I read a short article from Print Magazine about the importance of knowing what the purpose of your website is. I found this article super relevant to our class and helpful to draw us back to the core reason of why we are doing what we are doing. I think this is an important question to ask yourself not only at the beginning of the process of designing a website, but also throughout the process so you do not lose sight of what you intended to do in the first place; I find losing sight of your intention is easy to do because you get so caught up in trying to make everything look great.
The author, Mark O’Brien, makes the comparison of making a website solely for displaying your portfolio, to building a house solely to show the different ways you can build a house, which really resonated with me: ” The result would be an interesting house but not one anyone would ever choose to live in or buy.” I think this is something I forget quite easily because I am so focused on showing all that I can do. Perhaps you need to find a niche first.
I think the key to understanding this concept is understanding that your site’s key role is “to generate business, and demonstrating creativity is only part of what converts a visitor into a prospect.” As new designers we forget that generating business does not mean overwhelming viewers with information and design and that they need a way to keep your brand fresh in their mind. O’Brien suggests something like a monthly newsletter that people can subscribe to as most are not ready to hit the “contact me” link when they first find your site. This way they have fresh information coming in from you periodically and it keeps you fresh in their mind and that much closer to being the one they call to get the job done.
The Sandy Box 