Web Design Firm in Charlotte Sets 19th Year Mark

On February 14, 2013, The Idea People celebrated our 19th anniversary of web design and web agency existence.  “When we started our agency in 1994, there was not a wealth of resources about web design and the Internet as a business tool,” said Jay Joyce, president of The Idea People.  “We were on our own and hungry for learning as much as we could about designing websites while watching what was rapidly evolving into a genuine business format.”

Way back in 1994, web design was just taking ground as the drumbeat for web companies and web services grew louder.  “The big term in 1994 was ‘surfing the web’,” says Joyce.  “Do you remember how cool it was to launch your Netscape browser on dial-up to see if you had mail on AOL?”  The web domain licensing company InterNic was founded in 1994 and that is where everybody who wanted a domain name went to register.  We designed web pages with early tabular columns in HTML, which gave us more design options than just text.

Web Design History for The Idea People

• 1995-1997 – We were using web design programs like GoLive and Microsoft Front Page to design B2B websites. “At this stage in web design and web development, businesses were putting up ‘brochure-ware’ websites with general information,” says Joyce.
• 1998-2000 – Microsoft had launched Internet Explorer and AOL was growing exponentially.  People were accessing the web for entertainment and research for education and consumer decision-making.  “We were seeing the first stages of e-commerce websites,” says Joyce.  “We had a pet supply manufacturer as a client and they had us build this complex online database where people could search for dog beds and supplies, and then call the company to order something,” said Joyce.  “It was pretty cool for the time!”
• 2000-2002 – Flash was the dominating web design element that every business wanted on their website.  “Businesses were flocking to the Internet and I remember that our phones were ringing off the hook in Atlanta with people wanting a Version 2.0 website that had to have Flash on the opening page,” says Joyce.  “We became Flash design experts quickly as that particular wave hit the country.”
• 2003-2006 – E-commerce and web applications begin to dominate the web landscape.  “Now that everybody had a well-designed website, businesses wanted to allow clients and vendors to interact with e-commerce and online databases,” adds Joyce.  “The evolution of backend web development, content management systems, and scalable e-business solutions really skyrocketed.”
• 2007-2011 – As the economy slumped into a depression, the technology and web marketplace continued to evolve and introduce more affordable and powerful B2B and B2C solutions.  “We actually saw the web start to replace in-house jobs and manual processes with online automated processes,” said Joyce.  “The turn of businesses marketing online through well-written content and social media inclusion helped many businesses build new marketplaces and shore-up slumping sales.”
• 2012 – current – “The perfect storm of providing high-end web design, web development, mobile design, and Internet marketing arrived in early 2012,” said Joyce.  “Business clients need all four of these services on a consistent basis to maintain their competitive status, discover profitable vertical online marketplaces, and keep in step with their customer’s social media lifestyle.”

The Idea People are deeply experienced with all aspects of web design, web application development, mobile design and Internet content marketing.  “As we look forward to the next five years, we see that our clients will want to physically be on every technology surface available,” said Joyce.  “Desktop access to websites and web applications are paramount, but the shifting dynamic is to provide the same desktop experience on mobile and tablet devices.”

We can build a web and mobile environment for your business to facilitate transactions, discover new vertical marketplaces, increase qualified device traffic and conversions, and appear important in your customer’s social media lifestyle.  Call Jay Joyce with The Idea People at 704-398-4437 or email jay@theideapeople.com to get started now.

Top 5 Benefits the Web Does for Your Charlotte Brand

We recently had a lively discussion with a group of Charlotte clients about the benefits of having your business on the web and we thought that it would be worthwhile to share the “outcome” of the 5 things the group felt the web can do for your business brand, beyond superior web design.

“The web has such a positive impact on business brands and everybody has an experienced or educated opinion to share,” said Jay Joyce, president of The Idea People in Charlotte.  “We have always believed that the web is such a level playing field for all business brands to compete, but you obviously need to know what to do to take advantage of the opportunities.”

5 Things the Web Can Do for Your Brand

1.  Establish a strong, positive presence for your company.  “We all agreed in our group discussion that a properly designed website, with correct content and user architecture, was the most important asset a brand in Charlotte can have,” says Joyce.
2.  Empower customers with web tools and decision-making capabilities.  “The most successful websites, regardless of the product or service, allow customers to form and maintain relationships at their own pace and discretion,” said Doug Grubba, director of technology with The Idea People.  “This includes web technology development applications for e-commerce processes, brochure and documentation downloads, e-newsletters and alerts, and social sharing opportunities.”
3.  Separate your brand from competitors.  “Today’s marketplace for every business is overly competitive,” says Joyce.  “A business website has no limits as to the creativity, the commerce capabilities, the social interactions, and the positioning opportunities to create a brand momentum that could be leaps ahead of your closest competitors.”
4.  Be in the right place at the right time.  “Our group agreed immediately and across the board that whenever anybody wants to buy something or find out more information about a product or service, the first thing they do is turn to the web,” says Joyce.  “How many times have we heard that ‘timing’ and ‘luck’ play into the role of new sales and customer relationships?”  A strong content marketing plan, coupled with a correctly-optimized website, will help ensure that your website is ranked high enough to be in the right place at the right time.
5.  Give me a desk and mobility.  “We all loudly agreed that having a website that displayed correctly on both desktops and smartphones dramatically boosted your brand image and presence,” added Joyce.  “So much of a business’ website traffic is now being tracked through mobile and smartphone devices.”  Having a properly-formatted website to fit the screen size and the device greatly increases the opportunities for the web to benefit your brand.

The Idea People in Charlotte design business and mobile websites to accomplish all five items listed in this post.  To find out how your business brand can embrace everything that the web can do for you, please contact Jay Joyce with The Idea People at 704-398-4437 or email jay@theideapeople.com.