With any luck (not to mention years of collective design experience), you'll see your ideas become a visual web design.

As Liz Pagan, one of our designers puts it, "Design works hand-in-hand with engineering and content in order to best present the purpose of the site. A design that's too busy or too size-intensive can be a hindrance to getting the best response to a site -- the operative here is "less is more." Design that wins awards for being edgy doesn't necessarily sell more. Clean, easy to navigate, quick to load - those are the hallmarks of good web design. Design shouldn't distract."

Once we have the look and feel, PCG gets to work on both polishing the design and structuring the site. You'll know what goes on every page and what it will look like. You'll know what we need from you and what you can expect from us.

And then the cool stuff starts ...

• Development
• Functionality
• Creative Solutions
• Support
• Maintenance

Our engineering team has never met a challenge they didn't like or an aspect of eCommerce they've never seen before. We can do as much or as little as you need. And the websites we build don't have the planned (or unintentional) obsolescence of typical sites. We program today for future capabilities. Our engineering always starts with the business. We look at the processes, models, and rules and drive the technology to support that. PCG has developed business models and implemented web solutions for companies in both the B2B and B2C spaces. We've also effectively developed legacy database-to-web applications, real-time credit card online processing, and automatic order fulfillment systems, as well as innovative site maintenance tools and database-driven content.

There's a lot of new technology out there - we do all that: Java, Cold Fusion, Linux, and other Open Source Software, just to name a few. Our engineers - who come from IBM, Novell, AT&T, Oracle and UPS - also have expertise in more traditional technologies such as IBM mainframes, Unix systems, and Windows NT.

To paraphrase, if you come, we will build it.

Usability

Design and development don't take place in a vacuum. The absolute bottom line to a profitable bottom line is the user's experience of your site. Think how impersonal the word 'user' is. Then think of everyone you know browsing your site. Those real people are your users and they expect a good experience. As one of our engineers says, "I may not have ever seen many users, but I try to think of them as though I were the user. How would I want a site and its function to work for me?"

What defines a good user experience?

• Speed - the PCG rule-of-thumb is that a whole page should appear in less time than you can hold your breath.
• Easy Navigation - You should be able to identify exactly where you want to go on a site in a few seconds.
• Balance - Find the balance between the bells-and-whistles and ease of use. Some of us like to do what we have to and get out; some of us enjoy a little entertainment along the way.
• Content - Information must be accessible and pertinent. Your visitors should find all the tools they need to get the most out of your site.