Welcome to Our New Website

Welcome to the new website of Joan B. Marcus Communications. Many thanks to Mike Smull of Big Pixel Studio who helped to make our vision a reality.
Putting together the content and design of our site drove home several important points. If you want to keep your website launch on time and within budget, here are six things you should decide before you talk to a marketing communications firm, web designer or copywriter.

1. Goals. Decide what your goals are for your website. Is it meant to build your corporate identity, drive business to your storefront, serve as an e-commerce site, or encourage prospects and customers to contact you? Do you want to attract visitors locally, regionally, nationally or internationally? Your goals will help you determine what pages and functions are needed on your site.
2. Message. Before you begin your site, make sure you have a strong marketing message or mission statement. It should be included on every page of your site. Your message also should be developed through the various pages on your site.
3. Budget. How much money can you afford to invest in your website? A budget helps to define what you can and can’t do. It helps you set your priorities. If you start with a budget, you are more likely to stick with it through the process of developing your site.
4. Design.What type of design do you want? Whatever you choose, it should work well with your logo. Do you want a corporate look or a lighter design? Find websites that you like and share these with your website designer.
5. Functions. What do you want your site capabilities to be? Do you want to be able to update copy on a regular basis? Do you want to post news? What about conducting e-commerce? Do you want to include videos? If you include a blog, do you want to encourage visitors to leave comments? Do you want a newsletter? Do you want to include links to social media?
6. Project management. Launching a website takes a lot of time, patience and attention to detail. Before you begin, decide if you have the time and want to be the one coordinating the work of a writer, designer, photographer and videographer, or if you want a professional to make sure things work smoothly.