What came first, the chicken or the website?
Important question. By "chicken", I mean company. The most important parts of coming into the web design process is to know what you want. A solid plan is important when making the jump to create a website. This site will very much represent what you do and who you are. You don't have to know what colors you want or what font face should be used, but have a good idea of what message you want to relay and what information will have to be there to do so.
