Web design

A place for everything and everything in its place.

Web design is much more than making something look pretty and engaging. That is just the skin on the bones. The real “meat” of a website is in how it functions. Can your viewers find the information they are looking for? Is all the info they need even there? Is your site written in a level of language the intended audience appreciates (neither too low or too complex).

But the underlying skeleton – the site architecture– is the first step. That is also a very necessary step, often done even before a website can even be priced for design and coding.

All the pages in your current site first are recorded in their present order, including any specific content. From there we ask if there’s anything additional functionality or content you wish to add – and then we examine the current structure of the site contents. Would a visitor look for your information where it’s currently located? Often the answer is no, so a new site architecture is created. What goes where it’s expected, so to say.

The AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia site is a case in point. Years of information additions made it almost impossible to navigate easily. There was a great deal of important information, but there was everything from notices written by staff to full-blown medical text, and no real thought to how it should cohesively be presented.

The new site is easy to navigate, and through its language gives comfort to people who may have just been diagnosed with HIV, or who are concerned they may have contracted it. The information is readily available and the language used reflects a knowledgeable, caring organization.

Note: the ACNS site seems to have suffered from a lack of resources during COVID-19 where the original design has unfortunately not been maintained through recent updates. It appears that is only the case on the homepage.

Below are three sites completed recently. Under each image is a URL link. Docaitta Design wrote the entire copy and designed all three, working with the client so each maintained its separate brand identity and spoke to their audiences in their own unique brand voices.