(Web) Design Your Success

Straight out of college Jeremy Khan wanted to start a nationwide business. The greatest weapon a young entrepreneur like him has is the web. But it takes more than a simple text website to get attention. If design is how companies create brands, then web design is how new brands get noticed.

As the plans for Khan's company Oral Fixation, a hip mint outfit, moved forward he knew it needed a website that would make his mints stand out among all the rest.

Luckily his schoolmate Jonathan Harris was an accomplished web designer, who eventually went on to create 10 by 10 an artistic alternative to Google News. When Khan brought Harris on board as a partner, he knew his website would be top notch and competitive.

"I wanted to create a website that people would repeatedly come back to and get sucked into," said Khan. "That's very much what happened with this website." Today Oral Fixation is up, running and selling on both coasts.

So what's the lesson here? Not all of us are lucky enough to have web designer friends, who go around winning design awards and their own news profiles. But that doesn't mean we can't own a website that is just as high in quality as Oral Fixations.

Web designers are in abundance, especially since the dot com bust. Some freelance their work, others join larger design companies, but all have their price. And while that price can sometimes burn your pocket, a smart business owner knows that a good website is an investment. The rate of return for a sleek website is almost always worth the initial hurt. A good designer creates a clean interface, high search optimization and gives your clients a way to find information they need about your business. If you don't think a bad website can hurt your image, check out the old website for the 90's hip hop group Kriss Kross.

Of course expensive web design isn't an absolute necessity. If you run a small business you can rely on eBay or simply start a blog, making web design a point and click procedure. But don't expect your product or service to get recognized. For that you need someone to give your business character and that takes design. You can always try to learn web editing software like