When you visit a website, you can observe the structure and organization of the site contents as created by the webmaster. This is made possible thanks to website design. An effective web design can reinforce the importance of the site’s contents and purpose. It is basically the layout of the website, which often varies from the homepage to a particular page depending on its content.
Web designers are the ones responsible for creating the site’s layout and overall appearance. Except otherwise required by a client, they decide on the size of the design, the color scheme, images and other components of the website. Some hosting companies offer pre-made web designs to their clients for free or for a fee. Many customers, however, prefer hiring the services of a web design company to create the site template for them.
Evolution of Web Design
The web was not as we see it today. The first web pages ever created consisted only of texts and links. The first HTML tags used were very basic ones to display text contents and make anchor links. As updates to HTML were made, the ability to embed images became possible. As more tags were added and more programming technologies were integrated with HTML, the designs and layouts became more elegant and diverse as we can now observe nowadays.
A modern website design now features elements that were only once possible using plugins and large-sized files. Due to the advancement of scripting and styling technologies, websites can look physically attractive using only codes and simple images. Web designs are also made to work in tandem with other technologies to create a more positive user experience and a smoother interaction with different elements of the Internet.
For example, many modern web designs are also optimized for search engines by their web designers or coders. This helps a customer’s website become more visible on the web through a higher ranking of the website and its contents on search engine page results. Web designs are also optimized for users, particularly the ones who are not very knowledgeable about the technicalities of the World Wide Web. Many of the people who access the Internet depend on the accessibility and user-friendliness of the site’s design to get to the information they seek. Additionally, modern web designs are also optimized to be compatible with most, if not all, browsers. Different web browsers have different ways of interpreting some of the styling options of a website. Because of this, web designers must know how to make their designs look good when viewed in popular browsers, otherwise what may look pleasing in one browser could be a disaster in another.
Factors Affecting Web Design
The outcome of a web design depends on the skills and creativity of the individual or the web design company. With the vast support of many technologies including designing software and scripting languages, designers are only limited by what they know and what they can think of. However, a knowledgeable web designer has to consider several factors when planning the design of a website.
- ·Purpose
What is the site for? How will it be used? The purpose affects how the site should be designed. For example, blog sites are normally designed to display the latest posts on the front page. Commerce sites with an online store have to be simple and user-friendly to enable ordinary users to purchase products with ease. Informative sites such as online encyclopedia normally have lighter background and dark text while a photo portfolio page can be visually rich and stunning to add more credibility to the owner. It is important for the designer to know the purpose of the site so that it can be designed exactly as how it will be used. Some premade templates are designed with a specific purpose in mind.
- ·Content
One of the biggest influences in a website’s design is also its content. When a client specifies what the site is all about and what it will contain, a designer considers it and bases the design on the client’s preferences. For example, a website that is going to showcase bands and artists may have a front page that displays the most recent artists, the popular ones, the latest songs and perhaps an audio or video player embedded within the page. Each individual can be designed with a section for a picture, biography, music and other related contents. For personal blogs, the design can be plain, grungy, or shiny.
- ·Audience
A designer or a web design company should also consider the target audience of the website. Again, an ecommerce website should be very simple and easy to navigate that someone with limited knowledge on websites can still buy whatever is for sale on the site. A website that wants to attract fans of horror stories and other related content can add to the eerie experience by having a darker background and contrasting heading colors.
- ·Technology
As previously mentioned, web design should be compatible with major web browsers. It is the designer’s job to make sure that the design can be viewed equally well in different browsers. Some designers do this by adding hacks to their codes or simply by loading a different style sheet depending on what browser is used by the viewer. Nevertheless, this consideration can save a website from looking ruined from some people’s views.
Web design is a complex and difficult task but with enough skills and perseverance, it can be very rewarding. However, it can also be a wise decision to let experts handle the visual and functional side of a website. Many web design companies are very affordable but with services that can equal or even surpass those that ask for more. Make sure to scout first before letting a company do the job to make sure that you are hiring the most competent one that fits right in your budget. Make sure that they also offer support in case something goes wrong or you need some help with managing the site yourself.
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