Get the peace of mind that only comes from working with a true web professional and design partner.

You’re not alone in your feelings of frustration about your company’s website. Many organizations come to me frustrated that their site simply doesn’t work — neither for their company nor for their customers.

As a marketing professional, you know that your site needs to support your company’s business needs. Your website needs to engage, educate and inform while reinforce the branding you’ve worked hard to develop. It needs to be updated regularly to remain relevant but who has the time for that? It’s not like you have an entire team at your disposal, dedicated to measuring its effectiveness, keeping it updated, and ensuring it continually supports your marketing efforts. And then there’s all the ever-changing tools that are necessary components of a successful website design strategy — tools like syndication, social media, mobile, and the list goes on. It’s enough to make you pull your hair out.

There’s no magic in what I do for my clients. I’ve just been doing graphic design (logo and print design) since the early 80s and web design and communication strategy since 1993. I’ve worked with many businesses and non-profits across a number of industries over the years. I’m committed to providing my clients with meaningful design that communicates the right messages in print and online to help businesses and organizations succeed.

Michel Godts

Partner with me for a website design strategy that works.

Maybe you hired some young entrepreneur who promised an entire branding package plus a website for $1,500 — or less! — and all you got was a cookie cutter logo and a run-of-the-mill site with content pulled directly from your old brochures. Or, at the other extreme, maybe you hired a fancy agency that developed a mediocre site for $10,000 that was impossible for anyone else to maintain — this, after being over budget by thousands of dollars and late by three months that were filled with endless meetings during which they still failed to understand your business needs or how to execute them online. Then again, you might simply be looking for professional help for the first time and know better than to hire a young gun but don’t have the budget or the need for a big agency that will sell you on services you’re not entirely sure are necessary.

That’s where I can help. Clients often come to me when their sites are woefully outdated. The site looks like it was created in the 90s. The content on the pages is about as exciting as a grocery list and probably isn’t current anymore. It fails to adequately communicate the level of professionalism and true breadth of experience and capabilities of the firm. It doesn’t have syndication nor is it integrated with social media accounts. And it’s certainly not viewable on mobile devices. (Sound familiar?) It’s likely that no one ever sat down to help them understand why they need a site, who they are trying to reach, what their customers need, or how to measure the success of their site. And certainly, no one had taken that information and then designed a site that both communicated and broadcast the message.

After partnering with me, I take a close look at what your business is trying to accomplish and apply that understanding to create a website design strategy that works for you and whoever you’re trying to reach.

Michel is unique. Finding an excellent graphic designer that also has a good business sense is a rare gem. Michel was hired to build me a website, but he delivered a well thought-out online business. I have never been one that likes people that just nod their head and say yes. Michel is not afraid to tell me why he thinks my ideas may not be good and show me alternatives. I highly recommend Michel – you’ll get a great end result and he makes the process enjoyable.

David Clar, President, Expressly-Yours Yearbooks and Clarigo

With a well thought-out website design strategy, your business is that much closer to achieving better results online. Contact me to get a free consultation and proposal for a website design that you can actually use.

From online nightmare to sweet dreams with a professional website design implementation.

Armed with an understanding of a website design strategy, I can then begin organizing content and developing an architecture that makes it easier for your audience to find the information they need, where they expect to find it, and in the way they need it — whether that’s from a laptop, iPad or phone.

At that point, I sit down to work on a look-and-feel design. Good design pulls together branding, imagery and other visual components and works tightly with text to get your message across to everyone who comes to your site.

The advent of content management and web publishing tools has simplified the process of developing and maintaining a website. If my clients have such a system in place or a resource that handles publishing, I provide the files needed to build or publish the site. Some of my clients don’t have those tools or resources at their disposal. That’s okay too. I use ExpressionEngine, a flexible and intelligent web publishing system, to publish and maintain the final site.

At this point, you’re ready to celebrate — and well you should! You’ve got a strategy to guide your online efforts. And a professional-looking website that works with a solution to easily maintain it.

Working with Michel is always a pleasure. Michel doesn’t only deliver high quality designs, he fully understands our business objectives and delivers a solution that is aligned with our vision. He is the most professional designer I worked with since 2004 and always exceeds my expectations.

Magnus Hoglund, Chief Executive Officer, Portfolio Media

For a worry-free website design solution, contact me by phone or email to get a free proposal and initial consultation.

My goal is to help you define and continuously support your web communication.

As you know, getting your website up is a huge accomplishment in itself. The next step is to keep it maintained. Maintenance includes updating and adding content which could be as simple as uploading the latest press release or event, or more complex, such as creating landing pages and banner ads to support your marketing efforts.

Not only do your site visitors have expectations for content that is continuously relevant, but search engines do as well. When your site is updated regularly, the search engines stop by to catalog the new pages — this translates into keeping or getting higher rankings. It’s no longer a simple matter of “If you build it, they will come.” They — site visitors old and new, and search engines — won’t come unless you give them something new.

On top of that, it’s important to know that what you’re doing is working. How well did the online portion of your marketing campaign do? What kind of traffic did it get? Where did people come from? Did the page load — as expected, too slowly, or not at all? Are there ways to improve performance — both from a technical perspective (e.g., upgrade the CMS software) or from a web communication one? Would it have been helpful to have a form? Or would it have been better to offer a web-optimized brochure that can be downloaded and printed?

All of these questions are par for the course for any site. And while you don’t need an entire staff to help with all of this, it is helpful to have a web partner like me that you can rely on to help you realize your online goals. 

Yorkshire Academy was fortunate to have Michel Godts come our way in 2002. Since then Michel has used his unending creativity, good taste, and attention to detail in many wonderful print pieces, but most importantly, our website. Working closely with Michel, we have transformed our website into our most dynamic and important marketing vehicle. We are amazed daily at the contacts we receive from all over the world, because of this one tool. We give Michel great credit for this success, and recommend him with our highest praise.

Lori Darnell, Marketing Director, Yorkshire Academy

If you’re ready to partner with me for successful, professional and effective web communication services, contact me for a free initial consultation and proposal.

I work hand-in-hand with your marketing and creative teams to achieve business success.

Even when you have a great team in place, sometimes they’re almost too close to see the bigger picture of how your online components fit into the overall strategy. No one knows your business better than you and your marketing team members do. But while their job is to know and understand your business, mine is to help your team get that message out effectively — whether that’s over the web, on phones and mobile devices, via social media or even in print. I work well with teams comprised of both internal and external members to help achieve your business goals.

Not only will I work with your team, I can also coordinate with other service providers of your choice or recommend and manage service providers as needed. Having been in the Web industry since 1993, I have worked with many trusted, professional writers, programmers, illustrators, and photographers should you need those services.

Michel’s attention to detail is unsurpassed. He stays current with evolving technologies, is a great listener and asks the right questions. He blends his considerable design talents with impressive digital media skills that make every project a success. We have collaborated since 2002 on well over 100 projects and I have never been disappointed with Michel’s talent, attention to detail or French accent.

Don Goodell, Creative Director and VP of Edge Creative Strategies