nitially, your job is to gather all of the information you’d like on your site and submit it to us. The project proposal that we’ll submit to you is based partially on the amount of material you provide. Once we have that material, we can begin the web site design process. To develop an effective web campaign, we focus our strategy on a few key issues. First, we ask you to consider the purpose of your web site. Is it primarily a public relations tool? Do you want it to function as an information clearinghouse? Are you using it as a tool to sell products? Next, we ask you to define your target market. Having this information will help us select a style and tone of writing based on your purpose and audience.

The Camera-Ready Café can begin work on your site once you’ve submitted:

•   All of the photographs or illustrations you’d like posted on your site. If you’d like photographic images added to your site, make certain to label each photograph. You have the option of submitting your graphics to us on disk.



•   A clean, camera-ready rendering of your company logo or logotype. Having a logo or brand image is a great idea because it helps to build name recognition. If you don’t have a logo, we’ll be happy to design one for you (at an additional cost). You have the option of providing your logo to us on a disk. We’ll accept it in a GIF, jpeg, .tiff, .psd or bmp file formats.



•    All of the text or content you’d like on your site. Tell us about yourself, your company, and the products and/or services that you provide. What do you want people to know about you? Remember that the purpose of your site is to promote, promote, promote. Your brochures, newsletters, and fliers are also a great sources of information for your site.
  
  
•   Current contact information. It’s a good idea to have your own email address for people who want to contact you electronically. However, your site should also include a mailing address, a telephone or cell phone number where you can be reached and a fax numbers (especially if your site includes a product ordering option).
  
  
•   The number of pages you want on your site. Having several pages on your site allows you to control how much information is provided to visitors at one time. Typically, web sites consist of a home page (which gives visitors their first impressions of your site's purpose, content, and layout) and related site pages which are accessed from a navigation bar.
  
  
•   Access to your domain account and/or web hosting server. If you’ve already registered the domain name (i.e., "www.yourcompany.com") for your site and purchased web site hosting, you’re familiar with this term. (If not, we’ll be happy to help you with the domain name registration process as well as with directing you to web servers). We'll need access to your accounts to ensure that all computers are "talking" to one another.
  
  
•   Organized content. Separate items that change infrequently from items that require frequent updating. For example, group together a summary of the organization, core products or services, and location information separately from new product offerings, special offers, press releases, and upcoming events.
  
  
•   Current hyperlinks and other web addresses. Ever notice the prompt when you’re visiting a site to “click here” to be taken somewhere else on or away from the site? That prompt is called a “hyperlink.” Hyperlinks are electronic connections to sites within your Web site or elsewhere on the Internet. Be sure the hyperlink address (URL) you provide for each site is correct.
  
  

oor site design can make or break a web campaign. While The Camera-Ready Café encourages its clients to “think outside of the box”, we don’t encourage a “do it yourself” attitude when it comes to web design. We do urge you instead to look at a variety of web sites in your area of interest or industry to spark ideas.

The reason is simple. Once you enter the marketing arena of the World Wide Web, you’ll be competing against some very savvy business people. Your web site will be compared to every other site and it will be judged on the basis of its appearance first. It has been our experience that in cyberspace you’ll only get once chance to make a first impression. A web site, which has an amateurish and unprofessional look, will get ignored. That could translate into a loss of business for you.

Think you’re saving money by using a novice? Think again. Take the time to invest in your web site and your visitors will invest in you. Image is everything. That’s why we leave no stone unturned when it comes to web design. After all, when you look good, we look good.

Can’t meet face-to-face? No problem. We’ll correspond electronically and work out the details of getting material to one another. Give us a call today to set up an initial consultation. Feel free to contact us by email at info@camerareadycafe.com.

Give us a call today at (410) 637-7370. One of our representatives will be happy to assist you.

Your email to us at: info@camerareadycafe.com would be welcomed.

Contact us by mail at: P.O. Box 692, Randallstown MD 21133.

* Up to one hour telephone
or in-person consultation time