Web Design 101
By Ilze Hugo
Originally published in High-Flyers Magazine, Issue 17.
If a company doesn't have a website in today's tech savvy market, it's almost as if they don't exist, says Jean-Pierre Mouton, co-owner and lead interaction designer at web production studio, Shapeshift: 'A website gives you credibility. Being online shows that you're reputable, that you're not a fly-by-night.'
But while it certainly helps, just being online isn't enough. Your site needs to look good and work well too. Consumers are becoming increasingly web savvy and can spot a badly designed website a mile away, warns Riaan van der Westhuizen, a web developer at full-service digital marketing agency, Hello Computer. Just as not having an online presence can be bad for business, a shoddily designed site can also do damage: 'If you've got a brand experience online and the text is too small, it creates frustration for the person interacting with that data,' explains Mouton. A scrollbar or a link that is broken will irritate potential clients, leading them to assume that dealing with your company will be equally frustrating. A bad website says simply: You're incompetent.
Web Designer needed
Just like the late, great Barry White's waistline, Shapeshift is busy expanding. However, a deep bass singing voice is not top of the list of our requirements. If the Internet, Web Design and Graphic Design grab your attention, please keep on reading. And if you think this might be for you, and you might be for us, give us a call.
Specialising in the art of Internet Paper
People often ask me what it is that I do for a living. My natural response, "I draw pictures!", is a phrase I coined from Dawie, a good friend and business partner. I mostly say this because the term "Web Designer" has too many inaccurate, and often, misunderstood connotations. It's also a whole lot easier.
