Part 3 : Goals in web presence and design tools, plus five feature questions

You launched KCG studios and are the Managing Director - what is your main goal for your clients in designing their web presence?
I always think of design as a tool that solves a business problem. A web site is usually a channel for a potential customer to receive more information about a company or its products. The site must be designed specifically to quickly deliver the most relevant information to the different audiences who will be visiting it, while at the same time gathering useful marketing information from those visitors who are willing to give it.

The structure and navigation of a site must be simple to use and give clear cues to visitors about where they are and how they can get somewhere else in the site if they need to. Every site should have an easy-to-find search and site map function. This is like the table of contents for a book -- not everyone will need to use it, but if it's not there it will be sorely missed by those who do.

Finally, the graphic design must appeal to the company's core audience. If you are marketing your products to small business owners, you don't want smiling teenagers on your home page, regardless of how "cool" it may look.

With all the bad design on the Web - what do you think are some common mistakes that e-business companies make in their website design?
From a design perspective, I think the biggest problem is clutter. Companies often try to squeeze too much onto a single page -- if you give people powerful search and navigation tools, you won't need to put so many products on a page.

Do you think it's important to use fast-loading site designs for sites with heavy customer interaction and a wide range in terms of experience of Net users?
I think pretty much all sites should be fast loading and cater to the largest possible range of browsers. It takes a little extra effort at the beginning to build a site for all browsers and screen resolutions, but the effort will pay off if your site doesn't disenfranchise potential customers.

Do you have specific software that you are partial to for your design work and if so what are the benefits of it?
Well, I use Adobe Photoshop for design because it's the world standard and I am very comfortable and fast using it. I use Allaire HomeSite for HTML and Web page production because it has the best combination of raw HTML editing and previewing features.

What's your advice to a budding web master?
Master your craft. Learn everything you can about web design and, more important, information design. Design sites with the visitor's needs placed first. Don't think about what information you want the customer to have -- think about what information the customer wants. Know you own limits. When you need to bring in outside help (whether in writing, graphic design or programming), don't be afraid to.

Which website do you visit most often and why?
I use "My Yahoo" as my home page. It is the most customizable personalized portal that I've seen and has the greatest volume of information.

What did you last buy online?
I bought a CD by a band called "Fisher" from .

What would you miss most about the Internet?
If the Internet went away, I think I would have to kill myself. Seriously, I think I would miss my paycheck most.

What's the best piece of web advice you ever got?
"Always give the client something extra, something that they didn't ask for." That came from Paul Saper, who is the southwest regional VP for Cyberplex, an Internet marketing and web development company.