Website design is different than traditional print publishing. Every website is an information display container, just as a book is a container; and every web page is like the page in a book. However the end size and shape of the web page is not known to the Web Designer, whereas the print designer will know exactly what size paper he will be printing on. “Design Issues for the World Wide Web”. public domain. World Wide Web Consortium. 2009-06-09. http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/. Retrieved 2009-06-10. </ref>

For the typical web sites, the basic aspects of design are:

• The content: the substance, and information on the site should be relevant to the site and should target the area of the public that the website is concerned with.
• The usability: the site should be user-friendly, with the interface and navigation simple and reliable.
• The appearance: the graphics and text should include a single style that flows throughout, to show consistency. The style should be professional, appealing and relevant.
• The structure: of the web site as a whole.

A website typically consists of text, images, animation and /or video. The first page of a web site is known as the Home page or Index Page. Some web sites use what is commonly called a Splash Page. Splash pages might include a welcome message, language or region selection, or disclaimer, however search engines, in general, favor web sites that don’t do this which has caused these types of pages to fall out of favor. Each web page within a website is a file which has its own URL. After each web page is created, they are typically linked together using a navigation menu composed of hyperlinks.

314media is located right outside of St. Louis, MO in Fenton, MO. We are also close to O’Fallon and Chesterfield that are both about ten minutes from the St. Louis Arch on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.  Much of our clientele is located in and around St. Louis, but we have clients as far away as  California and Massachusettes.

St. Louis Graphic Design and Art

St. Louis has a well established AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) chapter and many of its members have been producing world-class nationally-recognized graphic design. St. Louis is also home to numerous art festivals, galleries and art museums.

St. Louis art museums include: St. Louis Art Museum, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and City Museum.

St. Louis Sports

Many declare St. Louis to be the greatest sports town in America due to their loyal fans, the consistent success of their professional sports teams, and the sports venues it host.

St. Louis was recently home to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the NCAA Men’s Wrestling Championships and the PGA U.S. Senior Open. St. Louis’ professional sports teams include the  St. Louis Rams, the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Blues.

If it’s sports you want, St. Louis has it!

St. Louis Restaurants

Not to mention the great restaurants on The Hill, in Clayton, and Downtown, St. Louis is home to the greatest restaurant in the world, Tony’s St. Louis. Tony’s is one of a handful of AAA five-diamond restaurants in the country. All their food is exquisite, however, we highly recommend the scallops in truffle sauce, Tony’s salad and the lobster & scampi in mustard sauce.

Porter’s Steak House, in Collinsville, IL, is another favorite of 314media. We highly recommend their Grilled Pepperloin or The Chicago.

ATTENTION Pizza Lovers! St. Louis now has a GREAT pizza spot right across from the Pageant.  It’s called Pi (like the symbol). If you like Chicago style pizza, you will LOVE Pi. We recommend the deep dish.

St. Louis Nightlife

Whether it be a sporting event; a concert at the Savvis Center, The Pageant or the Fox Theatre, there is always something to do in St. Louis.

St. Louis has casinos at every turn; nightclubs on Washington Street, on Lacledes Landing or in Clayton, and pubs in Soulard or Downtown. Soulard hosts the second largest Mardi Gras festival in the United States.

For the night owl, right across the Mississippi River, is Sauget, IL – home to Pops, The OZ Nightclub and numerous gentlemen’s clubs.  Shhh…

Visit St. Louis, MO

If you are not from St. Louis, MO, but would like to visit, click here for the Official Travel Website of Saint Louis, Missouri or here for the St. Louis, MO Convention & Visitors Commission Website. Other St. Louis, MO tourism draws include the Missouri Botanical Garden, the St. Louis Zoo, the St. Louis Science Center, and lets not forget about St. Louis’ Anheuser-Busch Brewery.

Please use the form below to request a free quote about your web site project.  314media will respond to your request within 48 hours with a comprehensive quote about your project including a project scope, breakdown of costs, and a complete outline of how your new web site will function.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 314-714-5448.  We look forward to your project!

[contact-form 11 "Web Discovery"]

Do you need a new updated website, or perhaps some web design on your existing website?  Do you currently have a monthly web site maintenance contract?

If the answer to any of these is YES; then it’s probably best you contact 314media.  We can eliminate your monthly maintenance contracts and give you more control over your website content.

314media can provide many services to our clients in the surrounding St. Louis MO metro area and beyond. If you are trying to outsource your web design, if you need a website for your new business or organization, or if you need to revamp your current website; give us a call and let us show you how we can make your web site a more useful tool for your business.

314media takes great pride in our outstanding customer service and simplicity of our billing. Find out how we will eliminate your web site design headaches.

WordPress, content management, eCommerce, blogs, MySQL, PHP, HTML, CSS, SEO and Search Marketing, Social Media and more.

Contact 314media today for more information about our web design services. We are just minutes away from Eureka Missouri in nearby Fenton MO and we can help grow your business online. Contact us today!

From web design and development to SEO & SEM, 314media can provide many services to our clients in the surrounding St. Louis metro area and beyond. If you are trying to outsource your web design, if you need a website for your new business or organization, or if you need to sell a product you’ve just invented; give us a call and let us know what you are looking to do.  Being located near Farmington, MO; 314media is your Saint Louis web design resource!

314media takes tremendous pride in our outstanding customer service and in the simplicity of our billing. Find out how we will eliminate your web site design headaches with our affordable services.

Content management, ecommerce, blogs, MySQL database functions, PHP, HTML/XHTML, CSS, SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM are all services that Saint Louis based 314media can provide to your business. Web Hosting and Domain name purchases can also be setup and billed directly from us to eliminate multiple bills from multiple vendors.  We will make owning and managing a website affordable and easy!

Conveniently located in Fenton Missouri, just minutes from Farmington Missouri;  314media provide your organization with the tools that you need to deliver information effectively to your customers. We are also able to provide monthly financing and web hosting packages that will allow your Farmington business to only pay one vendor for all of your internet and web site needs.

Contact 314media today for more information about our St. Louis & Farmington, MO web design services.

From web design to annual maintenance contracts, 314media can provide many services to our clients in the  Chesterfield Missouri area and beyond. If you are trying to outsource your web design, if you need a website for your new business or organization, or if you need to sell a products; give us a call and learn how we can help you achive your web design goals.

314media takes great pride in our outstanding customer service and simplicity of our billing. Find out how we will eliminate your web site design headaches with single vendor invoices, hourly web design services, Content Management Systems, and personal publishing services.

Content management, ecommerce, blogs, MySQL database functions, PHP, HTML, CSS, SEO and SEM are all services that 314media can provide to your Chesterfield Missouri business. Web Hosting and Domain name purchases can also be setup and billed directly from us to eliminate multiple bills from multiple vendors.

Contact 314media today for more information about our web design services.  We are located near Chesterfield Missouri and are available by phone and email 24/7.

We feel that the most informed clients are the best to work with.  We’ve compiled a list of things to look at before choosing a web designer.  We did a google search to find out some of the major issues that clients have when choosing a web designer.

Obviously, we would love to work with you, however there are a lot of factors to consider before choosing a web designer.  We have tried to explain how we work after each point so that you can understand how 314media is the best choice for St. Louis web design company.

Examples of Prior Web Designs
One important factor to consider when choosing a web design company to develop a website for you is the type of web design that the company has produced in the past. Many web design companies will make portfolios available for potential clients to view so that they may see the style of the web design company and determine if their finished product is what the client is looking to achieve in the way of a website. This is extremely helpful when trying to determine if the work product of the web design company is up to one’s standards. Therefore, always ask to see samples of a web design company’s prior work before signing them up to construct a website. -

You can view our portfolio by clicking the portfolio link above.  We have some projects that are currently in development and we would love to show you those as well.  Just contact us for more information.

Estimated Completion Time
Another important factor to consider when selecting a web design company is what the estimated completion time may be. This is beneficial to know up front so the client can expect the finished work at a certain time. Since many individuals are using the Internet for conducting business, it is important that the client get their website up and running as soon as possible. This will also give the web design company notice that the client needs their completed product at a certain point in time and they will be less likely to push it to the side and work on other client’s projects.

We give a breakdown of our project time line before starting a project.  Obviously changes and things come up that can change that date, however we try our best to complete your project on-time, under budget, and beyond expectation.

Cost of Web Design Project
It is also crucial to know up front how much the completed web design project will cost the client. Since many businesses are on a tight budget these days, it is vital that one knows how much they will need to pay for their web design. Along with the total cost of the web design project, the client should also receive a breakdown of the individual costs of the project.

We provide you with a complete, comprehensive quote on how much your site will cost, what is included in your package, and what we need from you.

What Is Included with the Total Web Design Price?
One who retains a web design company to construct their website should also ask about what items are included in the total web design cost.   Some companies will include follow-up consultation in the web design price or web design help in the future. It is important to inquire about these things in the beginning so as to know what type of items they can expect with the amount that they paid for the web design.

Typically web hosting, some SEO, training and general support are always included in our packages.  Contact us for more information on what is included in your price.  We can also offer maintenance contracts for those who do not or can not manage their website themselves.

References
For those clients who wish to be on the safe side and know exactly who they are dealing with, requesting references is always an available option to the client. Many times the web design company will offer references that will vouch for their professional behavior and wonderful finished product. References are a good way to weed out the bad web designers from the good ones.

We have plenty.  We can provide a list of clients who have given us permission to let you call and speak with.  We have references by phone and email.  Just let us know and we can provide them to you.

Customer Service
It is also important to consider the customer service skills of the web design company. One who is paying good money to have their website designed wants to make sure they are dealing with a company that will listen to what they want and make themselves readily available to their clients. If one is considering a particular web design company that has bad customer service skills, it might be more advisable to choose a company that is more client-oriented.

We are here 24-7-365 .. Emergency issues come up and your website needs attention.  We understand that.  We offer basic support packages that allow for 24-7 support for a low monthly fee.  Contact us for more information about our webmaster services.

?Choosing a web designer and web developer can be a crucial decision for your business.  Be sure to choose a web designer with the skills and experience to bring your project to life to get the best return on your investment!

At 314media, helping small businesses and organizations to get more exposure is our specialty. We do this by creating clean, attractive, professional websites that increase Internet exposure and add credibility to your business. Our clients have enjoyed many website features including custom and unique website design with interactive elements, database driven websites for dynamic content, email marketing using E-newsletters, blogging, photo galleries, event calendars and E-commerce for online shopping.

Key elements of our Website Design

* Consistent and clear web page layout and navigation throughout site
* Quick download times – Your visitors won’t have to wait
* Web graphics are optimized for fast loading
* Search Engine Optimization – Search friendly designs
* Database driven sites & Content Management Systems (CMS) available
* Flash animations
* Custom meta-tags placement of keyword and keyword phrases
* Alternate text with keywords coded into all images
* Website testing to insure site is compliant with the latest web browsers
* Submission to search engines and directories
* Prompt and reliable support long after your site is launched
* Much, Much More!

You can maintain your website yourself using WordPress or we can update your website for you, leaving you time for your business or organization. Our website design prices are determined before we begin your project, so you’ll know exactly what the fees are before you begin.

Things to consider prior to designing or redesigning your website:

* What is the goal or purpose of the website?
* Describe your audience.
* Describe your competitors.
* When would you like the project completed?
* What is your budget?
* Do you know how you’ll maintain your site after it’s launched? If you have a site now, how is it maintained?
* About how many pages will be on the site?
* Do you plan to sell anything on the site? If so, what?

We can also provide reliable, low cost website hosting for your site if you don’t already have a host.

Contact us today or request a quote and we can help you get your business the web exposure it needs.

Based on our experience, we’ve compiled this list from internet sources, information regarding web design, and just our general experience.  We thought this list applied to a lot of people and we also found this funny too…

1. Have your cousin create your website… Your cousin might be a great person, but unless he is a professional web designer, he is likely to create a website that is almost unusable for first time visitors.
2. Leave Under Construction pages… Back in 1996 it was common to have Under Construction pages on websites, but nowadays it makes a website look unprofessional.Don’t link unfinished pages to the website until it is done being constructed.
3. Force visitors to view a splash screen before entering your real website.  Customers are looking for information not impressive graphics. If they have to wait 30 seconds to get through your introductory (splash) screen before actually viewing your content then they will leave.
4. Create confusing navigation… Content is very important, but the best content in the world is useless if customers can’t find it. Put your navigation, or list of links, on the top or left-hand side where people are used to finding it on most websites.
5. Make visitors guess what your business can do for them… If a customer comes to your website and within 20 seconds can’t figure out what you can offer them, they WILL leave. On your home page, prominently display the purpose of your business in a few sentences.
6. Hide your contact information… You want customers to be able to communicate easily with you. If they get frustrated trying to find a way to contact you then they will likelyleave your website and go to a competitor.
7. Fill your website with every piece of information you can think of… Overloading customers with information is a very common mistake. More isn’t always better. A clean,easy to read website is more desirable than one cluttered with unnecessary content.
8. Use Free Web Hosting… Free comes with a cost. Free Hosting adds banners and pop up ads which make your website look cluttered and unprofessional.
9. Have out of date content…  Nothing make a website look more irrelevant then outdated information. It’s great that you had a company picnic, but the time and location for it should not be there six months later. Revisit your website often to keep it updated.
10. Ignore submitting your website to search engines… Even the best designed website is useless to your business unless people can find it. Submit your website to all of the major search engines, such as Google and Yahoo .
11. Test your website in only one browser… Unfortunately every browser interprets a website differently. Yours could look great in Safari on a Mac, but look awful in Internet Explorer on a PC.

This seems to cover the majority of topics, but there are always more.  For a free analysis of your website, contact 314media today.