Designing For The Web How to start one of today's fastest-growing businesses.

Web-site design is fast becoming a hot multimillion-dollar nicheindustry. The numbers tell the story: Independent Web-site designcompanies will earn $10 billion in sales by the year 2000--up from$582 million last year--according to a 1997 survey by ForresterResearch Inc., a market-research company in Cambridge,Massachusetts. The survey predicts that the total number of Webpages will nearly double this year and triple in 1998. Thesefigures represent a vast, exciting area of opportunity for thoseinterested in designing Web sites.

But the best part is you don't need a lot of money to starta Web-site-design company. Brad Brewster, 30, started Bent MediaInc. in New Orleans in 1992 with only $5,000, which he used to buya Macintosh computer and some multimedia software. And John McLain,52, started McLain Web Design in Keene, New Hampshire, in 1996,with a mere $2,500, which bought him a PC, a printer and graphicssoftware. Both men kept their costs down by working from home. WhenBrewster's business started to take off, he rented an office.McLain still works from home, but hopes to rent an office earlynext year.

"It doesn't take much money to start a Web-site-designcompany," McLain says. "A must is a high-speed computer,a fast modem (36.6 Kbps) and software that allows you to executedesigns."

There are no credentials or legal requirements for breaking intothis field. "At the moment, it's a totally unregulatedbusiness," McLain says. "As more BIZ Experiencess jump intothe arena, it's safe to say that associations creatingindustrywide standards will be popping up."

But the big surprise is you don't have to be a computerwizard to design Web sites. All it takes is a love of and afamiliarity with computers, a touch of creativity and a willingnessto learn. "You'd be surprised how quickly you can pick upthe technical skills," Brewster says.

There are many misconceptions about the Web-site-designbusiness, according to Michael Stoner, a Princeton, New Jersey,Web-site-design consultant. "Most of the people startingWeb-site-design companies are not techies," he says. Brewster,who has a bachelor's degree in art and sold multimedia-designwork (such as CD-ROMs) before he began specializing in Web-sitedesign. McLain was a journalist who worked for a communicationsfirm before starting his company.

Learn the Language

Both Brewster and McLain invested time and energy in masteringsoftware, especially HyperText Markup Language (HTML) coding, theInternet programming language. "All it takes is time,"says Brewster, who learned basic HTML coding in just two weeks.

McLain says he had the coding down in three weeks. "But Iwent at it with a passion, putting in 15-hour days," he says."I also bought design and illustration software and downloadedan animation package from the Internet." The sharewareincluded information about learning HTML.

But mastering HTML doesn't mean you're going to make itas a Web-site designer, says Stoner. "A 16-year-old kid canmaster the coding fundamentals in a couple weeks," he says."It's what you do with the knowledge that will determineyour success or failure."

After mastering HTML and a few popular softwarepackages--including a file-transfer-protocol (FTP) program calledWS-FTP, which is used to transfer Web files from a computer to aremote server anywhere in the world--McLain spent a few dayssurfing the Net, checking out Web sites. "What better way toget a crash course in design basics than by looking at thethousands of existing sites?" asks McLain. "It'spretty fascinating, because the sites range from dismal tofantastic." More important, he came away with a clear idea ofwhat a good Web site should look like.

"A good Web site ought to sell itself," Brewster says."Its home page should have the same effect as a great magazinecover: It ought to hook you and make you want to knowmore."

McLain says simple, attractive, easy-to-navigate Web sites areultimately the best sales tools. "The majority of sites arepoorly designed, because the creators have overdone the splashygraphics and whirling animation," he says, "rather thanconcentrating on what the site ought to communicate."

The beauty of a great Web site is it allows you to promote aproduct or service inexpensively. Potential customers can look atit without having to pay a hefty access fee.

Keeping those guidelines in mind, both men designed their ownWeb sites, paying careful attention to their home pages. In eachcase, the Web sites offered a bird's-eye view of thecompany's services. Each man focused on his particular talents:Brewster stressed his artistic skills, while McLain sold hisgraphic and editorial talents, particularly his copywritingskills.

Market Your Site

While designing and launching your own Web site is certainlyexciting, it's only the first step in getting a Web-site-designbusiness off the ground.

The next step is marketing your Web site. If you don't getthe word out, no one will find you. McLain put his Web address onhis letterhead and business cards, and, when pitching accounts, hemakes a point of telling people to check out the site.

After establishing links to other sites on the Web, McLain spent$300 mailing a promotional piece to 500 local businesses. Theone-page mailer told prospective clients about his Web-site-designcompany and made compelling arguments about why a Web site isimportant and how it enhances a company's image. He invited thecurious to check out his home page, and offered businesses a20-percent discount on a site-design contract if they responded bya certain date. "It brought in 20 accounts, which led to otherreferrals," McLain says. "The mailing helped kick off mybusiness, and once you've been personally recommended, youdon't have to do handstands to convince someone to test yourservices. They've already been sold."

Working With Clients

When working with new clients, McLain applies the sameprinciples he used to build his own business. "I tell them toannounce their Web addresses in print and radio ads and in pressreleases," he says. "Even if someone doesn't intendto buy your product or service, there's a natural curiosity tolook at a home page. It's like browsing through a magazine.It's fun."

"Clients often don't know what the Web site shoulddo," Stoner says. "If the design firm is doing its job,it should start by asking a fundamental question: `How am I goingto make the Web site work for my client?' It's not aboutwhat to communicate, but how tocommunicate."

Talented designers concentrate on creating an engagingenvironment that communicates something important to the viewer,according to Brewster. "It's not about ramming informationdown people's throats," he says. "Often, 200carefully chosen words can say more than 2,000."

It takes time and thought to create an imaginative Web site.Depending on the complexity of the information and the client'sgoal, Brewster charges from $15,000 to $200,000, and has taken upto several months to launch a site. (His fees also include theupdating of his clients' sites.) McLain confines himself tosmaller projects, and charges between $300 and $2,100 to create aWeb site. "I spend a lot of time coming up with goodestimates," he says. "If I miscalculate my bid and theproject runs appreciably over my estimate, I wind up losingmoney."

As for attracting new clients, both men emphasize the importanceof selling value. "Just telling someone you can design afantastic Web site doesn't demonstrate anything," McLainsays. "A prospective client must see the value in doing it.They have to understand how it can fatten their bottomlines."

"New sites are being launched every day," McLain says."Every site, good or bad, can be a lesson. Evaluate each oneto find out if it's accomplishing anything. Ask yourself whatyou would do to improve it. That basic question will keep yourazor-sharp."

McLain stresses the importance of frugality in the beginning.Monitor your expenses and try to get things done cheaply."Don't make the mistake of expanding before you'reready," he says. "Don't make the assumption thatbusiness will get better. The only time to expand is when you haveenough business to finance it. Even then, make sure you're ableto keep up the momentum. The one thing you don't want to haveto do is pull back."

As business improves, McLain recommends contracting work outuntil your business stabilizes. "It's a good way to handlemore business," he says, "and is certainly cheaper thanputting someone on your payroll." Both men agree that growthought to be carefully planned and constantly evaluated.

The Commercialization Of The Internet

A decade ago, if you told someone you ran a Web-site-designcompany, they'd look at you as if you were from Mars. Theaverage person didn't even know the Internet existed.Cyberspace was considered a mysterious void explored by scientistsand academicians.

Today the Internet is the high-tech topic of the day. A pollpublished by Business Week in April found that 40 millionpeople--twice as many as last year--use the Internet, the Web orboth. It's no wonder the business world is aggressively takingadvantage of the Internet. It represents a potentialmultibillion-dollar marketplace where companies can communicate andsell products and services.

The best part is the Internet has created incredible newbusiness opportunities, including Web-site design. If you intend todo business in today's competitive marketplace, an Internetaddress is almost as important as a phone number. Your Web site canbe considered your company's online brochure, telling visitorsabout your business. And its home page, the critical point ofcontact for the outside world, is the directory guiding visitors tothe products, services, policies and other details of your company.The array of opportunities can be intimidating, but getting startedon the right foot can make all the difference. Due out this month,The Geek's Guide to Internet Business Success (VanNostrand Reinhold, $22.95, 800-842-3636), by Bob Schmidt, providestips on everything from establishing your business and settingprices to finding and keeping customers.

Contact Sources

Bent Media Inc., (504) 522-0163, http://www.bentmedia.com

McLain Web Design, (603) 357-7774, http://www.avsweb.com/jbm/

Michael Stoner, (609) 497-0339, mstoner@lipmanhearne.com