Tech Peak » Web Design Process in 6 Easy Steps

Web Design Process in 6 Easy Steps

by aiwadigital
Web Design Dubai

With over 4.8 billion active internet users, web design has become an essential part of online industries. A well-designed and appealing website can increase organic traffic, sales, and lead generation on your site. A well-designed website can provide much more than just aesthetic appeal. It attracts visitors and assists them in understanding the product and company through comprehensive visuals, text descriptions, and interactions. So, in this article, we discussed the six steps of the Web Design Process to help you understand the fundamentals of web design.

Almost anyone can create a website using website-building tools. However, the website design process entails far more than simply creating a simple website. To maintain and develop a website, different disciplines and skills are required. Design, development, user experience and user interface design, testing, and launching are all aspects of the web design process. It is, precisely, the step-by-step procedure for creating a fully functional live website.

6 Simple Steps in the Web Design Process

  1. Determine your goals and objectives.

It is essential to identify and set activity goals or objectives in all aspects of digital marketing activity, not just web design. During the web design process, the designer must establish the initial and final goals of the website design, typically when working with the client, customers, or other stakeholders. Before beginning any new project, make a list of goals and objectives. This will assist your design in moving forward.

The most important part of any web development process is investigating the Questions and Answers. It can only be done effectively when developers interact directly with clients. To achieve the goal of building the client’s dream website, the developer must have answers to the following questions-

  • What is the purpose of the website?
  • What is your intended audience?
  • What will the visitor gain from visiting the website?
  • Do you want to convey the core message of a brand through the website?
  • What is the primary goal of the website (for example, to inform, sell, or entertain users)?
  • Is your brand’s core message being communicated through the visual design?
  • Are there any websites of competitors?
  • What do you hope to discover?
  • What changes do you want to make to your website to make it stand out from the competition?

When it comes to creating web design, most web designers prioritise style and design. It may have an impact on visitors, but setting goals and objectives will provide a better understanding of the requirements.

These questions must be thoroughly answered in order to achieve the objectives more efficiently. If all of these questions are not clearly answered, your entire project may go in the wrong direction. As a result, you require clear and well-defined answers to these questions. Before you begin working on the project.

  1. Gathering Requirements

Before beginning work, any web designer gathers as much information about the client, his business, and preferences as possible. The more information developers have, the better the results they can provide. A thorough planning phase is carried out by web designers. It is an examination of why the client requires the site and what functions it must perform: representing the company on the Internet, selling goods and services, being a quality advertisement for the business, or being a start-up for a young firm. All of this is discussed with the customer.

He or she should understand why they need a website, how it will benefit his or her business, and what it will not be able to handle. Following that, marketing analysis is performed, which includes an examination of competitors, seasonality of the product, service, activity, and niche, competitiveness of the offer, and so on. The leads and tricks that will help attract the attention of the visitors are identified.

This is the second crucial step in the web design process. When all of the information about the client’s preferences and business has been gathered, it’s time to start brainstorming ideas. Developers should always have several creative ideas. After all, the more ideas you have, the more you can think about, propose, and, if necessary, eliminate.

The client receives the first draught following a brainstorming phase. They check, correct, and confirm the design here. This process is also critical, and it takes a long time because you don’t just send the client variants and wait for him/her to complete everything. When there are no more issues, you must perfect the design.

  1. Design of a website

This step determines the appearance of your website. This step entails strategically positioning each design element to make your website more appealing to your target audience. Every web design decision made by a good web developer is motivated by something. A professional web developer or designer pays close attention to both design and code to determine how a design will translate to code. Even if he is not doing the development himself, it is a good idea for him to invest in coding skills as a designer.

In this step, a wireframe with basic web page elements such as navigation, header, widgets, and so on is created for the website. The wireframe is the website’s internal structure. The main goal of creating and adhering to this wireframe is to create a website layout and understand how each function will be integrated into the website. Photoshop and other similar programmes can convert the wireframe into more realistic mockups. Every good web design faces the challenge of balancing form and function. And you can accomplish this by utilising the information you gathered in the first step. It can give your design the desired shape.

Other important elements, in addition to the wireframe, are created in this step. Some of them are listed below:

  • Mockup Animation Using Interactive Mockups

When it comes to website design, creating design mockups makes a huge difference. Because these mockups allow you to test your website in a realistic manner. You can also gather stakeholders and create an ideal website. A website with interactive content is required. As a result, embedding animation elements such as a cursor, buttons, and hover state effects can aid in the creation of interactive design mockups. As a result, these mockups enable interactions that perform actions at a specific time or under certain conditions. You can test almost every functionality of your website design using these mockups at an early stage of development.

  • UX/UI Design

Creating a user interface (UI), which includes content development, image and animation integration, is also an important step. The user interface focuses on the graphical and visual aspects of the website design. Photo Theory, Graphic Design, Typography, Motion Graphics, and Vector Manipulation are all included in UI.

User Experience (UX), on the other hand, is the behind-the-scenes of web design and includes the following elements: Usability Testing, Target User, Architecture, Design Interaction, Information, and Content Strategy.

  • Functionality and visual effects

Creating visuals and functionalities will help you stay ahead of the competition. It will give you and your client a clear idea of what they can expect from the website’s design. For example, switching from one window to another is simple. However, explaining the entire design workflow is difficult if they can only see static pages with no visuals or functionalities. Especially if you’re showing mockups to people who aren’t UX designers, like individual clients or business stakeholders. It’s also possible that clients are unaware of navigation flows or how they should appear. Rather than simply explaining them, you might want to demonstrate them.

  1. Development Methodology

During the development stage, the website design translates the code to make the website run. It is the most important and time-consuming step. After all, development is more than just assembling parts. And it is at this point that your project begins to accelerate toward the final goal of website launch.

The development stage is divided into two phases:

  • Development of the Front End

The front-end is the area of the website where you can see and interact with it. Front-end development includes creating the visual component from scratch. Front-end development is an essential step in the web design process. It is all about creating and designing user experiences. HTML, CSS, Bootstrap frameworks, and JavaScript are used in front-end development. It is difficult in comparison to back-end development.

  • Back-End Development

Back-end development is a behind-the-scenes process that drives the logic and functionality of the entire website. This stage includes the following components:

  • Back-End Programming

Backend development is primarily concerned with how the website will function. Backend development involves making regular updates and changes to the website to ensure that it runs smoothly. PHP, Javascript, Ruby, Python, and SQL are required for this backend. The language is chosen based on the website’s requirements.

  • Implementation of the Code

The use of code allows for greater customization and functionality. The wireframes can be recreated with different codes by the developer or designer. Adding UI changes and design functionality critiques improves website style and motion. Because SEO rankings are determined by the overall performance of the website, optimising the website code also helps with SEO. CSS and JavaScript minification, for example, makes your website load faster.

  • CRM Plugin and Content Development

CRM plugins such as Podio, Zoho, SharpSpring, and Salesforce are used on a daily basis to manage contacts easily. They are widely used because they can aid in the overall information architecture of the website.

  • Database and Custom Field Development

It is critical to create each field of content in the database as well as custom fields in content management systems to add things like images and text.

  • Website development steps for WordPress developers include:
  • WordPress installation on localhost.
  • WordPress starter theme installation
  • While developing the design, install a WordPress backup plugin to easily revert file changes and move the site to the live domain.
  • Putting the mockup to use on the live site.
  1. Testing the Website Prototype

You can begin testing the prototype website once it has all of its visuals and content. You must test each page of the website to ensure that it loads properly on all devices and that there are no broken links. Small coding errors are often painful and difficult to detect and correct. As a result, it is preferable to find and fix them during this step rather than on a live site. Before launching the website, the quality assurance team inspects and tests its entire flow. They examine page organisation and website structure to ensure that everything is properly aligned. After the website has been thoroughly tested, graphic design experts schedule a meeting with stakeholders or clients to go over every detail. Clients or stakeholders must learn how to add content, images, and functions to the website.

You should also go over the contents descriptions and meta titles one more time. A minor error, such as the order of the words in the meta title, can also have an impact on the website’s performance. Here are some things to look into before launching your website.

  • 5-second test
  • Admin and Front End Login
  • Website efficiency
  • Security (HTTPS) (HTTPS)
  • Test of preference
  • Compression of Images
  • Minimization of CSS/Javascript

There are also website testing tools available, such as W3C Link Checker and SEO Spider, that can assist you in testing your website.

  1. Website Launching

You can launch your website on a live server once your prototype has passed all of the testing and approvals. It is the most eagerly anticipated stage of the website design process. Don’t start partying just yet. Because there are so many steps involved in launching a website, it is possible that some elements will need to be optimised or fixed. As a result, it is preferable to have a checklist to ensure that all checks and optimization have been completed. Web design is an ongoing process that necessitates regular updates and upkeep.

Even after the website is launched, there is still much work to be done. You must keep a close eye on the website server. Examine the server’s performance, traffic data, operation, and security. If a web server becomes overburdened with traffic and requires more powerful server configurations, you should start looking for better alternatives. The most important thing to remember about this step is that the launch does not mean the process is finished. The beauty of this procedure is that it is never completed. Once your website is live, you can add updates on a regular basis, monitor analytics, and conduct user testing on new features and content.

Conclusion:

The web design process is never-ending. Aside from these fundamental steps, there are numerous other aspects to this process. Finding the right balance between design form and function is essential for good web design. Using the right elements, such as fonts, colours, and design layouts, you can achieve the desired look for your website. However, keep in mind your users’ needs and their experience on your website.

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