Executionists, Inc.

We’re proud to announce some of our recently launched projects!

Studio DNA Salon
www.studiodnasalon.com
November, 2007

The Million Lights Project
www.millionlightsproject.org
November, 2007

The Festival of New American Musicals
www.lafestival.org
November, 2007

Discrimination Attorney
www.discriminationattorney.com
October, 2007

The Safe Sippy
www.thesafesippy.com
September, 2007

We are proud to announce that we are the recipient of a 2007 WebAward for
Outstanding Achievement in Website Development
presented by the Web Marketing Association!

Our award was presented in recognition of our work on the Christopher Laue Productions site.

Christopher Laue
Executionists, Inc.
Events Standard of Excellence

Creative Director: Richard Parr
Senior Designer: Kaoru Wood
Flash Designer: Conrad Julian
Project Manager: Temy Gu

Our overall scores:

We are thrilled and grateful to be recognized!

Starting in 1997 with a whimsical Felderman and Keating website, Executionists kicked off a successful decade of designing for architectural construction firms. We’ve won several design awards for these projects, including a Realcomm Digital Media Award for Best Website and Macromedia Shocked Site of the Day.

Since then we’ve launched more sites, with the numbers constantly growing. Here are a couple of our most recent projects…

Felderman Keatinge + Associates
(www.fkadesign.com)
Launched 2007

Pinnacle Contracting Corporation
(www.pincon.com)
Launched 2007

SAA
Currently in progress
Launch TBA

We love print designers! I designed print for 10 years myself and have great respect for those talented and brave enough to make it their profession.

BUT… though it may seem convenient to have your print designer design your new website, be forewarned here are some of the inherent differences between print and web designers that we’ve experienced.

1) Print designers typically don’t understand efficient navigation and website usability issues.

An key goal of online design is moving prospective visitors through the site in the most efficient and intuitive manner possible. In print design there is little need to move visitors through multiple pages except in a linear, one-dimensional way.

A print designer may be good at capturing and presenting site navigation in a design but the real usability of that navigation may not reflect best-practices developed from experience designing for the online environment.

2) Print designers tend to create graphics that can only be updated through hands-on Photoshop work, not through a combination of more expedient HTML and graphic elements.

Print designers tend to develop collaged images that are well designed, but because they are unified image and text they are basically one graphic. These page graphics are often slow to download. Utilizing a combination of system text and judicious graphics is a more web-friendly approach because they are easier to update and better for search engine results.

3) Many print designers design for an 8.5 x 11″ printed page which often does not translate well to browser specifications.

The majority of browsers use the current screen resolution standard of at least 1024 x 768. In non-web design speak, 14.2 x 10.67″.. a completely different format than 8.5 x 11″. Getting graphics in 8.5 x 11 format from a client is a sure indication that they were developed by a print designer.

What this means is that your developer will have to redo the page layout to make it optimal for web-browsing and the screen resolution.

The bottom line is… if you hire your print designer for your new website design, the potential is that you’ll end up spending more money and more time when your web designer has to redo it. If you love your print designer and want to use them for your website, call your web developer and introduce them early on. This way you can combine their experience and get a better end result.

In the months following Paris Hilton’s recent legal issues and her reaction to them, I would like to think that public interest in her has waned, and unless she releases another sex video or gets a tattoo of her dog on her back, it will continue to do so.

However, google “Paris Hilton” and you get 64,000,000 hits. She shows up everywhere: fan websites, news websites, international websites, blogs…

Does Paris have an online image consultant? If not, now would be the perfect time to hire one. Paris would probably need a whole staff of image consultants, scouring the web for the most popular and agregious articles, working with the site owners to mitigate the bad and promote the good.

What is the good, you say? Well, that’s for Paris’ marketing team to spin. Perhaps it’s her supervising the diets of fat kids at sleep-away camp or helping five year-olds win beauty pageants.

And online marketing is one of the places that we can help. We work with our clients to design and develop branded sites that promote their business via attractive imagery, compelling messaging and flexible promotions. By adding SEO (Search Engine Optimization - see our previous post, Get Aggressive on the Web) and tailoring the site to highlight the uniqueness and necessity of a product or service, we shape a positive, attractive image for a company or individual.

At any rate, an online makeover may be the best strategy for Paris at the moment. So that even if we hit on her less, at least those hits will improve our perception of her before she plunges into obscurity.

DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY

Step 1 | Client Needs Assessment

By meeting with you, we define the primary goals and project schedule, identify the
target audience, and tailor the design solution to your industry.

• Understand who will use the Web site (Target Audience)
• Understand what Web technologies you will require
• Identify content
• Produce project schedule

Step 2 | Research and Discovery

We gather all available data content from you, such as company profiles, product descriptions, or in-house publications and brochures. Thereafter, we research the Internet and all other relevant information sources to familiarize ourselves with your
industry and your competition. We also spend time researching the competition, both online and offline.

• Identify the tasks users need to complete
• Consider the processes required to support Web site features and functions
• Develop technical scope and sitemap

Step 3 | Design Concept

During this stage, we begin the process of developing the site’s look and feel, the flow of content throughout the site, the logical organization of the site’s information, and its functionality. These concepts are presented to you for your evaluation and approval.

• Prototype Delivered
• Web Site Organization
• Color Schemes and Menu

Step 4 | Development

With your approval of the Design Concept, we develop the site in full using approved graphics, content, navigation, database design, etc. Of course, one of the questions asked by new clients is “how long will it take to create my site?” The answer is, “it depends.” Specifically, each client’s needs are different, and many needs present unique challenges that may require more time than anticipated.

• Client staging site and status
• Web server is setup and configured
• Databases modeled and pre-populated
• Domains are transferred and email accounts are setup

Step 5 | Testing & Launch

We test your web site to ensure it is cross-browser compatible and to evaluate its performance. This is the time when we may modify the site for performance gains. Thereafter, we transfer the web site to a web server for the public’s access.

• Web sites are tested at various stages of the development process
• Review of Web page content, functionality and graphic consistency
• Usability testing - measure how well the Web page allows a user to accomplish goals

Step 6 | Promotion

Your development plan may include forms of pre-production, offline promotion to generate interest in the launch of your site. Online promotion takes place after the site has been placed on the web server.

• Content optimization
• Code and meta tag optimization
• Search engine submissions and registrations
• Web statistics analysis
• Email Broadcasting

Step 7 | Post Production

After the web site is fully functional, we provide complete support to our clients, including evaluation, training for site management, upgrades with the latest technologies, and any required updates.

• Determine who is responsible for updates to the Web page
• Limit the ability of certain users to update the Web page
• Re-evaluate goals based upon business objectives

These seven important tips are based on many years of online development experience for over 70 clients, ranging from promotional, entertainment, community, commerce, and business websites.

1) Avoid “cookie cutter” solutions.
When contemplating taking the easy way out, be certain to ask yourself:

• Will this generic design sell my specific product and/or services?
• Does this design provide adequate promotional areas?
• Is this design consistent with my brand?
• Who will maintain and make updates to the site?
• Can I trust this company and their support and hosting services?

A site designed by an experienced person who understands your business goals and can proactively help you to maximize your online opportunities is invaluable.

2) Drive your customer to the goal
Your website must be designed around your business goals.

For example if one of your business goals is to build an email list of prospective clients then you must motivate site visitors to sign up from the first page. The email signup should be repeated throughout the site, and designed to entice your target customer.

If one of your goals is to sell a product, then don’t bury it 2 or more pages into the site. Bring it to the home page and design it’s presentation to be attractive to your online customers.

3) Offer free stuff
Something of perceived value can be used to drive visitors to your site, and motivate them to purchase products and services. Some things that you could offer on your website:
• Download a newspaper or article on your field of expertise
• Download coupons or certificates for products/services
• Free consultations, assessments and workshops
• Promotional merchandise (samples, T-shirts, caps, etc.)
• Entry into a contest or drawing

4) Seek out relationships with complimentary Websites
Broaden your marketing punch by forming co-marketing efforts with appropriate websites. A good way to start is to make a list of businesses that attract your target customer. Find ones that you think would benefit from a partnership with you and vice-versa. Contact them and see if they are interested in:

• A cobranded email campaign
• A banner exchange with your Website
• A cobranded, printed mail campaign
• A cobranded promotion
• A referral program

If you can create just 3 relationships with complimentary businesses you could triple the number of potential customers.

5) Emphasize your differences
Think about what makes your business different from the others, for example:
• Local service
• Experience/Knowledge
• Low prices
• A specific focus

Capitalize on these differences and make sure your Website reflects it. One of my clients developed a unique tool for his profession. He buried it within the site, making difficult for clients to find it. I encouraged him to bring it to the forefront because that is his unique value that he brings to potential customers.

6) Learn from the competition
Know saying “keep your enemies closer than your friends”? Don’t recreate the wheel! Take a day to review what your competition is up to. Create a list of what they are doing well and what they are doing poorly. Use this knowledge to improve your site!

7) Build a targeted email list
Most of the people who visit your Website are potential customers. Motivate online visitors and offline prospects to give you their email address. This list is gold if handled correctly.

Use the list on a regular basis to send promotional newsletters or other ‘valuable’ messages to. This will keep your businesses name in your customers minds, so when they’re ready to make a decision, your business will benefit.

These 7 tips are some of the most vital factors in online business success.

Remember that with so many businesses online, and so many customers/clients going to the internet to make a decision, it’s the online business that is strategically designed that has the advantage.

If you would like further details on any of these tips or a free evaluation of your current media, email us at rparr@executionist.com, or call 310-435-7452.