Web Design for Beginners

My aim with this blog site is to help everyone understand the processes involved in building a web site. 

I, like all web developers, will use all sorts of tools to develop a web site but the concept of each site is unique. The processes below will describe how I design, code and implement a web site. I am not saying it is the only way or even, necessarily, the “correct” way, but it is “my” way. 

Firstly, it should be emphasised that building a web site does require some knowledge of a computer, but anyone who can browse the net can build a web site. It really is that simple.

Maybe it won’t have all the bells and whistles, maybe it won’t look fantastic, but it can be done by just about anyone. Professional web designers build sites for a living, so they can take the headaches away from you and have the experience to be able to design a much more user friendly site than you should expect to create yourself (as a first time web builder, or even 10th time web builder). As you can see from my links there are a number of companies offering that service, including mine. Feel free to take a look at them.

Yes, we all make mistakes. No one is perfect – If we were then we would all be computers and not the ones that use them.

Some of us may have delusions of grandeur, but no matter what, we all make mistakes. Getting something wrong should not result in you giving up. Who was it who said “if at first you don’t succeed, try try again” (or was it “give up” – I can never remember..lol). Practice definitely does, in this case, make perfect – or as perfect as you can be. There is a plethora of information on the web and I would urge you to make use of it.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Don’t be put off by all the jargon. It is intended to confuse you. We computer technicians are good at that and Microsoft takes first prize in it. For instance, I have been programming in Visual Basic (even BASIC as it was first known) since it was first launched. Nothing really changes, different designs, new features added, old ones removed, but basically it is the same, even if the name isn’t.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies out there that haven’t seen the light yet, and blindly go out and buy new software because they are told they have to. But then, I can’t complain, it has kept me in work for over 30 years now, so I really do have to say “Thank You” to companies such as Microsoft corporation.

Again, I digress. so…back to Web Design for Beginners.

I personally develop all my sites using Adobe Dreamweaver (http://www.adobe.com/uk/). This is a personal preference, but is the tool used by most web developers. There are a lot of web design tools available, so if this is not your forte then look around.

“Where do we start”. Well, to be honest. At the beginning. All web sites come from an idea, a concept, a simple thought.

I start with getting to know my clients – that’s you. Once I understand them and understand what it is that they are trying to achieve, I can then recommend how we should proceed. But I can’t do that without understanding what it is they are trying to achieve, who their target audience is etc.

I, personally, can ‘see’ the site, in my head, as I am talking to my clients. Don’t ask me to describe how I can do that or why, because I really don’t know. However, you don’t have to have this ability to design your site. Simply know what it is that you are trying to achieve. Write it down. This is the description of the website. It doesn’t have to be pages and pages of information. Keep it concise. One Paragraph. It might sound irrelevant but it really does act as a focus.

Now you have what the site is going to do, you need to describe how you are going to achieve this.

I like to do a ‘storyboard’. This is a series of pages, one for each page on the site, describing the information that will be on each page. I do a main design page too (or a ‘template’ – this term will be discussed later as it is the foundation for each page of the site). This is the creative time. Imagine how you want each page to look. Do you want a common theme between each page. What sort of heading do you want for the page. Is there a logo. How big should it be, where should it be positioned. What should the site navigation look like, where do you want this navigation to appear (Navigation is the list that you click on to change between pages).

You need to decide what font to use on your site, what size text, what backgrounds to use. Do you want pictures on your site. If so where do you want to use them, how big do you want them etc. All these things are decided on at this stage, so should be in your ‘storyboard’.

But remember – Nothing is set in stone. This is only a concept.

At this stage, I also do a flowchart. This flowchart describes how each page will interract with the others. How each page will connect.

Remember, you need to keep each page relevant to the subject of that page.

So many web sites fail by not understanding these basic principals. If a web page is cluttered or disjointed then the site visitor will quickly become bored and will move on. You have lost them, and, to be honest, you have probably lost them for good.

Ease of readability is also another very important factor. Have you considered how others will view your site. Do they have colour blindness, sight problems etc. Is your colour mix easy to read. Is the font you use clear. What about the font size. Just because you cant read it does not mean everyone else can.

I will then take these two documents to my customer to discuss them, in detail. This time is time well spent as it makes the difference between a web site and a good web site. I like to feel that my clients are involved in all aspects of the design of their site. It is their site, not mine, so it has to meet their requirements, their preferences. They must be happy with it, or I have failed. So, in short, I need their feedback, good or bad.

This process may require more that one re-iteration of the storyboard. But in the end, the customer will be happy with what they are getting and I will have a very clear concept of how the product will look.

Now I have talked about me and my clients. You may well be saying, but I want this site for me, I dont have a client. Wrong! You do have a client. That client is You. So, you should still go through with this process. Design it, draw it and then review it. Make sure you are happy with what you have before you proceed. It’s a bit like building a house. Get the foundation wrong and your house will be worthless.

Missing this process is where so many web site builders go wrong.