There's a gap between what ad agencies and web houses can offer. This is costing their clients both money and goodwill, and can actually harm a valuable brand.

Ad agencies dream in color
Ad agencies see things through the lens of the off-line experience. Not surprisingly, the websites they produce reflect the look and feel of a company's advertising - as though people who surf the Internet keep your brochures close at hand to check for consistency.

In advertising, the big concept often boils down to clever pictures. But online, a concept is what a website can do, not how it looks. That's why visitors curse fancy animations, pictures that fill half the screen, and other visual devices that prevent people from doing what they came to do. So, if the first thing a potential agency does is present a visual mock-up of your new site, run in the opposite direction.

Web houses talk in code
And they love acronyms - XML, UML, CMS, HTML, DHTML, ETTWF. What's more, most web houses have lucrative deals with software houses - the folks who make the expensive applications on which you can run your website.

We work closely with web houses since they have valuable specialist programming knowledge. But the art of commercial persuasion usually isn't their strongest skill. No wonder so many of their sites look identical - a row of tabbed navigation along the top, a big useless picture, and three or four special areas you can click on just below the picture. Of course if you like this crap, check out www.dotster.com where you can download one of these cookie-cutter designs for as little as USD 52.

We know commercial success depends on people
Somewhere in the middle, there's a need for someone who thinks in terms of “people” not color or code. So, we think about people - their behavior and their needs. Color and code are not the keys to increased conversion rates. People are. They're the ones with cash in their pockets.

Not surprisingly, there's also some overlap between what they do and what we do. For example, we provide unbiased advice when the time comes to choose a software solution. And we have talented designers and skilled American, Danish, and German copywriters who can create compelling content. It's really a win-win situation: your site works better and your life is made a little easier.

We'll be delighted to coordinate colors with your ad agency. And we'll also crack code with your techies. But most important of all, we'll make sure your site visitors are happy and your business grows. After all, isn't that more important that the color of your links?

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