The main characteristic of website design is invisibility
It doesn’t mean you don’t need to pay attention to it. It means that when we look through a website with a good design, we almost don’t notice it. But when we search for something on the Internet and get on a website with a bad design, it’s immediately become evident.
This article is your bodyguard that helps you escape multiple attacks of bad taste and outdated web design trends.
There are 7 the most important steps for designing any websites.
Step 1. A sketch on canvas
Have you ever seen a painting process? It has something in common with design. Each artist makes a sketch on canvas before he starts to paint. This sketch is kind of his plan. Thanks for sketching an artist knows what he should do and in what sequence. The same plan you should have before you begin to design a website. It will help you a lot during designing process. But what this plan should look like?
It’d be great if your plan contains answers on such questions:
- What type of brand do I want to create?
- What features do I need for this particular project?
- What function would I like to engage in?
- What is my website’s target audience?
- How can I meet their expectations of my design?
- What software should I use?
- And what is success measured in this case?
The last question is probably the hardest one. Because it always difficult to describe such abstract things as success, happiness, etc. But there is a special trick to define success.
You need to split your concept of success into a few specific goals. For instance, you will succeed when you sell your goods for 1.000$. Or maybe your success means promoting your brand and you’ll be happy when random people began to recognize your brand.
Different people can talk differently about what success is. And especially when they talk about web design and its goals. That is why it is so important to determine exactly what is a success for you. It’ll help you don’t go astray.
Step 2. Choosing a platform for building a website
This is another large step to design the best website ever. Take your time and make your decision. It would be a hard task to change a platform later. Many things about your design depend on this choice.
There are a lot of special platforms for this target. And some people find it difficult to choose one. For such people has been created special tests that can be found on the Internet. You answer the questions of the test and as a result, you’ll be given some advises which platform is suitable for your goals.
Also, you can check the top of platforms for building websites. Currently, the leader is Wix. Second place took WordPress. And this is very predictable because you have to know HTML and CSS to make your website on WordPress. To do it on the Wix platform you also have to know it, but not too deep. That is one of the reasons why Wix became more popular than WordPress. It is just easier to use.
Unfortunately, there is no one formula for choosing a platform, because it depends on a big list of requirements and expectations. Some people have a huge budget but others want to make it as cheap as possible. Some people ready to learn coding, but others too lazy to read even instruction. You should know what are you ready to achieve your goal. Would you learn HTML or rather prefer to use Wix?
Step 3. Homepage as the first creative step of designing
After a platform for building a website has been chosen, you should focus on your homepage. In the beginning, you need to think about the way you’d like your homepage looks like. Design your homepage not for yourself but for others. Think about your audience.
To design a website, you need to be at least a little creative. Web design is not only about the way it looks, but it’s also about functionality. That is why you should always think about your potential client during creating process.
To build a great web page think about your navigation and layouts not only as pretty blocks of your website but also as a useful feature. Modern design is a design that is both functional and stylish.
Where beauty connects with practicality, real creativity begins.
Step 4. Theme choosing
The theme for websites also known as a template. You can find a lot of themes. And that is why sometimes it isn’t easy to choose only one of them.
Usually, you can use filters to select themes by categories or features. Of course, you can get not every theme for free. Sometimes you can find a free theme but some options will be able only for extra money.
If you can’t find a theme that fits your website idea, you can create your own template. But for this target, you should know some programming stuff, at least HTML, CSS and some frameworks that make your work easier to do.
Only you can choose what is best for you to create your own template or pick up from a list of already existed. But if you want to develop a unique website that will reflect your personality or something you should spend more time and try to code it by yourself. But if you haven’t enough time or just don’t see yourself as a developer, the best way is to contact our specialists. They are always ready to help you achieve your goal.
Step 5. Colors’ influence
Would you like to get a bright design or not?
Do you know that according to some research 85% of people who usually buy goods online confessed that they made their choice to buy a particular product or odder service because of the influence of colors on a website? It sounds crazy but this is the reality we live in. So, how does it work?
Each brand has its colors. Think about McDonald’s. Which color popped up in your head? Of course, it’s yellow. This is the brightest color. It symbolizes happiness, warmth, and clarity. So, and which color stands for Cola? Obviously, it’s red. This color is associated with something youthful and excitement.
But just picking up some colors isn’t enough. You have to learn how to use them in the right way. You need to keep a balance of colors on your website. Ask our experts and they’ll give you some useful information and valuable tricks you can use designing your website.
Step 6. Content
But design isn’t only about themes and colors. The design also is a combination of content.
Good-quality pictures are the simplest way to turn an ordinary site to something special.
Choosing fonts remember that less is more. Two or three types of fonts will be enough for your whole website.
When you decided to post your first text on a website put into it some keywords. It will help your potential viewers to find you on the search engines. Also, read some SEO articles to figure out in what way you can improve your content and increase the conversion of your website.
All in all, when you think about content as about important part of any design, it makes every website special. Not a form of your navigation but content does it really unique.
Step 7. Launch
Be sure you tested your site before publishing it. This is a very important step because you have to solve all possible problems before the user will see it. Trust of your visitors is something that very valuable but easy to lose. If your homepage loads too long, people just won’t wait. They’d rather prefer to use another service. And that is wh15y you should be attentive to the little things.
- Does your website look good on a big screen?
- What about a mobile version?
- Have you already removed dead links?
After all possible problems will be found and solved, ask your friends and close surrounding take a look at your website. It would be better if you get the first feedback from someone you know and trust.
But if everything is ok, if your website looks amazing and you got enthusiastic feedback from your friends, you are ready to publish it.
Congratulations!
Your website goes live!
You have made a big work. It deserves respect.
But what should you do next?
When your website is done, all you need to do is to update it. Do it regularly. Constancy is the key to success in this area. But don’t be so sure that one person can be a photographer, a copywriter, an editor, a designer all at once. Ask people to join you. Make a team. And your website will find its audience for sure.
