Website design and development is about so much more than good looks. From a business perspective, most sites have an important role in marketing and communications. That requires search engine optimization (SEO) so the site can be found, and the design of pages and processes so that those who find the site can achieve their goals. Site visitors also expect fresh content and, increasingly, interactivity and social media.
Quicksilver’s web design and development process is detailed, comprehensive and based on experience. Depending on the project, it may include the following phases:
- Strategy/Requirements
- Site Planning
- Visual Concepts & Design
- Flash Design & Animation
- Site Construction
- Web Application Development
- Content Management (CMS) Integration
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Managed Hosting.
A website is never really ‘finished,’ since organizations and what they need to communicate are continually evolving, along with Internet tools and techniques. The following services help to address this evolution:
Website Assessment
A website assessment is the first step towards improving your online performance:
- It focuses your thinking on what you are doing well, and what you’re overlooking that could deliver additional benefits.
- It provides a set of requirements that can be assessed in the light of business objectives and available budget.
- And it puts your website into the right context – because your site is often part of a larger set of activities to communicate, build relationships, sell products and services, or support a community.
Quicksilver has developed a quick but comprehensive assessment based on a checklist. We can turn a summary document around in a matter of days. Link to the Contact form to take the first step.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
On a typical day, fully half of those online use a search engine – which makes search engine optimization (SEO) an essential part of building and maintaining sites. Despite this, many organizations still skip basic SEO tasks - even though relevant page titles, the use of alt tags with images, and link exchanges with well-regarded sites are not difficult tasks.
SEO begins with a structured process and requires periodic review. During construction, that includes well-structured source code, clean URLs, internal linking and focused page content. Our assessments of existing sites often highlight missed steps that are disproportionately costly in terms of site visibility.
Usability/User Experience
Once visitors do find your site, is the visit effective? Most people arrive at a site with some kind of agenda, and decide quickly whether to pursue it or to move on. Too many visitors still abandon online goals before completion – often because of frustration with the user experience.
Usability examines how to build and refine sites and systems so that they deliver an effective user experience. Quicksilver addresses the user experience during site design, and can review and enhance usability in existing sites and processes.
QuickFlex.NET™, our content management solution for small and medium-size businesses, gives you day-to-day control of your site content without the need to learn HTML or JavaScript skills. News, events, product information and much more can be easily changed through a non-technical interface, along with associated visuals and rich media in a variety of formats. You are no longer dependent on a programmer, your IT department or an agency to make these changes.
View the CMS Demo.
Managed Hosting
Quicksilver offers a turnkey set of Internet services and solutions, from site design, to construction, to hosting. Through a long-term partner, we provide a high-quality managed hosting environment at a secure data center featuring Tier 1 equipment and redundant Tier 1 Internet backbone providers.
Features Include:
- Daily back-up and off-site data storage
- Access to extensive browser-based traffic and usage reports
- 24/7 technical monitoring
- Rigorous and redundant network security