We're a design AND marketing agency and we're fully focused on the fact that you need to see a good return on investment for the design work that we carry out for you. For us - marketing and sales are one and the same, if we're going to create a website that helps you make more money from your customers/users, then we have to build your website FOR your users, based around your business goals.
We have a tried and tested formula for doing this:

1. We make sure we fully understand what your company wants to achieve from the website (act as a sales portal/collect information on prospective clients/spread the word/sell products online etc). We bring together your top 5 - 10 aims and then look at what what content people look at and need from your site.
2. We then create no more than 5 main user types for your site and make sure we understand what they will be wanting from your website - so we can give them everything they need, when they need it. This may sound overly simplistic, but there can be a very complex process behind this if required, to filter all of your users down so that the 'primary personas' we end up using as your main user types are the right ones. We can take you through this nearer the time - as how we approach this will depend on the complexity and nature of your site.
3. We plan your site by creating a sitemap and individual page wireframes and test the structure (not designs yet!) of your site against all of your user types and their goals and wants from your site. Once these wireframes are confirmed we can then...
4. Design it (there are normally 2 rounds of feedback from the client)
5. Build it (based on the signed off designs, so no feedback is needed from the client here)
6. Test it
7. Let it loose!

See below for an example of a sitemap and a wireframe - contact us if you would like to know more about either!