As web designers we love to emphasise the creativity of designing a website. We often portray ourselves as artists who have a moment of creative inspiration and then spontaneously produce the perfect design.
In reality design is a process that draws upon many tools and techniques. We use moodboards, stile tiles, wireframes, design testing, usability testing, split testing, element collages, design comps, prototypes and more.
Design is also much more effective when done in collaboration with the client. The client feels a greater sense of ownership over the site and the final result is normally much more likely to achieve its objectives.
I am starting a new series on designing a website
In this series I want to breakdown the elements involved in the design process and explain which tool is most appropriate in which circumstances.
We will also look at how the design process differs depending on the starting point. For example, there is little point in creating moodboards for a site that already has a well established brand.
Get the basics in place before you start designing a website
Before we jump in to our first post its important the basics are in place. Before we even start discussing design we must establish two things; your business objectives and user needs.
This is something we have talked about many times before on this blog so I won’t repeat myself. However I do want to give you a little advice on each.
- When setting business objectives, always prioritise them.
- Business objectives shouldn’t be vague. Make them as specific and as measurable as possible.
- Like business objectives, prioritise your user groups. Accept that you won’t be able to create a design that appeals to everybody. If you try, you will create something that is bland and nobody will like. My adage is “design for somebody, alienate nobody.”
- If you are going to create user personas, don’t obsess with their demographic details. What users want to do is more important.
With that in mind, before we kick off this series, read the following two posts:
Those articles should keep you busy until I return next wednesday with a post on creating online brands.
“Portrait of a little boy enjoying his painting. Education. Isolated over white background.” image courtesy of Bigstock.com
