Developing a Platform for Web-Accessible Business Documents

Business awareness of and integration with digital media has been a major part of development for companies for many years. Those who caught on to the possibilities and capabilities of the internet at an early stage helped pioneer the IT revolution that no business can now afford to ignore.

What many businesses, large and small, sometimes fail to do is to create their own highly unique digital footprint. This can either be through a lack of experience or understanding of what goes into making a high-quality website, or simply not recognizing that a brand needs to go across as many platforms as are available. The brand design also needs to be easily accessible and consequently memorableon a range of devices, from desktops and laptops totablets and smartphones.

Planning the Design

Rather like a business or marketing plan, the design for a website should be carefully thought through. In tandem with an experienced creative designer,concepts need to be discussed, the visual aspect requires meticulous attention, and the branding and logo have to be clearand focused. These latter two are there to be remembered, to encourage potential clients and customers to return to the site again and again.

It doesn't have to be complicated (though the designer will deal with the technical side of things), but it does need to be memorable. Good design means websites that are not cluttered or too "busy", that make it easy to find things, whether dealing with products or services, and ordering and buying, and that navigation is clearly signposted and quick to access.

If the initial design is right, then it is more likely that traffic will be driven to the site.

Developing Content

It's surprising how many websites don't present their content well. If content is sloppily produced and displayed, then it's much more likely to turn off a prospective customer. If a business can't get that right, how can a customer have confidence that the service it provides will be high quality?

It's essential not to neglect the nuts and bolts of content, and it's more and more important to make sure that business documents are web accessible.

This can be built into website design from the start, or it can be included at a later stage. Depending on what is required, business documents in applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe can be uploaded to the site, available then for employees and consumers to access. At a meeting for potential clients, these documents can quickly be shared.

This type of content can be put into a named folder and thus be accessible to those who need it.

Managing Digital Transactions

There are always concerns about the secure management of digital transactions, and web designers recognize this. Entrepreneur Keith Krach, as Chairman and CEO of DocuSign, has a digital transaction management company that services 85 million users across 188 countries. They are enabled to use any device to transact anything, at any time and anywhere, using any device, and the transaction is secure.

Securing the Brand

Good web design matches strong branding with high-quality content, the content including visuals (videos where appropriate), and well-written copy that is not reliant on dense blocks of text. Background colors should not obscure text, so advice on the best use of them should be got in collaboration with the graphic designer.

The website is a showcase to the world, so it's worth spending the time to get it right.

 

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