Welcome to the Microrays Inc Web Designing : We walk you through the purchasing process to help you get what you need.

Need to build a business web site? Want to launch an e-commerce feature? We can help!

Web Design/E-commerce Guide is your source for straight talk on managing a web site design project. Can't tell HTML from SSL? Not sure if online sales are right for your business? We'll walk you through all the basics and help you decide what features are must-haves and what bells and whistles are probably just a waste of time and money.

Plan the site completely:
The most important part of your web site is the content and functionality: what it says and what it does. You should decide what you need out of your site before choosing a vendor: the best web site projects we see are those that are well thought out before the client talks to designers or agencies.

You certainly don't have to have every word written or every button planned out. Here are some of the things to decide.

• What major sections will the site include? What pages in each one?
• Will you sell products through your web site or not? (See our E-commerce page.)
• Will the site collect information from visitors?
• Do you want to have an email newsletter to go along with your site?
• How are you going to advertise your site?
• Does the site need to connect to any existing databases? (For example, letting current customers look up their accounts.)

Choosing a web site designer or developer:

For most small to medium-sized businesses, web design shops are the best route to a good site for the right price. Web development shops or agencies offer a complete package: they've got designers who make your site look good, developers who do the HTML and other coding, and often offer hosting services as well. Having all the right people in the same shop makes it easy for them to coordinate with each other and address and technical troubles that arise.

The main alternative is hiring freelancers: one person who can handle the entire process, or a separate designer and developer. This can really complicate the project, though, as you have to manage all the communications between multiple vendors, and can also create complications if they disagree on directions or approaches to specific issues. Hiring freelancers is best if you have some in-house staff who will work on the project, but you're lacking a specific skill: for example, you've got HTML programmers in-house but need to hire a designer.

What to look for?
When it comes down to it, you need a web site that does what you want it to. Talk to several web design firms to see which is the best match for your needs.

You'll want a company that's been in business for a while – at least a couple of years. This lets you know that they have some stability and experience. Look at their portfolio – and make sure to check out the sites they've built at their real online addresses, not just screenshots or printouts. Look for things like:

• does the site take long to load?
• can you tell where to find all the important information?
• does it look appropriate for the type of business?

Make sure you ask about results, not just flashy designs. Ask how previous clients have seen business pick up, or how their e-commerce sites have performed. Even better, get contact information for some of their previous clients and ask them yourself!

Turn to the pros for design:
A note about graphic design: lots of people can use Photoshop, many can create very professional looking pictures or artwork. This doesn't mean they should design your web site! Successful web site designs:

• are easy to understand and navigate
• represent your business well
• are relatively easy to build
• focus on information and action, not splash and sizzle

Achieving all these goals requires experience in designing for the web. Asking a print designer other non-professional to 'make the site look good' usually creates more trouble than it's worth.

Call one of our designer for free advice and price quote.