Get It Right From The Get-Go – Website Design Process
Website design
The process by which a website is planned and implement is basic in its overview, but can be complicated in its execution. It is imperative that the website designer sits down with a business representative, or website owner, to fully flesh out all aspects of the website’s design. Each party may come to the table with different ideas of success or failure, needs or structure. A thorough planning process will ensure all concerns are met.
The following topics should be addressed during the planning process:
-Discuss why the business wants a site, what it needs to accomplish, and what the owner’s expectations are.
You can’t expect to get somewhere unless you have a road map. The businesse’s expectations and goals are the map. It creates the guidelines for a successful project. It is important not to assume that all parties involved know why the site is being built or what needs it will meet.
-Who will use the site? In order to create a truly effective site, the designer will need to know and understand its intended users.
The site’s users are the site’s customers. To be successful, you must know what those customers need and expect when they visit your place of business, i.e., your website. Understand their abilities and limitations, understand what they’re looking for and know how to deliver it to them quickly and efficiently.
-Discuss and prioritize user needs, SEO and branding. A great site will cater to all three of these very important elements, but designers and owners may differ on their focus.
A website designer, a marketing writer and a business owner would all likely place a different item at the top of their website priority list. Each item is important, but how to determine which gets top-shelf treatment? A thorough discussion and eventual agreement are the only way for the team to be cohesive and successful.
-Compatibility: The site must be usable by all web browsers. Content will be shaped around this need.
If the site doesn’t play nice with Explorer, Firefox or Safari (to name a few), what’s the point of spending precious time and resource on it?
-Review process: the designer will present working pages on a medium such as story boards or a website wireframe to visually display their progress.
A very important step that should take place throughout the design process. Designers can showcase thier progress and, before they get in too far, find out what the other team members think. This ensures that the designer is headed in the right direction and has the buy-in of all involved.
If designers and businesses follow these planning steps, an exciting and effective website is sure to follow.
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