Simple and Complex Web sites

We work on web design projects ranging in scale from simple mockup-to-template and single landing page projects to large-scale web sites that require databases and multiple programming languages. Your project will probably fall somewhere in the middle, but we develop all types of web sites using the industry's best practices. What ever your Web Design needs are the Lighthouse Brokers Web Design Team will be able to help you vision come reality.

The Three Stages of Web Design

It's important for you and us that we will work together from the beginning to the end of your web design project, so take a peek at the three jargon-free stages you and will go through.

1. Consultation and layout design Read More >>>>

Whether you have every aspect of your planned web site decided, or you wish to let our creative team to design a layout that will appeal to your target audience, the first step is to transform your thoughts, ideas, concerns, and knowledge into a web site layout that will balance usability and aesthetics.

We specifically focus on usability during this step, and we'll discuss the most appropriate types of site navigation, site structure, colors, fonts and work out a few basic search engine optimization considerations. Whether your business or organization is already established, or just starting up, a well designed web site is extremely important in creating and strengthening the corporate brand.

Our Web Design Team will work with you until you are completely satisfied with a design, and when you are, we'll move onto the Web Development and Programming of your web site.

We are able to arrange for face-to-face initial consultation in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa, and neighboring areas. However we do serve the whole U.S., Canada, and have clients in Europe as well. For these areas we prefer a video conference with the client/potential client

2. Development and programming Read More >>>>

Your web site layout will be coded so it will display as it is meant to in all of the modern browsers, like Internet Explorer 7 and 8, Firefox, Google Chrome, and others. We test the web sites we create in over 50 different browsers to make sure your new site will look great no matter what browser your audience is using. Once we finish the coding of the site, we'll start getting in all the content that goes into the web pages using the content you provide us. If you do not have the content ready our copy writing team can put it all together based on your existing marketing material and your expectations.

If you need a more dynamic or interactive web page or feature on your site, we can create it! While the majority of web sites don't require large amounts of programming, we do know how to build fancy online applications like Digg or YouTube. Flash sideshows and smaller animations are included in the pricing always.

When you're delighted with every aspect of your web site, we'll move on to the final stage, personal training.

We are able to arrange for face-to-face initial consultation in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa, and neighboring areas. However we do serve the whole U.S., Canada, and have clients in Europe as well. For these areas we prefer a video conference with the client/potential client.

3. Personal training Read More >>>>

You will not be left alone!

By this point, your organizations web site is now online and working flawlessly and our Web Design Team has finished their job. The only thing left to do now is to train you how to use it. Don't worry, whether you want to manage the site by yourself or wish us to take over the webmaster duties, it can be arranged.

Of course, we know that you may spot something we all missed after the project has come to a close, so we offer free support and free minor updates to your new site for 30 days after its closing date. After the 30 days, we charge a reasonable hourly rate for updates to the site. All the details will be in your Web Design / Webmaster Contract.

We do not Want to Be Too Modest

We get frustrated when we see web design companies claiming to be "the best web design company" or "a vastly experienced web development and internet strategy company" when they clearly are not from a professional web designer's perspective. There are good and bad ways to design a web site, and we know we can do it better.

1. Easily manage your web site Read More >>>>

We believe that it is important for web site owners to be able to easily manage their web site without having to call their web designer every time they need to make a change, if they wish to do this. I have used several content management systems in our projects that let non-professionals make modifications to their web site, and Joomla beats them all. Joomla is an open source CMS, there are no fees to adopt or use the system. Joomla has also an e-commerce system, Virtuemart, that is extremely flexible and free.

Although installing Joomla on servers and customizing it requires a fair bit of knowledge, using it does not. Anyone can make updates, create new pages and articles through a WYSIWYG web editor with absolutely no knowledge of coding. Editing an article, adding pictures, or creating a new page is as easy as writing an e-mail.

If you wish us to build your site using content management system we will train you to use it. We will show you how to use the CMS so you'll be able to edit the text on all of your web pages, upload photos and put them on your pages, and even add new pages to your web site. Joomla also has extensive online documentation, so if you get in a fix, all the answers are easy to find on the web, or you can just ask us.

We will be able to give on-site training in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa, and neighboring areas.

2. Usability and accessibility Read More >>>>

Usability

It is a simple concept, yet there are too many web designers out there who don't consider usability when creating web sites. In its simplest terms, usability is how easy a web site is to use. For an example, is the navigation clear, is it easy to use and instantly noticeable; are the web pages organized effectively; is the font size large enough to read with sufficient contrast to the background color; and so on. It is all too easy to complicate what should be a straightforward and easy-to-use web site. Usability is perhaps the most underrated aspect of good web design.

From the very beginning of working with us, we'll give our input on usability. This is especially true if we think your ideas are going in the wrong direction with regards to the general usability of a web site's layout or the content. Internet surfers have a very low tolerance for web sites that don't give them what they want fast enough, and if it takes more than a few seconds for visitors to figure out how to navigate your site, or to see that your web site has information they want, they will leave.

Your web site doesn't need to be the flashiest one in town, when a web site sacrifices its content by employing bleeding-edge techniques that confuse the average internet surfer, neither you nor the visitor wins. All this said, we do believe that your web site needs to stand out. There is so much information, and so many sites, that if your web site is not esthetically appealing and able to catch the visitors attention, again they will leave. Therefore we put a lot of emphasis on how the site looks and try to incorporate at least one interactive or flash element at least on the landing page.

Accessibility

Accessibility has been a hot topic over the past decade, and as the word implies, it has to do with the range of browsers and devices that can or cannot display or read a web site. Accessibility specifically benefits disabled people, and The World Wide Web Consortium explains what accessibility is quite concisely.

Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. Web accessibility also benefits others, including older people with changing abilities due to aging.

Less capable browsers

The majority of users on the internet surf the web with fully functional browsers, however, most smart phones don't usually come with a particularly functional browser, and accessible web sites can seriously improve a user's experience on pint-sized browsers.

Accessibility for those with disabilities

Screen readers take the content of a web site and read it aloud which enables people with vision problems to surf the internet. Our web sites are coded always while keeping accessibility in mind. Everything from text-only browsers and screen readers to the most functional browsers on the market today are aided by accessible web sites.

3. Better code, better results Read More >>>>

Whether your company needs good search engine placements, fast loading times, or an accessible web site, good code is at the root of it all.

You don't need to be an expert in web design to understand the concept of how a good code structure can help aid in search engine placements and accessibility. Most web design companies create their web sites in visual editors such as Dreamweaver or Front Page, and these programs simply aren't intuitive enough to arrange a web site's code in a manner that is always beneficial. We at Lighthouse Brokers Web Design hand code the sites we build keeping SEO in mind through the whole process.

Search engines read a web site from the start of the code all the way down to the end of the code. They don't see the presentational side of a web site such as images and colors, or even the layout of the site, and this is why hand coding a web site is crucial for search engine optimization: the most important content is placed at the very top of the code, even if that content doesn't appear to be the first on the page when it's viewed in a browser.

Lean and Mean

Hand coding a web site ensures that there is absolutely nothing hidden on a web site that doesn't need to be there, and if you know a little bit about search engine optimization, you are probably aware that keeping the amount of code to a minimum is important.

How This Ties in With Accessibility

Let's face it, the content you want search engines to deem most important on a web page is the content that your visitors are going to want to read first. Similarly, when visitors arrive at your site using a mobile or less capable browser (like a mobile phone's browser), the first thing they will see is the content they are looking for.

Web Hosting

We do not require our clients to use our hosting plans like some companies do, but it's available if you want it: we offer reliable hosting, starting at $69 per year.

If you're ready to get your web design project off the ground, you can request a quote over phone or send us an email and we'll send you a proposal within a few days.

Social Media

Social Media can be an excellent marketing tool for your company, if used correctly.

We at Lighthouse Brokers Web Design can create you a truly unique MySpace layout, Facebook profile, Twitter background, that reflects the company image. What ever your needs are, we can create it.

Quality Web Design starts at only $199

database driven solutions with Joomla Content Management System, start at $499

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Lighthouse Logo Design

Logo Design is part our business that works for you. At Lighthouse Brokers, we create high quality, professional and completely unique custom logo designs.

A high quality logo design will supply you with instant credibility. Your new logo design can be used for business card design, stationery design, brochure design, web site design and in your animated logo design. Our team will help create and grow your brand, and your business!

Quality logo design starts at only $49

Animated logos from $99

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A Few of our Design Projects

More will be posted here soon. Links to live sites are coming soon as well.

WEB DESIGN

 

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or just give us a call: 941 580 0901