Huntsville Web Design & Online Marketing by NMT

Florence Tourism teamed with NMT to create a dynamic website that was as original, captivating and iconic as the Shoals itself. Check out the MUSIC section for a glimpse into the history of "The Muscle Shoals Sound".

Features include YouTube, Twitter & Interactive GoogleMaps integration, Automatic feed subscription by email, interactive photo galleries and more - all built on NMT's easy-to-edit content management system.

Click here to go check it out!

We're thrilled to roll out 2 exciting Alabama tourism and attractions websites by NMT. We partnered with Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourism Association (NorthAlabama.org) and EarlyWorks Museum Complex in Huntsville (EarlyWorks.com) to create branded, engaging user experiences for their users.

Be sure and check out the BigFish Braggin' Board on NorthAlabama.org for an example of ways NMT is using the power of interactive social media to create return traffic and well ... fun websites.

See our "Talking Tree" on the EarlyWorks.com site to see how a little Flash design can go a long way in communicating your web marketing message online.

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Here's a quick case study in appropriate market-driven design decisions:

• You see a business opportunity selling women's dresses. Noone in town is filling that niche. It's gold!
• Now here's a little background on you: You are an all-business man. You like hunting. I mean, really, you like hunting a lot.
• Now it's time to create an atmosphere in your store that makes non-hunting, dress-wearing women want to come in, shop, try on clothes.

Would you bring in your best Cabella's folding camp chairs? Deer heads on the wall? Maybe some camo wallpaper?

I mean, afterall, it is YOUR STORE.

Of course not.

This is where the web gets weird.

Since websites are a new, uncomfortable thing for many folks, lots of people forget that their sites should be built to create an atmosphere for their CUSTOMERS. Not for themselves.

SO while you love, I mean, really love the color "baby blue" and ... maybe Barbie collectibles, please allow your designers & marketing professionals the benefit of experience when they suggest that your new body armor site design should be informed more by appealing to the tastes of your target market than by any of your (or your immediate family's) preferrences.

This mentality also applies to the ever-present tendency to ask your designer to "make our logo bigger" What do you want your users to do? Go to the site and be dumbfounded by the sheer size and grandeur of the logo you paid your nephew to create in MS Word? No, let's be careful to identify the actions you want your users to take - while making sure to reinforce your branding in TASTEFUL, thoughtful ways.

Here's something everyone should watch before tackling a website redewsign alongside their designer. Watch now >>

OK, off to use client-demanded cursive fonts, smiley icons and easter-egg hues on my next Ultimate Fighter site ... - Steven

We recently had the pleasure of creating what we consider to be a fantastic re-branding and web presence for Huntsville Flight Center.com.

It is a huge leap forward from their previous online identity - Go check out the new site! Huntsville Flight Center.com

Lately, we've been getting a lot of calls from people who want us to "fix" part of a website or "give them new features." So it made me think: "What are the sure signs that you should scrap your current website and rebuild from scratch"?

This'll be a humorous (but absolutely true) look at what comes through our doors and indicates you will be better off financially and aesthetically if you just yell "Do-Over!"

5. You have a "hit-counter" on your "home page" Um ... it was cool when it was miraculous that someone across the country could actually fire up an internal modem, hear the little beeps and squeels and then finally hit your website, but today the fact that you have had 103 visitors doesn't impress anyone. So ... of course you can remove your embarrasing hit counter but chances are it's just an indication of the way the rest of the site functions. *We, of course, suggest robust statistics/analytics tools you see - not your visitors.

4. You need new functionality and your site was built using FrontPage. This probably means your site was built 6 years ago by someone who swore they were a "Web Master." For any web company to "add" interactive features such as password-protected areas, easy-to-update text etc ... there will have to be a considerable overhaul (read as: deleting all code)

3. You have a "Splash Page" Please, please, please don't make your visitors wait to get into your site. It's honestly like having to wait in a fast-food line. If your wait is too long - you assume it's badly run, and that what's inside is likely subpar as well. Not to mention the fact that most Flash animation "splash pages" are super-horrible to boot.

2. The price you paid to have your original site built was based on "number of pages" Today, you should absolutely be using a content management system if you run a website that has more than a couple "pages" of content. That means you'll be able to add an infinite amount of text, photos and multimedia yourself. No need to be a "Web Master" (see #4). NMT's SmartSites allow you to do just that: keep your site up-to-date with news, changing information - all through an easy text editor.

1 . You have called every web design house in town and they all giggle/ cough/ put you on hold - when you tell them the url of your current site. The lesson here: Use resource sites like these to size up your current website design against what is current. You'll see pretty quickly there is a great divide in new web design & its communication and sales potential vs. the old style of "putting text and pics" on a page.

If any of these hit too close to home, stop counting your "hits", call NMT and start counting your blessings. 256.704.2324