. Who write and prepare the content?
7. What is your budget?

1. What information must your website provide?

Before thinking too much about your website’s features or look & feel, think about the basic information and details your company’s website should contain. Sort through your existing brochures and product support materials, think about the types of emails and phone calls you field on a regular basis, and try to put together a list of categories. How many categories do you have? How many subcategories?

2. How often will it need to be updated?

Many corporations choose to regularly publish news articles on their websites. Others like to have a “company blog,” from which they can frequently post stories, updates or thoughts about the business’ ongoing adventures. You might also like the option of regularly adding or updating info about your company.

If you imagine you will need to make updates to your website even as often as once a month, then be sure you talk to your web developer about a Content Management System. A Content Management System (or CMS) lets you, the business owner, easily make changes to the text and images on your website, without having to know any programming languages. A Content Management System is the current “acceptable standard” for websites that need regular updates: if your website isn’t built on one, you will likely find updates very inconvenient.

3. Will your customers shop online?

Do you have a product catalogue that you’d like customers to order from, directly on the web? If so, how many products do you sell? If you’re a non-profit, will you be accepting donations through your website? Do these transactions needs to synchronize with an existing database your company uses? Since online shopping often requires specialized technology solutions, having these answers ready before your first meeting with a web developer will help them establish an accurate quote for you.

4. How interactive will your website be?

Like online shopping, anything that “moves or gets moved” on your website can require specialized solutions that require some advance planning. If you’re hoping to have any moving elements (like animated menus or header graphics), any embedded videos, or any other multimedia downloads like podcasts or photos, try to compile a list of all your expectations in advance. If you’ll also need interactive areas like login screens, sign-up forms, quizzes, surveys and so on, it would also be helpful to have a general sense of how many, and what they’ll be used for.

5. When do you need it finished?

The typical web project will take 3-5 months to complete – although, that will vary depending on your answers to questions 3 and 4. Knowing when your website needs to be live and online will help you decide when to commence the development project with your chosen studio.

6. Who will write and prepare the content?

Many web studios leave it up to you, the client, to write and add all the content and text to your website. If you’re not prepared for this task yourself, do you have somebody in your organization that specializes in writing, copy editing and content planning? If not, it’s important to let your web development company know this, so they can factor the writing process (or outsourcing) into your quote.

7. What is your budget?

The pricetag attached to your website depends on your answers to all of the questions above, and especially on the web development company you approach. Bearing that in mind, here is a very rudimentary glance at the types of prices to expect.

Basic site: $2,500 - $8,000
(Under 50 pages, limited custom features)

Intermediate site: $10,000 - $15,000
(Consisting of 50-150 pages, could include a customized e-commerce system)

Advanced site: $20,000+
(Consisting of 200+ pages, geared towards high flexibility and extensive visitor interactivity)

It’s also important to factor in the annual fees that may be associated with your website. At the very least, you should expect to pay around $200 to have your website hosted on your web company’s server. If you end up using a Content Management System to which your web studio holds the rights, you might also have to pay a licensing fee, which can add to the cost of the project. (If that seems like an unsavoury fee, ask your web developers about WordPress, which is an open-source Content Management System that will cost much less.)

Conclusion:

Building a website can seem like a daunting task, so be sure to take it one step at a time. The studio you choose will help you through the process, and will help you shape your website so it is the powerful, effective, personalized tool you need it to be for your business. Knowing what you need is the first step to getting what you want in a website.

Just because a multinational chain has the clout and budget to brand themselves through inescapable ad campaigns doesn’t mean that they hold the exclusive rights to good branding. On the contrary: paired with quality services and a good reputation, the small business owner can take control of their company’s identity, and craft an image that rivals even the most financially blessed competitor. Below are some tips to help you along the way.

1. Be consistent with your logo usage

You don’t need to have a six-figure communications budget in order to have a recognizable image — as long as you insist on high standards of consistency and professionalism. When launching or maintaining your company’s logo, no matter what it looks like, just make sure you use it consistently.

From business cards to billboards, your logo needs to remain uniform in its appearance, avoid accidental distortion or pixilation, and maintain the same colours. There’s more to it than that, of course, but the principle is this: your business can change shape, but your logo shouldn’t. The graphic designer who creates the logo for you will likely supply you with a helpful identity standards manual that will ensure that no matter where it goes, your logo remains a reliable ambassador.

2. Write well, and develop your company’s written voice

Good copy-writing and even better editing will save you from embarrassment, frustration, and tears. Beyond proper spelling and grammar (which should be givens), it’s vital to avoid using insider terminology and customer-unfriendly abbreviations when explaining your company’s services and products. Additionally, developing a voice and style for your company’s copy helps your customers understand what type of organization you are.

3. Teach your customers how to perceive you

You’ve probably heard variations of the phrase, “You teach people how to treat you” — meaning that the way you behave teaches people what kind of respect you deserve (or don’t deserve.) Similarly, the visual identity of your company is giving people cues about how to perceive you.

What is your company’s look saying about your company right now? Is your website telling people you’re behind the times and disorganized? Is your fleet of decaled vehicles telling customers you’re efficient and coordinated? Are you seen as cheap and low-budget? Indulgent? Hiring a design studio to work with you on intentionally crafting your image is a helpful way to understand and control how you are being perceived.

4. You can’t always control perceptions

Despite your best efforts to follow Rule Three, you can’t always control people’s perceptions of your business. In fact, it’s often a good thing to surrender control of your messaging to your customers, for two reasons: first of all, if a satisfied customer is doing the talking for you, it saves you time and money. Secondly, surrendering control saves you from experiencing “micro-manager’s meltdown” as you watch people misquote your message and misunderstand your brand.

When attempting to “control your perceptions” through your logo, website, ads, website and more, remember that you are merely making suggestions about your brand, not issuing decrees.

5. Communicate your image, not just your information

Many small business owners are so focused on communicating “the facts” about their company and services, that they fail to pay attention to their delivery style. It might sound flaky to insist on placing priority on your image, but in reality, people won’t place much value on your message if your very essence appears sloppy and untrustworthy.

Any time you’re tempted to simply deliver a stream of facts, details and information about your company, consider taking a step back. It helps to consult with creative professionals to make sure you’re presenting the information in a way that is clear, easy to understand, and represents your business the best way possible.

Following these five simple, accessible tips on branding will help ensure that your company’s image remains a recognizable, respected presence in your community. As far as actually having a good business…well, that part’s in your hands.

In our daily conversations, it is said that 93% of our communication is non-verbal. It’s a similar situation with graphic design: regardless of what the text says, there is a lot more being communicated by the nuanced subtext of the design.

In literature, subtext is that which is implied, rather than directly stated. In graphic design, you can think of subtext as the connotations attached to your work. Depending on the knowledge, biases, experiences and feelings of your audience, different ideas might be being transmitted by your piece. As a designer, if you know your craft, you can harness these elements to greatly increase the effectiveness of your design piece.

Good use of subtext in graphic design tends to do the following:

1. Look back. Draw on previously established imagery that your audience is familiar with.
2. Keep current. Know which design trends are currently in vogue, and make the intentional choice to embrace or avoid them.
3. Understand your culture. Utilize colours and symbolism that have widespread, agreed-upon cultural meanings.

1. Look back

Art history can provide a great understanding of where our current selection of styles, brands and imagery has come from. Knowing about the development of our current visual culture can help a designer employ the art of allusion, steer around accidental acts of plagiarism, and gain powerful ideas by studying past techniques that worked. Whether it’s Andy Warhol’s pop art, World War 2 Propaganda Posters, or the studied industrial design of Raymond Loewy, an understanding of the history of design can significantly boost a designer’s relevance.

Here’s a great example: Jonathan Ives, the industrial designer responsible for most of Apple’s best selling products, was clearly influenced by the shapes and styles exhibited by 1960s Braun products. The fine line between imitation and inspiration has been walked with expert skill, and the results have motivated millions.

2. Keep current

Trends phase in and out with such speed that it’s hard to keep track of the buzz, but for designer, it’s crucial. Being on top of current flavours can be the difference between timelessness and tired-out clichés. You usage of trends can connotatively communicate innumerable ideas about your business or product: is it classic, living outside current fads? It is progressive, introducing not-yet-seen design ideas? Is it hip, on the level with the latest style — or is that sameness making it unoriginal? Is it stale, drawing on old ideas that have long since been abandoned? Being in tune with trends is not advocacy for fad-following; discretion must be employed. Choose only to employ that which best suits your project’s needs.

Trendspotting from recent times:

• The current crop of “Web 2.0” logos are feverishly following some very narrow trends. Rounded, sans-serif fonts paired with bright colours and reflections are quickly becoming cliche, and might be good to avoid for now.
• Over the past couple years, vectorized ornaments and illustrated floral patterns, often done “collage-style” to mix with photo elements, have become quite popular.

The London 2012 logo was reaching back to a trend that was already out of style in the late 80s, but this might have been foresight. Trends tend to cycle back every 30 years or so, and by 2012, it’s possible that bright neon might be back in style. We are already seeing signs:

Above: Bright neon hoodies with jagged patterns are easily spotted in skater and hip-hop fashion these days, perhaps indicating that the colour pallette re-introduced by the London 2012 logo might be onto something after all. The nu-neon isn’t restricted to apparel, either: 80s-chic is appearing in music, as best demonstrated by Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A’s eclectic design sense. Regardless, the trends you employ in your design work are communicating distinct messages to your viewers. It remains important to be in control of those messages, hence, the motivation for staying up-to-date.

3. Understand your culture

Culture can be as broad as your nation and as contained as your own suburb. Wherever your design piece will be published, you should be conscious of the collective pool of beliefs and understanding that will shape its reception. Be sure that the design elements you employ are being chosen with your future audience in mind. This involves your symbols, photos, fonts, and even colours.

Consider the colour green. In Canada, green is loaded with a lot of meaning. It could stand for clean energy and sustainability, but it also might bring up ideas of left-wing politics and marijuana. Thanks to stoplights, certain shades of green can mean “go” — but a few shades darker, and green becomes a militaristic colour, associated with army uniforms. In China, you might find that green gets an especially positive reception. What are your colour choices saying about your work?

Photography is one area where designers can connect with culture in an especially clear manner. The idea of non-verbal communication in graphic design is clearest when talking about photos, as photographer Brian Kenner explains very well in this article. Whether your photos are specifically commissioned or merely purchased as stock, everything from your photo’s human subjects to its setting, lighting conditions, quality and composition transmits important messages. Consider the example below:

Conclusions

It’s impossible to understate the importance of subtext in graphic design. Every time a viewer interacts with your design work, be it a pop can or a poster, a billboard or a band t-shirt, it’s like an instantaneous game of “word association” begins in their heads. What choices will you make to guide your audience towards your intended meaning? Beyond the text they’re reading, what messages are they receiving? Your ability to learn from the past, observe the present and absorb your culture will give you the ability to shift your design work from effective to exceptional.