Web design process is an important part of creating a website. It involves the development, planning, and management of the entire process. Every website design and development project consists of a series of steps that need to be undertaken on a repeated basis. While each project and its requirements are unique, the series of tasks that need to be performed to get a business website up and running is consistent.
A winning website needs to be designed in a thoughtful and intentional way. That’s why we have put together this web design process guide. Here, you’ll find the steps your design process should follow to ensure your website will be a resounding success and deliver on your business objectives.
#1: Define the structure & goals
Before you start your project, you must have a creative brief that outlines the website’s end goal. Here are some important questions to ask yourself before commencing a web design project:
- What problem does it solve?Who are the target users of the website?
- What is the benefit that the users would get out of using your site?
- What is the primary aim of the website?
- What are its strengths and weaknesses?
You should also know who the target users are – their age group, their income level and other important demographics. The more clear you are about who will use your site, the more effective it will be when delivered.The answers to these questions should be included within the creative brief you prepare. This gives a much-needed sense of direction to your design project, without which things would most likely go awry.
You need to first pinpoint the exact target audience for your product or service. Define their needs and buyer personas, and talk about your value proposition and benefit that your website offers to the target audience. Conduct market research and competitor analysis, and determine where your website or web application factors in as a part of a wider segment.
#2 Planing the strategy
Scope creep is a very common occurrence in web development. The scope of the project keeps expanding and widening during the design and development phase, extending the estimated timelines and eventually requiring budget extensions. If a project is not managed correctly, this can greatly impact the bottom line.
Setting up realistic timelines and strategic planning is critical to the project’s long-term success. There are three main things to sort out within the planning phase:
A. Programming language and technology stacks
This step is extremely important as it decides the tech stack or programming languages that you plan to use for your website’s development. There are four popular programming languages used to create websites: PHP, Ruby, Python and JavaScript. You can find numerous frameworks and databases used by these languages to build modern web applications. For example, JavaScript Frameworks include Angular JS and ReactJS, Python frameworks include Django, PHP frameworks include CodeIgniter and Zend Framework, etc. Today building a website can be a little easier with WordPress.
B. Sitemap and wireframes
Sitemaps are essentially maps of websites that detail the layout of a website. They also show how different pages link to each other, display images, and provide information about each site section. Sitemaps can be used by a search engine to better understand your website’s content and better rank various pages on your website.
Wireframing is the foundation of a well-designed website. It provides a framework for the website’s visual design and content elements and acts as a guide to the final look of the website. The sitemap and wireframes are like the blueprint of your website that forms the building blocks of the final website.
A website wireframe is a two-dimensional representation of a webpage. It reflects the content layout, navigation and some navigational links. As your website’s content grows, you might need to change its layout and navigation, in which case an updated wireframe would be what you need to get started. A wireframe can also assist you in developing a sitemap for your site or app as it acts as a guide to the content distribution and placement within the website.
C. Content strategy planning
Creating the website itself is only half of the job. You also have to keep it updated to ensure that search engines keep finding it and the content is fresh and relevant to your audience.
Good website design often takes the backseat when it comes to website development. Yet, a well-planned content strategy goes a long way in making a website, not only for the readers but also for search engines, which can then rank your website higher in the results.
#3 Design & develop
When it comes to designing a website, many factors should be considered. The design elements within the new website should be influenced by the existing brand elements. For startups, yet, it is essential that the web designer chooses an aesthetic that is consistent with what the company stands for; furthermore, in most cases the website should match the average consumer’s expectations of an established brand. Irene Au said: “It’s not so much about designing a website; it’s about making sure that your brand image and identity are consistent across all platforms.”
The design hand-off to the development team is followed by the actual coding process. The platform, database, and framework that you finalize within the planning stage all play a role in translation of the designs into actual functioning webpages. Designing of functional elements such as forms, tables, menus, and so on are developed at this stage as well as the incorporation of any third-party plugins needed for the smooth functioning of your website.
#4 Testing the site
Website testing is a critical part of the website design process because it ensures that the user interface is easy to navigate and well-structured, error-free, reliable and fast. Testing takes many forms, including functionality and usability testing, interface testing, compatibility testing, performance and security testing.
A thorough testing regimen ensures that we have reviewed the functionality, accessibility and usability of your web application against the specifications provided in our proposal and any discovery reports from the discovery phase. This will ensure a stable launch for our website design services and also provide feedback on any issues or improvements that can be implemented before launch.
Compatibility testing ensures that the website functions across a range of devices and operating systems, including mobile devices and tablets.
Before you go live with your website, we can test for bugs and identify any issues, saving you time and money by resolving problems before your big launch.
#5 Launch and maintaining
The launch phase is an important part of the website design and development process, as it involves transferring the site from a local to a live server. It also has a lot of potential for improvement and enhancements before launch. Web design is a tightrope between form and function, so your design and development team needs to find the sweet spot of balance between the two, before the launch of the website.
The launch of the website isn’t the end of the development journey. It is just another milestone that is achieved. The maintenance phase is what follows and is critical for the website to be successfully up and running. The testing process is a continuous one, with the site being constantly updated with new content.
