The design process begins with the designer producing mock-ups of the initial design direction. This may consist of one standard sub-page or a home page and sub-page. Some designers offer 2-3 different design directions to choose from others prefer to only offer one and work from there. Once you choose the direction you are happy with an iterative process begins to arrive at the final design. The design should include common navigation elements, sample text, fonts, headings, buttons and icons to give you a complete picture.
Iterative Process – cycle through the following process until final design direction is reached and agreed upon
- Presentation of design
- Feedback from client
- Revision of design based on client feedback
Once the design is finalized and signed off by you, production will begin. In other words the graphic files will be turned into a real web page or Flash presentation.
HTML/CSS Coding
With an HTML site, the layout is controlled by HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and sometimes JavaScript. The HTML coder will take the graphics files provided by the designer, and use these technologies to create HTML templates.
JavaScript can be used to create interactive functionality such as image rollovers and advanced navigation systems. JavaScript functionality will be integrated into the HTML templates during this phase as well.
Flash Development
If the entire site is done in Flash, there will be very little HTML coding but extensive Flash development. If Flash is a component of an HTML site, it will be created and integrated here.
Browser Testing
The HTML templates and/or Flash presentation will be tested in various browsers to ensure compatibility.
Web Design Tips
1. Maintain consistency (placement of navigation, search, user interface elements, fonts)
2. Fast loading pages
3. Pages that don’t require horizontal scrolling with 1024 x 768 screen resolutions
4. Intelligent use of web technology – using Flash when it makes sense
5. Convey the meaning/message of the web site quickly
6. Use custom error pages, rather than having the user see a generic NOT FOUND page.
7. Have a site map
8. Concise writing, use bullets
9. Minimal use of italics, bold and all caps
10. Not too much color
In general, avoid the following:
§ Page counters
§ Blinking or flashing text
§ Frames
§ Flash intros, better to integrate Flash directly into the home page.
§ Music
§ Automatic pop ups
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