We’ve really enjoyed this #launchweek here at NewCoast.  We’ve had the opportunity to design some great sites, work some amazing people, and give away terrific coffee.  A huge thank you to all of you who joined us for the ride.

To wrap up our week here, after we’ve talked about letting your design reflect your purpose and your audience, we’d like to take a little time to talk about the importance of going the extra mile.  We all know customer service is huge.  Just think about any restaurant experience you’ve had.  If the waiter is rude and unhelpful, it’s pretty easy to want to be stingy with the tip, isn’t it?  But, if your waiter goes above and beyond to be helpful, kind, and responsive, it’s super easy to want to be generous with your tip, right?

It’s the same with your website design.  Just what does it look like to go above and beyond with your website and its design?  Here are some thoughts:

• strive for simplicity: we’ve talked before about the fact that complex designs have their place for some businesses, but the majority of you out there really need a design that is beautiful but simple enough to make your content stand out for your readers.
• make it easy to read: respect the fact that your readers have all kinds of eye-sights.  Don’t make your text and pages so hard to read that they get frustrated and quit.  Choose fonts that are clear and readable.
• provide what they want to know: take a second to think like your customer.  What are going to be the main questions they are going to have in mind when they come to your website?  Write them down, and then provide the answers on your website.  The more questions you answer, the more likely they are to stick around.
• make it easy to find: on that note, don’t just answer all their questions with the information they need, make that information easy to find.  Provide a separate contact page that’s easy to see.  Have an About page that is well-written and filled with links to other important information.
• choose images that go with content: if you choose to use images for the different pages on your website, choose ones that have to do with your content:  they need to be clear, relevant, and appealing to the eye.  That way, they’ll help draw people’s attention to what you have to say.

These are just a few ideas we had for going above and beyond in your website design.  What suggestions do you have?

We’re excited to continue through launch week this week.  If you follow us on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll notice us using the hashtag #launchweek as a way to share our excitement with you.  We’d love it if you followed us in both places.  To learn more about how you can win FREE coffee, check out our post here.

We just talked about the importance of making sure your website reflects the vision statement and purpose of your company, organization, or church.  In keeping with that theme, we’d also like to talk about the importanct of thinking about your audience: the people you are most trying to reach.

While your website definitely needs to be reflection of who you are and what you do, it also needs to refelct those you are trying to reach.  The reason for this is that your website must appeal to your audience, it must draw their attention, and be able to keep it–it must be something with which they relate.

Here are some things to keep in mind as far as design and audience goes:

• colors:  choose colors that are both pleasing to the eye and complimentary of each other.
• lines:  if your site has a lot of reading or pages people will visit, then you want to keep the lines simple and clean.  If not, you can have more going on.
• fonts:  use fonts that are easy to read and tie in with the colors and design you have chosen.
• tabs/navigation:  use colors for all tabs and navigation that tie in with the rest of the design.  These also need to be well-marked, easy to find, and usable.

When we set out to design the site for Redeemer Pampa, audience was something we definitely had in mind.  This church plant is unique in that the people who would be using the site represent a wide range, uniquely including a beautiful mix of races, economic levels, ages, and positions.  Because of this, the church’s site needed to be appealing to all.  Keeping this in mind, Redeemer chose neutral colors, with bold fonts that are easy to read.  The navigation buttons are well-marked and make clear all relevant information to anyone who might be visiting the site.

The result is a website that is beautiful and appealing for all who use it.  What about your website?  Does it keep in mind your audience?  Does the design reflect things that appeal to them?  What could you change?

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?