Before we talk about website design development technology, let's remember what web design is and what designers do. So, web design – This is the development of the artistic and logical component of the future web resource. And a web designer makes money by thinking through and implementing the main idea, logical structure and usability with the help of artistic elements: images, fonts, blocks, color shades. But when creating the artistic shell of a future web page, do not forget that it must perform a specific task, attract and retain the attention of users.
Creating a website design requires the designer to have a clear understanding of the goals pursued by the customer, who wants to get their hands on not just a website, but a working tool for business promotion. To find expressive tools for page decoration, you need to clearly know the answers to the following questions:
- The main purpose of the resource – Without understanding why a website is being created, it is impossible to find the right approach to the user. Corporate websites, information portals or personal business cards have different goals and require different implementation methods;
- Target audience – Having decided on the task of the web resource, we study the target audience. Here it is important to understand the lifestyle and main hobbies of potential site guests, find out their age and income level, as well as geography and living conditions;
- Semantic core – Having decided on the target audience, you can clearly understand which words will best characterize the web resource, and which search queries will lead users to it. Based on the “verbal portrait” the designer looks for the necessary images to visualize the project;
- Site structure – Having received a clear understanding of the goals, audience and semantics of the website, the designer develops a logical structure of the pages and thinks through usability, which will keep users on the site and make it possible to quickly find the information they need.
In principle, these questions should be voiced in a well-written technical specification, but the first answers are not always correct, so the designer must independently study all aspects. This method of preparation for work will be useful in the future, because customers usually imagine what their website should look like. And this opinion often does not coincide with the designer’s proposals, which are based on a thorough study of the behavioral factor of users.
Stages of creating a website design
Having dealt with the preliminary work and finding answers to important questions, the designer proceeds to the actual creation of the website design. This process is divided into the following stages:
- Idea generation – a difficult and often long stage. A good idea needs to be “born”, and here, paradoxically, teamwork helps. Brainstorming, based on basic knowledge about the site being created, often helps to find the optimal solution and outline options for the artistic embodiment of the idea;
- Development of the concept – Having a brilliant idea in hand, you can begin conceptual development, that is, putting the idea into visual form. This stage includes working out the arrangement of blocks, color palette, style and placement of images, and fonts. In general, this is a search for tools to accurately reflect the main essence of the idea and convey it to the user;
- Creating a layout – This is a draft assembly of a future web resource, designed to clearly demonstrate how the finished site will look and work. At this stage, a layout designer or programmer is involved in the project, who will help put together all the elements created by the designer. The assembled layout shows the shortcomings and shortcomings of the latter.
Of course, website design technologies have many more points that are not taken into account in this article. However, we should not forget that web design still does not have, and never will have, a single standard – this work is more creative than mechanical. However, using the principles presented here, even a not very experienced designer will be able to create a high-quality, and most importantly, stylish and attractive website.