The initial stage of any web project is design, at which point a non-functioning mockup of the site is produced in a graphics package. The object of this exercise is to create a design with visual appeal. A recent study by Carleton University in Ottawa revealed that it takes as little as 50 milliseconds for a browser to decide whether they like a site. So if your site doesn't look good, the chances are it's not reaching its full sales potential. For most web designers, once they have produced an appealing design their job is done. At JIT that's only half the story - we don't approve a design until it successfully meets as many of the following criteria as are relevant: 

• The design must clearly show what your company has to offer
• If the company offers a large number of products/services the most important should be prominently displayed
• The site's navigation(s) need to be intuitive (you'd be surprised at some of the navigations we've seen)
• Points of contact need to be clearly visible
• Points of sale need to be simplistic and intuitive
• The site should not be cluttered with useless or marginal information
• Text should be inviting to read

It might sound simple, but how many websites do you see that encompass the above aspects while looking good at the same time? We do understand, however, that not all websites need to meet some/all of these criteria - some are necessarily more works of art than sales tools!

Many websites suffer from lack of design variation, a lack of imagination and/or development ability. For this reason, we feel it is important to design individual sub-pages for some of our projects. These can prevent your site from getting stale. Naturally we make sure they are not too different from one another, so as not to confuse potential customers.