The Wiki definition of a Rich Internet Application (RIA) is simple enough: a web application that has the features and functionality of traditional desktop applications.
Some of you probably use Outlook, or Thunderbird for your email needs. In order to use one of these email clients, though, you first had to install the software in your computer, and once installed it became one of your desktop applications. Now, let's distinguish this from Gmail. You can send and receive email through your Gmail account, just as you can with Outlook and Thunderbird, but you didn't have to install any software on your computer to do so. You simply opened an account, and you were in business. You didn't need to be at your own computer for this, either . . . you had access to it wherever you had an Internet connection.
Design refers to the graphic image of a web site, the aggregate of its color, fonts, style, layout, navigation, ambiance, look and feel, that defines it as uniquely yours. It establishes a branding identity that distinguishes you from all others, and that should be consistent throughout all business materials, including e-newsletters and off-line marketing materials such as letterheads, envelopes, business cards and signage. Studies show that a first time visitor will form an impression, favorable or unfavorable, of a web site's design within the first 3/10 of one second upon arrival. Impactful, then, becomes imperative.
KISS understands that design is more than pretty colors and fancy logos. We also understand that excellent design can overcome bad copy, while the reverse is not necessarily true. Layout and navigation contribute substantially to the general understandability of a web site, and perhaps even more so than well-crafted copy...
KISS has extensive experience in internet application design and development for all sorts of functionality systems, including Customer Relationship Management tools (CRMs), membership systems, and “live” direct online reservation systems for accommodations businesses. Our programming language skills include Perl, PHP, Javascript, Java, HTML, DHTML and others. We build the e-commerce engines that drive online businesses for a host of clients who are enjoying thriving internet sales today. Those engines are integrated seamlessly into the design of the web site, with the complimenting content wrapped neatly around them, all in keeping with the holistic approach we take to our work.
Michael Joly, owner of the Nauset Lantern Shop, hadn't made a single online sale ever from his previous web sites over three years. He came to KISS, his third webmaster...
