Last updated on April 6th, 2024 at 07:33 pm
Introduction
Well-designed websites include great aesthetics, encompassing visuals, strong content, and easy interactions. All of this requires a lot of patience and time. It also involves thorough technicalities and planning. Every element of website design and development must work towards a defined goal. This goal can be achieved by dividing the website design into manageable phases. These crucial phases of website design vary from designer to designer, but at the core, the holistic website designing process remains the same.
Learn website design, its process, and the crucial phases involved through the following 6 steps that consider both form and function.
6 crucial stages of website design
1. Goal identification and requirement gathering
The first and most crucial step that a designer needs to take for an effective website design is to identify the goal and gather all the requirements. This must be done with collaboration and acknowledgment with clients and stakeholders. The critical questions that need to be explored at the initial stages include:
Who does the site cater to and who is the target audience?
What are the website visitors expected to find or do there?
What is the website’s primary goal or aim project: sell, inform, or amuse?
What are the technical and non-technical requirements and preferences?
Is the website for a wider branding strategy or the website needs to convey a brand’s core message?
How does the website need to be different from that competitor’s site?
If all of these questions aren’t answered in the initial stage, the whole website designing project moves in the wrong direction!
2. Creating workflows, sitemaps, and wireframes
Once the relevant information is gathered and the client gives a green signal, the process of workflow can start. Workflows are diagrams, brief information, and other details a designer is about to include on the website.
Then comes the sitemap which is the blueprint and the foundation of a well-designed website. Sitemap assembles the website’s information architecture and links the different pages with different content elements.
The next step is to get design inspiration and build a wireframe. Wireframes help in providing a framework or background for storing the website's content and visual essentials. Wireframes also help in identifying and addressing the gaps and challenges related to the sitemap. Wireframes play a pivotal role in guiding the look of the final website.
3. Producing engaging and excellent content
After the website’s framework, now is the time to focus on written content. Content serves two major goals: It drives action and engagement and boosts SEO. Intriguing, short, and catchy content keeps the visitors engaged. Conversely, dull, long, or boring content will drive them away!
Furthermore, the content can be enhanced for better SEO with tags, keywords, headings, and sub-headings. Moreover, easy and well-written content is picked up faster by search engines. To learn SEO is, therefore, imperative to build and promote any website.
4. Crafting visual element mockups
After content, it is time for adding visual elements to create an effective website. Designers will now showcase the mockup look of the UI. This is the stage that defines the visual look and appeal of the website. From near-precise placement, font size, the colour of content and other elements will be overviewed by the clients.
It is the visual content that increases engagement, clicks, and revenue. People want to see more pictures and images on the website which makes their understanding easier. Therefore, these days the best Digital Marketing Certification Courses focus on visual elements more as they learn website design. This stage gives all web designers a chance to show their skills and creativity.
5. Testing time
If you are all set with content and graphic, it’s time to run tests. This is one of the routine parts of website designing and development. Thorough checking and testing of each page and link is a must. Other things to include in the testing are spell-checking, scripts, website speed, multiple-screen tests, and cross-browser compatibility. Web designers are also expected to ensure that the coding is correct and it follows the present web development standards. The usage of code validators saves a designer from presenting the broken site to their clients and the World Wide Web!
6. The Launch
The favourite stage of the website design process is to launch the website. However, seasoned designers know that this step is still the final one and some elements would still need fixing. Yes! Web designing is an ongoing process. It continuously needs maintenance, user testing, monitoring analytics, content and features, and revision and refining of the brand's message. Some elements always need to be changed which makes the website look updated and productive.
In a nutshell
Designing a perfect website is difficult and it cannot be done without technical knowledge or learning. However, if you know the basic concepts, you can follow the above-mentioned steps to design and develop an entire website. These steps will also help in designing a strategic website that will attract visitors and keep them engaged.
Here at Imarticus Learning, we offer the best Digital Marketing Certification Course with IIT Roorkee. The courses help you learn website design and assist you to learn SEO too. These learnings will help you in career growth and advancement.
