It’s Launch Week here at NewCoast Media.  We’re super excited to announce the launch of a week’s worth of brand-new sites, and decided to kick it off in style.  Don’t forget you can win a FREE bag of coffee, just by tweeting about NewCoast and using the hashtag #launchweek–check out all the details here.

With the launch of these sites, we’d like to take the opportunity to delve a little more into our philosophy of design, as well as showcase some of the awesome people who worked with us.

When we design a website here at NewCoast, one of the first things we think about is purpose.  Purpose must drive everything about a website, or it will fail to be a true representation of a company, church, or organization.

As you think about your company, church, or organziation, what is your vision statement, your goal, your over-arching purpose?  In short, why do you exist?  The answer to this question is paramount for all aspects of your group, as well as to your website.  Taking the time to answer it now will not only more effectively drive everything you do, it will also help to design a website that is a true reflection of who you are and what you stand for, and communicates that to those you want to reach.

Once you have nailed down your purpose, you can begin to construct the design of your website.

For example, look at www.scottmaze.com.  Scott is the pastor of First Van Buren, Arkansas.  His website is his personal blog, designed to be a resource for the members of his church.  There he shares videos, sermon notes, books, and thoughts on faith and theology.

Because of this, we knew the design for this site needed to be clean and easy to use.  We wanted it to have sharp lines and look professional, as well as be able to showcase easily all the information he shares.  The colors needed to be readable, and free from distracting lines and design elements that make it difficult to follow along.

Navigation in the top menu bars needed to be easy to use as well.  Since church members are mainly coming to either read Scott’s latest blog or view his pick for the book of the month, Scott chose not to have a ton of tabs in the way.  His decision reflected his desire to make the information he shared easily accessible.

Think about your church, company, or organization.  What is your purpose, your vision, your goal?  How does this need to be reflected in the design of your website?  What things do you think you could change to help your site more closely mirror your vision statement?