blumenfeld + fleming finally has a new website. Cue the Hallelujah chorus. Now that we’ve redone ours, here are 5 things you need to do to get a great website:
No. 1
Define the Market
Who are you talking to? At b+f we are talking to 4 different groups:
- Local sophisticated business owners who are designers with a refined aesthetic
- Local hard working people launching brands
- Not–for–profits who need to update their image or better define their messages and with a refined aesthetic
- Business owners west of the Hamptons and well beyond, who generally are attracted to our Madison Ave chops at MTK prices, and the access they have to us
No. 2
Define Your Personality
Ok, so out here in Montauk, we’re fun but not silly. Casual, not formal. Modern, but not slick. Approachable but not rinky-dink or high-faluting. You have to figure out what you are and what you’re not before you create anything. Then comes the hard part. How do you express that personality?
No. 3
Design + Write
As designers and writers, once we know the personality of a client, it’s easy to create an image that reflects it. But being objective about ourselves – not so easy. Which font? Which weight? What color, which hue? Let’s just say we got PICKY. Really picky!
No. 4
Determine the Purpose
In our case we want people to look at our work. (And if it appeals to them, get in touch.) What about you? Unless it’s your mom, most people won’t spend much time on your site – they want your phone number, hours of operation, address: so put that info
on the home page!
No. 5
Figure Out the Mechanics
You generally don’t have to worry about this, your web developer does. But every website has to work on myriad devices from tablets to phones to multi-sized computers. How does it load, does it scroll, is there a slideshow, are there videos? There are 100 options, for each and every page. We had to figure this out too.
In between all of the above, we got busy! We did an ad campaign for Adam Miller Group, websites for Landscape Details, Ferro Kuba, East End Hospice, Jewish Center. Designed logos for Adam Miller Group, Jewish Center of the Hamptons, Montauk Library and more. We also adopted a puppy, went surfing and started a rock band. Check out our work and our website, and please let us know what you think!
Thanks!
Lynn + Jill