First impressions count for a lot on the Internet. Research has shown that it takes people less than a second from opening a search engine link to decide whether to stay on your site or to leave.

Creating pages that make that lasting impression in less than a second takes ingenuity and skill. Web designs need to catch people's attention fast, but they also need to nurture that initial interest. We will work with you to capture what the primary purpose of your web site is:

• E-commerce
• Thought leadership
• Education
• Interaction
• Lead generation

Whilst it is possible to combine all of the above, there will naturally be an emphasis on one above the others.

An e-commerce site will normally focus on providing concise product information, search facilities and some sort of checkout/shopping basket functionality. A more sophisticated site will feature "My Account" and "If you like that, you'll love this" recommendations.

If thought-leadership within your industry is your aim, you will be looking at publishing lots of white papers, customer stories and news items. You might write these yourself and you will almost certainly be linking to lots of other content from around the internet. Education in this context is all about telling people what it is that you are good at. You will probably wish to list your products and services, and go into some detail as to their benefits and availability.

Interaction is all about connecting with your audience – getting them to provide you with content. This can be simple things like newsletters and competitions, and can also include Web 2.0 capabilities such as a discussion forum, a blog, a 'tweet'. You should encourage your readers and customers to contribute their own material and recommendations.

Finally, if lead generation is your number one aim, then there must be short and snappy information available – and really compelling calls to action. You want prospects to email you, call you, or request further information. The look and feel of the web site would be completed by working within your overall aims of simplicity, imagery and interaction. You might have strict brand guidelines or you might be launching a completely new online brand.

All of these elements come together to create a web site that is both appealing and engaging.